My daughter wants the Samshield Miss Shield helmet with Alcantara top that looks like suede. Has anyone used this helmet for any length of time? I’m wondering how much that covering material can take or if it scratches or stains easily. Does it clean up nicely?
IME all helmets scratch easily and all textile covered helmets stain easily and can collect dust. That said, if you wear the helmet and then put it away in a bag after use, the opportunity for scratch and stain is deeply reduced. Don’t hang it where your horse can knock it down, don’t leave it rolling around the back seat, etc. Also of course if she does fall off and hits her head at all, the helmet needs replaced anyways.
Can’t say without knowing daughter if she’s old enough or careful enough with her gear to take care of an expensive helmet.
Btw is this helmet MIPS, the new safety standard? And does it fit her particular skull? Why does she want this particular helmet? Is it in line with the quality of the rest of her gear and the horses she rides or a splurge?
If she’s an actual competitive rider, chances are she will take a tumble and need to replace the helmet before it shows any cosmetic wear!
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There was run of Alcantara helmets that faded really quickly at one point, but they replaced most of those and it was a couple years ago.
The biggest issues you will have is scratching (any helmet honestly) and fading. The fading will happen eventually, but many of my old customers got years out of theirs before it was an issue. Alcantara can also feel like it gets dirty easy, but they all get dirty and scratched - so I wouldn’t call it an Alcantara only issue.
Overall, I don’t think (outside of that one issue they had and took care of) they have any special durability issue. They clean up very nicely and look very classy!
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I have a Miss Shield with the alcantra top. I am rough on my belongings, and my young horse has hooked my helmet and flipped it off my head (unbuckled) while he’s standing in the cross ties a few times. I can say that my Miss Shield still looks as close to new as it can despite being close to 4 years ago. I do keep it stored in the helmet bag when not in use.
The caveat is I ride mostly in indoor and covered arenas, which I think has helped prevent any fading. The Alcantra collects dust like crazy, but wipes down well.
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I have this helmet. I live in WA and have had to compete with it in rain and shine. I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s in great shape. I will say, I alternate with my regular/plain Miss Shield and try to save my shiny one for showing. I don’t put it in a bag, but I do put it back in my trunk after each use. No special cleaning other than taking out the liner to wash.
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She is pretty careful with her stuff. This helmet would be for shows only, she has a regular Samshield MS that fits perfectly that she wears for every day use. It is a splurge, but is also in line with the rest of her gear.
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I think I saw on the Samshield site that they could recondition it for you if needed. But I have no idea what that process would entail as far as time and cost.
Thanks! that is good to hear that it can withstand some oops and still be okay. Things happen, so you can only do so much. Do you just wipe it down with a damp soft cloth or are there other cleaning instructions for it? Did it come with a decent helmet bag or is it just that simple drawstring pouch? I was surprised when I bought her other one that, for that price, it didn’t come with a better bag.
I’ve always kept it in the drawstring bag either in my tack locker or inside of my ring bag when I didn’t have a horse of my own and had to bring everything to and from the barn. I just wipe it down with a damp clean huck towel (so a textured cloth) because that’s what I use wipe everything down with. 
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I have a samshield with the alcantra fabric and it looks fine- I am not delicate with it by any stretch. I think the fabric helmets look better with a little wear on them, though. When I was younger, the cool older girls all had custom velvet hunt caps that they would work on to ensure they faded just so. It was something of a badge of honor. The hard plastic ones look bad with wear and tear but the fabric I don’t think suffers from some abuse.
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I had a fall and now have to replace a helmet. My ex trainer was way into the Miss Shield, so I decided to at least look at it. It does not appear to have the MIPS technology so it is an automatic “no” from me. Virginia Tech does a yearly test and ranking of 50 helmets, the one I fell on was ranked #10, that Trauma Void. I might buy that again, but honestly the MIPS really did work, so I might go to an even higher ranked helmet. Here is a link to those rankings. I think something well ranked with MIPS that fits well should be the primary considerations, then “look” can be last. As much as us hunters hate that! Ha.
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I splurged and got this beaut 5 years ago (and now I have to retire it 
) and it still looks like it did the day I got it.
I ride a lot, always outdoors (3-4 horses a day, 5 days a week), but I try not to use this one when it’s raining. I always store it in its bag in my trunk and I am pretty careful with it, but I’ll definitely get something like this with the alcantra (or the gloss 
) again!
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I have two Miss Shields with the Alcantra. One is just for showing and I’ve had for about 3 years - looks almost new! My daily wear one with the alcantra has faded and does look slightly dusty but I do not take great care of that one since I just use it at home to ride in every day. It’s totally show ring acceptable, however. They clean up just fine with a soft damp cloth.
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