About this product
This is a water-sports helmet built and certified for the job: an ABS outer shell over a soft EVA foam liner that adjusts to head size, carrying CE EN 1385 certification.
The standard is the part worth understanding. EN 1385 is written specifically for canoeing and white-water sports, and it covers things a cycling or climbing helmet is not tested for – that the helmet drains rather than filling with water, that the retention system holds under the load of moving water, that coverage extends where paddlers actually take hits, and that it withstands the repeated knocks a paddling season involves rather than one single impact. A bicycle helmet in a river is the wrong tool, and looks like the right one.
ABS is the usual shell material for this class. It is a tough thermoplastic that spreads the force of a blow across the shell instead of punching through, and it takes repeated knocks better than the thin shells used on lightweight cycling helmets. The EVA liner inside is soft, adjusts for head size, and stays comfortable when wet.
Fit is the part most people get wrong. The helmet should sit level – covering the forehead, not tipped back off it – and should not move when you shake your head briskly with the strap done up. A helmet that slides back leaves the forehead exposed, which is precisely where a paddler hits a rock.
Use it for kayaking, canoeing, rafting, sit-on-tops in surf, and anywhere you are on moving water near rocks. Replace it after any hard impact, even with no visible crack – the foam crushes to absorb the blow and does not spring back, so a helmet that has taken a real hit has already done its job.
Water Sports Safety Helmet - ABS Shell, EN 1385 Certified, for Kayaking and Rafting