OBO PE Helmet Review

I have chosen to write a review on my PE helmet.

To start off, before purchasing this helmet I used to play in a very mediocre lid, Not going to name names : )

I purchased this helmet at the start of this season and from the moment I took it out of the box I loved it. When I first picked it up I was surprised at the weight of it! sooo light compared to my other lid.

First things first, once opening the box I couldn’t wait to try it on, From box to head was almost a perfect fit without adjusting a thing! I tinkered with the straps a little to get it to the right tightness which took no time at all! This was the first time I’d had a helmet fit perfectly directly from the box without a lot of tinkerage.

Next thing to do was add the stickers, I may be 18 but stickers are always fun to play with whatever your age. OBO provide just the right amount of stickers for the lid and even give you a little template to follow if you don’t have an idea on where to stick them. I spent a while customizing until I was happy with the look, here are a few pictures of it : )

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Once all the tightening and stickering was done I tried the helmet on with my body armour, My previous helmet used to catch on my body armour when lowering my head a little… Not a problem at all with this helmet.. I was soo chuffed as it was soo damn annoying with the previous helmet!

Next thing to note is the vision! Referring to my old helmet first, the vision was unbelievably poor, the bars of the grill were in the totally wrong place and I had to wear the helmet in the un-correct way to be able to get a good line of sight! The new helmet tho.. what an improvement!  No wearing the helmet in a way it isn’t supposed to be worn, no adjusting of the grill.. just a perfect line of vision.. the first time for a few seasons.

Next The comfort of the helmet. The thickness of the foam could be improved (made a little thicker) But apart from that it was the most comfortable helmet I’d tried on. The velcro tabs that hold the sweat band on are a good idea but after a few uses (and a lot of sweat) the velcro lost its stickiness and fell off. Not really an issue to me as I was considering changing it from two squares of velcro to one long strip anyway. Previous helmets have given me really bad headaches as they were too tight in certain places, such as the temple. This is not an issue with the PE helmet, its really comfortable.

Protection.

I have taken many hits to this helmet, a few to the temple and a few to the front of the grill and not felt a thing.. the only thing I would say is be prepared for the ringing in your ears when you get hit as it makes a really loud noise, I think this is due to the materials used. In the previous helmet I was scared to chase down shots where I knew an undercut could be possible as the helmet didn’t fit properly, when I ran out because of the way I had to wear it, it used to slide down and my vision was severely impaired, I used to close my eyes and turn my head when a ball was coming towards me at head height as I was afraid I would get injured. Since I bought this helmet, the eye closing and head turning problem has ceased and I now try an actively charge down shots without worry.

On the protection issue, 6 games before the end of the season at a training session a ball was undercut from 6-8 foot away from me and hit me square on the left side of my face ( where the grill attaches to the helmet ) I did fall to the ground as the shot took me by surprise and I did feel the shot thru the helmet. Saying this if I hadn’t of been wearing the helmet I would have a very mashed face, the helmet did a brilliant job of protecting me and where the ball made contact with my cheek/grill it left a nasty dent but I am going to say that’s what the helmet is designed to do? it kind of reminded me of crumple zones in a car.

All in all OBO have done a great job in designing this helmet and I would totally recommend it to any player (whatever your level) and personally would buy another one tommorow!

4 thoughts on “OBO PE Helmet Review”

  1. These are great helmets. I too started off with a certain helmet that could not be adjusted but decided to purchase the PE, never looked back, no more headaches or sweatband to keep the helmet from moving around.
    A few weeks ago I was hit on the back of the head while collecting the balls around the goal area – the call was to “collect balls” but one frustrated player decided to take another shot at goal while I was out of the box, missed goal and hit me instead. Thank goodness for my helmet. I lost my hearing for about 2 hours and had mild concussion. The doctor checked me out no further damaged – It pays to keep your helmet on at all times especially when you’re changing keepers or in the goal area. Who knows what would have happened had I not been wearing my PE?.
    Ps. No damage to helmet either – pays to buy quality!!!

    KEEPERS/CLUB MEMEBERS
    When purchasing a helmet make sure its adjustable. Heads do differ in size.
    If you intend purchasing other gear make sure you get someone who knows about keeping to buy the kit – lots of money is wasted on incorrect equipment. OBO offers kit for various levels – sizing matters too.
    At the end of the day it pays to have your own!!

  2. Diesel, Im guessing that the helmet you had b4 started with S and ended in ER? HaHa, I have only good things to say about this helmet, hence the reason for writing the review. Even tho it is made out of plastic not kevlar and carbon fibre like some of the other OBO helmets (correct me if im wrong) The protection it offers is still awesome.. I noticed in your comment you mentioned “going deaf”, that happened to me when I took one to the face (that subsequently broke the grill and dented the plastic). I would say that is its only major flaw.. jeeese does it make a noise when a ball pings off it!

  3. I agree with everyting you said!! However if I wear the helmet for long periods of time the back of my head kinad starts to ache from the back not fitting as well over the back of my head. But for all the protection it gives me and the MAJOR confidence boost I am willing to haveas many headaches as I need.

  4. Have just moved away from an OBO CK to a Bauer 8500. Have to say I’m happy with the move. The Bauer is just more secure and has better ventilation.

    I do miss being able to quickly flip the helmet on to the top of my head to get a bit more air during quiet periods though

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