I just went to the tack shop to try on some helmets and really fell in love with the Kask. I was all set to buy it, but at the last second I realized that the way the neck support was sitting on my head made the helmet able to slide up and forward off the back of my head. It was a good fit otherwise, nice and secure. I had my hair up and the neck support sat above my ponytail rather than cupping it like the Charles Owen or Samshield would, so I think that was the problem. Has anyone else had this issue? Any solutions, or is it just probably not the helmet for me? The Samshields don’t fit my head at all, so that’s not an option.
I tried the Kask and found the same thing. It seems to be made for those who wear their hair loose, not tucked into their helmet. That’s not an option for me in the hunter ring, so I ended up going with the GPA.
Try going down a size. Although if you have thicker hair and want to put it up, it still may not work, as your hair will still compromise the way the cradle holds.
Do you have a Kask? Does it fit long-oval? Looking at Dover and they do not carry my size (54 or 6 3/4)…investigating further to see if anywhere else with free returns or local to me has my size.
ETA: Smartpak has my size, I did not remember them carrying Kask!
It fits really round.
Yes I just got one on sale from Smartpak to replace a CO SP8 that I needed to retire. I can’t fit in GPA or Samshield or anything round. I would say Kask is slightly less oval than CO (which fits me perfectly, but they are SO hot and sweaty). I am usually a 57, but I had to go down to a 56 or I’d get the slipping you are talking about. The fit is not as good as CO, but I could not find any other alternative brands. I do wish it had a different / more traditional harness system, but it is keeping my head cool.
Considering though that you are on the smaller size, there is a chance it still won’t fit great. One issue with the 57 I tried is they have only a few shell sizes like Samshield with different liners. The 57 came with a larger shell size (even though when I tried on some at Dover this wasn’t the case), and the larger shell was so wide that it was very awkward on my oval head.
Thank you! Probably no need to try it on. 
Thanks, it might warrant trying it on after all, though I might need to go down to a 53 which I don’t think they stock in the US at all. I have 1 Samshield that fits great and another (exact same helmet, different color, 2 years newer) that is too round. There seems to be nowhere here that stocks enough of a variety of small helmets to warrant a trip.
That’ll teach me not to ask more questions! Samshield isn’t long oval. It’s on the rounder side. So if Samshield fits great, there definitely is a chance the Kask might work.
I just fit a customer in a Kask Lady Dogma last week. She had a GPA which fit her great and the Kask fit her beautifully. I’d say sizing was similar to the GPA sizing, which fits a little smaller than CO in my opinion (plus CO compresses a whole lot). So there’s a chance the 54 might work for you. Crossing fingers!
I will probably go try it out somewhere. GPA does not fit at all…CO fits OK, but too hot. The Samshield seems to be kind of hit or miss…not sure if they’ve changed the mold a little over time. I’m betting I’ll need to find somewhere with a big variety to try on.
I have one Samshield that I show in and another for schooling…it wasn’t til I wore them both back to back that I found out the show one fits significantly better. It’s a mystery!
Having had a past TBI, I’d like to get something that really fits well…we’ll see…maybe there will be a vendor at a show coming up.
The dressage Samshield fits differently than the regular Shadow Matt. I think the dressage one might be slightly more oval but it has been awhile since I fit one so I could be misremembering. I do remember that they are shaped differently. GPA Speed Air fits differently than the Easy 2x. Not all COs fit the same (and of course now they have a “Round Fit” option). The GR8 fits very differently than the Ayr8, for example. I haven’t fit enough Kasks to say if the different models run differently.
Oh! I just noticed- it wasn’t a Lady Dogma I fit. It was a Star Lady. Sorry for the confusion.
Samshield makes 2 different liners that fit differently. The shadow matt liner is a round fit; the premium liner is an oval fit. I love my Samshield with the premium liner, total no-go with the other. Kask was too round for me - too bad because they’re beautiful.
Also, I’ve heard the head cupping thing is removable.
I don’t find that to be true about CO at all. I’ve worn several models for decades, and they all fit me pretty much the same. Sizing also runs comparable to other brands of you go by cm (some convert differently to the inches size). The Kask Star Lady is on the Dogma shell—it’s the only equestrian shell they make. The lady just has the bigger brim.
Smashield used to fit me somewhat reasonably, bu I didn’t want to spend the money. With the lady brim, I tried them on again recently, and they are way too round, even with the premium liner.
I thought about trying the new wide brim OneK in oval, but again I’m kind of between shell sizes, so I just snached up the Kask while it was on sale.
Hate to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if the Kask liner breaks down at all? It fits comfortably, but a bit snug right now, so debating whether to return or not. I know the CO liner wears down a lot, and about half as much with Samshield/GPA.
So far, seems to be slight wear…much less than CO by this time in the break in period for me. They are replaceable as well unlike most of the CO liners.
So do you think I would be happy with where it breaks in if it is just ever so slightly too tight? It is so close to perfect but that I think the size up will be too big.
Yes I think so
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Thank you!
Just wanted to share my recent experience ordering a Kask Dogma Light helmet in detail in case it helps others.
I saw them on the Dover website and then tried one on at a Dover store; it didn’t fit at all. Too round. I LOVE my OneK but am breaking out where the harness touches my face and the Kask helmet has a “hypoallergenic” harness. There were two “Dogma Lights” with different item numbers on the Dover website. I ordered both to see the difference. The older model is what was in the store. It has a liner that is not removable. It fit really round am more oval. The “newer” model has a velcro liner that fit me pretty well but still a little too round. Kask sells lateral inserts that change the fit to more oval and as I was looking for those online, I ran across a press release about an even newer model with a snap-in removable liner, not velcro. They all look the same on the outside so you can’t tell shopping online which one is which but the newest model also comes in Antracite; SmartPak had that color and Dover didn’t so I figured SmartPak’s was the newest one.
The newest one fits me better but still a little too round (fit similar to the “new” one at Dover). The reason it fits better I think is because with the newest model the size 57/ 7 1/8" is now in a medium shell not a small shell as it was previously. That means there is more padding needed to make the medium shell a 57 compared to the padding needed to make a small shell a 57. The medium shell is about 1/4" wider than the small shell, but still much narrower than my OneK. It was much more comfortable for me with the extra padding at the forehead… I am still planning to buy the lateral inserts to make it more oval.
I saw on the Kask website that the neck padding is removable. There are instructions on how to remove it so I don’t think it pops in and out easily. They also have what they call a “lady fit insert” that replaces the regular neck padding and supposedly makes it fit with a bun.
Hi! Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I just ordered a new kask to replace an old one after a fall and am totally confused and was unaware of their new sizing? Did most of you stay in your original size? Is there a different liner I should try? I wore a 56 in my old star lady and the new star lady feels incredibly snug. I’m hoping I can make this work because the helmet isn’t able to be returned. Please help! Thanks!
