Sweet Protection Rocker HC Helmet

It had been a few years in the coming, but I finally acquired for myself a new helmet.  This is the twofold problem that I have: that CKS is my local kayak shop and that I work one door down the street.

So I caught them on a day when they were holding an end of summer sale, and thought what the hell, I'll go all in and came out with a new Sweet Rocker HC.  While I don't have any other Sweet helmet experience to compare it to I haven't been disappointed.

Sweet Rocker HC

Two main impressions on this item: it's massive and it's quite possibly the most comfortable out-of-box helmet I've ever tried on my head.  The bulk comes from the fact that this helmet is constructed around a hard compressed foam body not unlike a bike helmet, then layered with a full coverage Kevlar shell, and then that is covered by a durable hard plastic shell coating.  From all that' I've read, this is generally considered to be one of the most protective pieces of head gear on the market, but it's not small.  My perspective is probably a bit skewed being as the helmet I had been wearing for about five years was just a Kevlar shell with a little bit of foam padding on the inside, so quite the change.  The coverage over the brow, temples, and occiput is all cut quite low too, adding to the fact that there is just a lot of very useful material on your head.  I also keep attached the removable sun vizor which definitely increases the relative size of what is attached to your head.  It's pretty smart though in that it's easy to adjust up or down so as not to interfere too much with your view.  It has taken me a while to get used to it so I stopped banging it with my forearm when going for a bow draw.

As for a word on fit... as I mentioned this one was very comfortable straight out of the box.  That being said, I still had to get creative with some foam pads to get it perfect.  I don't think any helmet will ever be a perfect fit without some customization.  Sweet was quite generous with the handily cut peel and stick foam pads.  All I had to do was meticulously test the position of each one to build out a pattern and it was a done deal.  Now it feels uniformly snug and I can bend over to touch my toes without it strapped on my head and it actually stays in place.

The sizing, though, was initially the most curious thing...  When trying them on in the store, the Medium was way too small.  Mostly it was too narrow.  Then the Large is almost too large for me.  I have it fitting very well, but still I had to use most of the foam that came with it and generally have to keep the adjustment system that goes across the back cranked down nearly as tight as it will go... not all the way, but almost.  The one system of the helmet that I find overly complex is the chin strap.  It's a double slider type of system that is very secure, but next to impossible to adjust while it's being worn.

Another nice feature is that with all the extra coverage, this helmet is actually quite warm.  It even came with insulated ear guards that can be snapped into place.  I haven't needed them yet, but I expect I will be breaking them out now that winter boating is upon us.

This helmet comes in a Full Face version as well.  I seriously considered getting it like this, but I couldn't reconcile myself with having the extra bulk around my face all the time just for the relatively few situations when I think it's actually warranted.  That being said, on one of my first runs out with my shiny new head gear, I was yards a away from another paddler when she did a most impressive face grind on a rock at the end of Trashcan in Bailey.  Thankfully, she DID have the full face version of this helmet and definitely saved her chin and a few teeth.

The Rocker HC is not the cheapest helmet on the market to be sure, but I don't think the protection of my head is where I want to cut any corners.  This helmet is large and in charge and is probably not for everyone.  Honestly, if you are sticking to Class III (for example), I think this particular helmet would be overkill and you would find it hot and bulky... But for steeper water, I really wouldn't want to be wearing anything else.

Just for grins, here's a shot of me looking like a total goof... but there's the helmet.

And yeah, I still keep it in the nifty carrying bag that it came in...