Eeekk! cost of hats!

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daydreamer

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I want to try a bit of cross country this year and the riding school I ride at has a policy of no fixed peak hats to be worn cross country (is this a common thing?) so I am thinking about buying a new hat. To be fair my old hat (a champion ventair) is quite a few years old so should probably be replaced anyway.

Just looked on Derby House and the hats seem really expensive! What is the difference between the cheaper hats and the more expensive ones? I would have thought they all have to pass the same safety regulations?

Any hat recommendations? (Obviously if I do decide to buy one I will go to a tack shop and get one fitted, and probably knowing me have to have the most expensive one - although I do have a small head so might be able to have a kids one :D )
 
Buy a children's one. They come in adult sizes, but you don't have to pay VAT on them. Yes, they usually have a cartoon pony on the inside, but when its on your head, no-one can see the cartoon.

I have a Junior Champion skull cap, and it cost about £20 less than the identical adult version.

Oh, and the "no fixed peaks when going XC" rule is the norm. If you hit the ground face first, a fixed peak might cause your head to snap back, giving you a whiplash injury or even a broken neck. If you are wearing a skullcap, you might break your nose, but noses mend more easily than necks.
 
Yep, if you can get a kids one it's much cheaper. FWIW, the cheaper skulls do pass the tests, but the more expensive ones tend to be a little more refined, a nicer profile, less mushroom like, more breathable, some have removable or anti bacterial lining, nice leather straps, etc, some have passed a higher level of safety test, but tbh, it's mostly about the looks.
 
Also Derby House are VERY expensive for hats, some are £20 more expensive than other popular websites. I just got a AYR8, they are £155 at Derby House and ££135 at Rideaway!
 
ive also got the Junior Champion skull cap, just bought a nice silk for it so it dosn't look too mushroom like. :rolleyes: think it was £45 x
 
from this page you can download a pdf that lists the safety standards. Helps make some sense of them! If a childrens skull fits you I would go for that. I have one (a charles owen) and it fits great. It has a cartoon in it and is a bit mushroomy but I have over £20 in my pocket - much better! I would go down to a tack shop that has a good stock and try a load on. I personaly prefer Charles Owen or Champion as they are made in the UK, by far the most important is what fits well though.
 
I have a champion junior jockey skull. It cost £42 I think from my local saddlery, I had the same hat before and purchased it from robinsons for about £35 although that was some years ago.

To me all jockey skulls look pretty much the same and you cover them with a silk anyway. As long as it conforms to PAS015 (which you will generally need for XC) and the BSIEN standard too (I see no point buying a hat that doesn't do both it gives maximum flexibility and means you will never have the wrong type of hat) I just buy the one that fits best and is a reasonable price. This one fits me best.

By paying more you may get some airvents or a leather harness, but for me the airvents are normally pretty ineffective on a proper skull cap and they all look pretty ugly at the best of times and get covered by a silk so looks aren't a massive factor either.

That is my personal choice, but I'd shop around a bit more and see what you think before forking out big money. I find Derby house are generally quite pricey and you can normally get better deals elsewhere.
 
Having fallen off xc and landed face down on my head whilst wearing a fixed peak hat... I cringe when I see people flying round xc courses in fixed peaks!! I was very very lucky that the peak snapped but obviously had to replace the hat and bought a Champion Ventair skull, and now only ride in a fixed peak hat for showing, everything else + day to day riding I do in my skull hat. The Ventair skulls are very very good, you get what you pay for (and the vents do work- I used to get awful migraines whilst riding and they stopped when I bought the ventair) :)
 
I've not long since got myself a Pro 2. I tried it on at Derby house before leaving to find it cheaper on line! DH wanted over £100, I ended up paying £82 for it elsewhere on the web.

Shop around.
 
I recently had exactly the same dilemma re. going XC and only having a fixed peak hat....

After trying lots of different styles on, the only two which suited me and which were under £100 (according to an array of fitters) were the Charles Owen Junior skull, and the Champion Euro Deluxe. The latter was so uncomfortable though, and made me look like a martian - I also couldnt move my head on my neck properly as it came down far too low! So I went for the Charles Owen, and was chuffed because it was only £53 (child's).

A week later, I knew I'd made the wrong decision. I wore the hat three times, and on every occasion I came home with a stinking headache. Cheap, in my case, did not equal cheerful! Luckily the saddlery were brilliant, and took it back with no quibbles at all. I decided then that I simply needed to pay however much it took to get the right hat, and so now I have an HS1 - and I cant believe I overlooked it in the first place! It cost me £125, but it was worth it - its just as comfy as my GPA :)

On the subject of fixed peaks...I obviously understand the principles of possible neck injury, but surely that is the same for SJ? I've had plenty of falls in the past (and seen plenty!) where riders have landed face first either on the floor or on the fence....so why is a fixed peak acceptable in SJ but not for XC? :confused:
 
gosh you were lucky they took it back!

When I worked in a saddlery, we encouraged people to spend some time in the shop if they were worried it was too tight. Then we asked them to wear it at home, but NOT to ride in it. If people had ridden in it, the shop would not have been able to sell it on again, so would have been out of pocket.

I think you were VERY lucky!
 
galaxy23 said:
gosh you were lucky they took it back!

When I worked in a saddlery, we encouraged people to spend some time in the shop if they were worried it was too tight. Then we asked them to wear it at home, but NOT to ride in it. If people had ridden in it, the shop would not have been able to sell it on again, so would have been out of pocket.

I think you were VERY lucky!
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Totally agree with this, I think it was bad that the saddlery took it back, you could have dropped it then took it back and some unsuspecting person could have bought it.
When we had a shop, we ensured the hat fitted, made people a tea or coffee and encouraged a browse round for 20 mins to make sure it was comfortable then removed the hat and made sure the customer was happy with the fit.

We never accepted returns on hats whatsoever.
Lucky for you they did though as would have been expensive buying another one! :-)
 
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