I’m shopping for a new helmet, and would like to know:
What kind of helmet do you have?
What do you love about it?
Thank you!
I’ve got an IRH. They come in real hat sizes and fit my long oval head well. They are not cheap. It passed passed a "drop test a few years back. IRH replaced it at cost.
I’m well satisfied with the product.
G.
One K. It fits my lonnnng oval head- almost a block head LOL, really well. My JR8 wasn’t quite long enough- this is perfect. And I like the built in sunglasses 
Tipperary. I have a funky shaped head and it fits really comfortably. (also fits the more normal shaped heads of my students well as well). light, secure, well vented.
I really liked the adjust-o-fit concept on some other helmets until I kept hearing stories of them breaking for no apparent reason.
My thoughts are, go someplace they have a bunch of different styles in stock (with knowledgeable sales people who DONT work on commission lol), try on a bunch, see what you like and what feels good, and get the fit OKed by someone who knows what they’re doing.
I’m loving my Troxel Sierra. Adjusts a bit, vents nicely, inexpensive ($99, though I got mine for my birthday as a replacement for a Dakota where the dial-fit got broken; my cousins are not allowed ot use the good helmets any more.)
Thanks for the replies!
There are so many to choose from it’s hard to know what the differences are, and I love getting reviews from people that are actually using them.
I did go to a tack shop that has quite a few in stock, and tried most of them on, but the staff was not very helpful at all. They only told me that they all meet the same safety standards. I’ll have to find another shop to go to, where they actually might want to sell a helmet. 
Pegasus (Euro JUmper). Light, very comfortable. not expensive. Fit exactly as measured. I have a round head but they also make an oval fit.
Love my Tipperary. Comfortable, light, vented. Better than the troxels I’ve had but only my opinion.
Charles Owen J3. Most helmets sit too high on my big head and want to fall down over my eyes. Because of the extra padding at the back of the J3, it stays in place.
I just bought a new Tipperary and love it-vented and comfy and fits me.
I gotta say though, the One K I tried on felt heavenly.
I have a cheap plastic Aegis one (has all the right approvals) for trails and schooling. It’s a dial fit and is pretty comfortable. I also have an IRH velvet one for foxhunting. It’s also reasonably comfortable. I hate all helmets, but I can tolerate those two.
I bought a new helmet this summer and I love it. It’s an Ovation and it’s lightweight and vented so it stays cool.
I had previously been riding in a Troxel, don’t remember which model but it had a design of a horse on it. I bought that locally at a Tractor Supply because I didn’t want to drive real far. That thing never really fit me right. Then when the chinstrap snap cracked (not even in a fall, just broke) I decided to just get a new helmet instead of trying to fix it. I waited until I was going on a college visit with my daughter that was 3 hours away but near a really awesome tack store that had a bazillion brands and styles of everything. I almost bought an IRH, so I agree with Guilherme. They are solid but comfortable. My daughter also rides in an IRH. I don’t consider them expensive, not if you’ve prices some of the other helmets… criminy some of them are $500 and up. Anyway, I chose the ovation because it seemed like it would be cooler on the trail, I’m not showing so having a stylish black helmet was not necessary.
Another major factor, besides proper fit of course, is that the chin strap be comfortable. That was another thing I hated about my Troxel.
My Tipperary is not too bad. I liked my Troxel okay too, but it had the mushroom look.
I had the old-style shiny plastic Troxel for a while. . .never cared for the mushroom-head look but it did what it was supposed to do.
Since then, I bought a Troxel Sierra (in tan) and love it. It looks good, it’s lightweight and comfortable, and I like the adjustable band in the back. I have a big head, and Troxel is one of the only brands that makes a helmet that fits me.
Picking out a helmet is like picking out a bra-what works for you won’t be comfortable on someone else ! I personally like to be left alone to try on the stores entire stock. I’m sure the store staff thought the same thing - better to let you decide. I’m in a Tipperary right now and find it fits my head better than any other. You don’t want it to slide even alittle to the side,because if you fall and take a side impact to the head it could slide too much.I’m a distance rider and spend long hours in the saddle,so everything I use must be super-comfortable.A nice add-on is a visor that attaches to Velcro.
Yep!
It really doesn’t matter what someone else’s favorite helmet is, because unless your head is the exact same shape it might be hellishly uncomfortable on you.
I find that Troxels fit me best, but not the Spirit - everything else is comfy, those hurt my head. Of course I dumbly ordered 2 of those things (one for the trailer, one for the tackroom, so I can never forget my helmet!) once my Cheyennes got over the 5 year mark, blithly assuming that a Troxel is a Troxel is a Troxel. Now I can’t really justify $100ish on a new helmet with two perfectly good ones sitting there…but man, they give me a headache.
You really have to try helmets on to see what fits you in particular.
The one I have now is a huge white mushroom looking one I bought at the local feed store many years ago before a trail ride, so I just bought what they had in stock, and it has worked well, but it’s time for a different one it’s more than 5 years old and doesn’t exactly fit right anymore. I’ve lost 50 lbs and apparently some was in my head! LOL :lol:
I’m planning on trying on many more helmets, I like to hear other people’s opinions and reviews though. I’ve read many reviews online about different helmets, and it does help to hear how they hold up in different situations, which ones last the longest, if there are, or were any defects, also strong and weak points of each brand, and how they fit different people.
It’s all useful information in making a decision.
Thanks for the replies!
Another one here with a Tipperary. It’s really light, well-ventilated, and seems to stay in place better than some of the others I’ve had in the past - maybe because it has more coverage in the back? It looks pretty sleek too compared to the Troxel style.
I used to have a couple of the adjustable Aegis helmets. The adjustability was really nice for putting my hair up under it (which is something I can’t really do with the Tipperary, but I have a lot of hair so that’s not unusual for me), but they didn’t seem to sit as securely as my Tipperary does.
I have a Troxel Sierra that lives in my trailer and a IRH All Terrain that lives at home. The IRH fits better and feels lighter although the Troxel isn’t a bad helmet either.
I think the best thing you can do is try on as many different helmets as possible and pick what fits YOU best!
IRH long oval…extreme elite, I think. The long oval option is wonderful for me. Most comfy helmet I’ve owned.
Happy riding,
Jessie
