Hard-core head gear to replace an antique

Gear Review

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Charles Agar
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
April 11, 2008

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The recent purchase of a new Shred Ready kayak helmet means my trusty old Pro-tec is going in the closet.

Since about 1990, when I did my first upside-down fish-counting expedition otherwise known as a “wet exit” from a kayak, I’ve sported the same trusty Pro-tec, and it’s covered my dome on rivers all over the U.S., including a recent run down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon.

But the old gal was held together with duct tape and no longer had the protective strength it once did.

I had a good clunk in an early autumn run down the Numbers section of the Arkansas River, and concern over my dwindling brain cells after a few ski falls (and one CAT scan in 2006) got me thinking hard enough to open up my wallet and lay down some bucks.

Enter the Shred Ready Shaggy ($125, www.shredready.com), a lightweight helmet made with fiberglass and “Shredlar,” a low-end Kevlar composite of fibers and resins.

I went in search of a Kevlar helmet, but at Confluence Kayaks, an outlet in Denver, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find the right fit in any of the deluxe models, especially the “Sweet” brand of helmet that’s shaped like a baseball hat. (The salesman said it either fits or doesn’t.)

But the Shaggy was just the ticket, and with its multiple strap adjustments and a handy fit kit of angled Velcro shims, I was able to make the helmet snug.

The helmet employs the HOG system, an adjustable band that wraps around the back of the neck to hold the helmet tight, and the Shaggy also comes with detachable earflaps for cold weather.

The best part was the price, some $75 cheaper than the ultra-deluxe Kevlar numbers.

The Shaggy sits low on my head and has a cool German World War I Army helmet shape, making me feel like a circa-1965 Hell’s Angel. Now it’s just a matter of finding the right sticker to slap across the back of my head.

I’ll keep the old Pro-tec as a spare, though. I reckon I’ll wear it when I teach someone (loaning them the safer new helmet), simply out of nostalgia for the plucky plastic helmet that kept me safe for 18 years.

cagar@aspentimes.com