Just looking for a new show helmet! I’ve been looking at the Charles Owen Rider and Hampton. Anyone better than another? Have experience with any of those two? Found a really good sake for them so that’s why I’m looking at those:)
I have the Rider. Mine is just like the Hampton but with a nylon harness. It’s really nice–real velvet, not velveteen as some websites say. The Hampton is beautiful, too, but pricier. In the show ring, it’s hard to tell the difference between the Hampton and the Rider.
Don’t. Look at the JR8 or the IRHs that look like COs. To be honest, even though they’re traditional, velvet hunt caps haven’t been in style for the past 8 years or so…
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7885843]
Don’t. Look at the JR8 or the IRHs that look like COs. To be honest, even though they’re traditional, velvet hunt caps haven’t been in style for the past 8 years or so…[/QUOTE]
But if she likes them… meh. Styles be damned 
It’s still conservative, so judges aren’t going to care. Wear what you want!
I love the velvet. I don’t care what others are wearing.
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7885843]
Don’t. Look at the JR8 or the IRHs that look like COs. To be honest, even though they’re traditional, velvet hunt caps haven’t been in style for the past 8 years or so…[/QUOTE]
Who cares. If it fits and is safety certified then the OP should get either one. Velvet is classy and will always be. I think the Hampton is just gorgeous.
I mean personally, I just wouldn’t. I don’t really find them flattering on anyone, plus the zero ventilation thing isn’t preferable. That’s why I pick a speed air. Most everyone I know has either the ventilated CO, a GPA, or Samshield, and those that have a smaller budget have elected for the vented IRHs and even vented ovations and tipperary’s. The older helmets would honestly be my last choice both in style and function.
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7886170]
I don’t really find them flattering on anyone.[/QUOTE]
Hey, thanks.
I think the Hampton is super pretty ??
Oops that was supposed to be a not ??
[QUOTE=Dewey;7886375]
Hey, thanks.[/QUOTE]
Not trying to be offensive, just my personal opinion! #flamesuiton
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7886170]
I mean personally, I just wouldn’t. I don’t really find them flattering on anyone, plus the zero ventilation thing isn’t preferable. That’s why I pick a speed air. Most everyone I know has either the ventilated CO, a GPA, or Samshield, and those that have a smaller budget have elected for the vented IRHs and even vented ovations and tipperary’s. The older helmets would honestly be my last choice both in style and function.[/QUOTE]
I have to wonder if that isn’t more a fault of the helmet manufacturer sponsorship than anything. You can cover a helmet in velvet just as coolly as you can cover it in that suedey material CO uses, as long as the same materials and ventilation systems are underneath. But with the velvet, there’s not the same sponsor logos front and back, so Polly Ponyrider doesn’t know that Susie Superstar is wearing Brand X, so she must have Brand X too, to be just like Susie.
After looking up the Rider, I kinda want one now, even though my current CO isn’t quite 2 years old. Then again, when I was growing up, all helmets were velvet, and the superstars were all wearing unapproved hunt caps 
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7886649]
Not trying to be offensive, just my personal opinion! #flamesuiton[/QUOTE]
I do understand that. I also understand that the velvet helmets are not in fashion. People have preferences, and you and I don’t have the same taste in helmets. That is OK. But the OP did not ask, “Should I get a velvet helmet?” or “Which should I choose–a Hampton or a Speed Air?” She asked people if they had any experience with two specific models of CO velvet helmets. She made it seem as if she had narrowed it down to those two. Both helmets are classic, meet safety standards, and are within the rules. There really was no need (IMO) to tell her not to get one or to disparage velvet helmets in a thread like this. If you really feel that you needed to guide her toward a more stylish choice, you could have been a bit more diplomatic. I don’t want to fight with you; I’m just telling you how you came across. Maybe I’m a bit touchy since I had already expressed in the thread how much I love my velvet helmet, one of the two she asked about specifically.
CO actually makes a velvet helmet with both ventilation and the CO logo: the AYR8 Classic.
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7886170]
I don’t really find them flattering on anyone[/QUOTE]
This is the only helmet I’ve found that IS flattering on me :S
I will say, though, that it is not terribly well vented. I bought a Troxel Intrepid for schooling since it has the removal liner but I wouldn’t show in anything but my Hampton. It still looks super classy, especially with a shad
[QUOTE=hunterrider23;7886649]
Not trying to be offensive, just my personal opinion! #flamesuiton[/QUOTE]
OK, this is my second attempt at answering. I actually wrote one already but deleted what I thought was a duplicate. However, the entire post is gone.
Hunterrider, you are, of course, entitled to your opinion. You and I have different tastes in helmets, and that is OK. However, just because a person has an opinion doesn’t mean it should always be expressed, or expressed so bluntly. Please note that the OP did not ask, “Should I buy a velvet helmet?” or “Which helmet should I buy–Hampton or Speed Air?” If she had, all the opinions you expressed would have been perfectly germane to the thread. However, she asked specifically about two models of velvet helmets and asked people if they had experience with either. She made it sound as if she had narrowed the choice to those two. Both the helmets are classic, meet safety standards, and are appropriate attire according to the rules. Telling her not to buy a helmet like that (as you did) and then saying they aren’t flattering to anyone (a bit offensive right after I had said how much I loved mine) didn’t seem constructive to me. If you had felt compelled to steer her toward something more fashionable, you could have done it more diplomatically. Call me a crotchety old lady if you like, but as you can see, I wasn’t the only one who objected to your posts.
