Cage Problem

[mgoblue 0]

Hey all, wondering if anyone could help me out with a problem.

I decided to take off my half-shield and put on a cage upon finding out that every other guy in my league wears a cage. You know how that goes with stick carelessness...

Anyway, I have a large Bauer 5000 helmet and bought a large CCM 480 cage. They are listed as compatible, and I know I've seen this set-up several times, but I couldn't get the cage to fit on the helmet right.

First I tried using my old Bauer J-clips, but it made the helmet too wide for the cage to fit over. Then I tried the CCM J-clips the cage came with, and had the same problem; I shaved the J-clips down to make them very thin, but it just made the cage snag on the screws instead of the clips. Finally, against my better judgement, I took the J-clips off altogether - and the cage still snagged on the screws. So I then removed the screws. The cage could then finally be shut all the way. At various points during that process, I tried to stretch the cage (with my hands) out of frustration - no dice.

But after all that, the cage still doesn't seem to sit correctly; the only way I can get the chin cup to hit my chin is to have the helmet sit very high on my head in a position that wouldn't stay put for any real period of time. And obviously, having no J-clips combined with a chin cup that hangs at my neck would be a terrible idea.

I eventually gave up and put the HS22 back on there, but I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me figure out what went wrong and possibly help me troubleshoot.

[Cheesehead 0]

take the cage off and when you put it back on instead of having the 2 things(attached to the cage and where the screws go through) pointed up, point them down. This will bring the chin cup a little higher at least but i don't know if it will be enough.

[duch 0]

Cheesehead is absolutely correct. You'll also need to put the J clips down to the bottom most holes as well. In fact the bottom most screw has to be on the outside edge of the J clip overlapping the top edge of that screw. That way your chin can nest into the chin cup properly. The FM 480 cage sits very high up on the Bauer 5000 helmet but with a little improvisation it does fit. I've found that particular cage fits most helmets on the market and is one of the best and lightest cages. It's also fairly reasonably priced.

[mgoblue 0]

take the cage off and when you put it back on instead of having the 2 things(attached to the cage and where the screws go through) pointed up, point them down. This will bring the chin cup a little higher at least but i don't know if it will be enough.

I thought about doing that, but figured that having the cage sit up higher would worsen my other problem - the cage being too narrow to fit over the helmet (with the J-clips).

I guess I'll have to give it another shot.

Any other ideas though, just in case?

[mgoblue 0]

Cheesehead is absolutely correct. You'll also need to put the J clips down to the bottom most holes as well. In fact the bottom most screw has to be on the outside edge of the J clip overlapping the top edge of that screw. That way your chin can nest into the chin cup properly. The FM 480 cage sits very high up on the Bauer 5000 helmet but with a little improvisation it does fit. I've found that particular cage fits most helmets on the market and is one of the best and lightest cages. It's also fairly reasonably priced.

I did put the J-clip as low as it could go (I even sliced off the bottom of the clips to keep it from interfering with the ear-loops).

I don't understand what you're saying in that bolded section though.

[mgoblue 0]

Just in case by some chance someone has the same problem and runs a search, here's how I finally got it:

i) Sliced off (with a razor blade) the plastic cylinders on the top of the cage (adjacent to the attachment clips).

ii) Flipped the cage's attachment clips to allow for the cage to sit above the helmet's screws, rather than below.

iii) Sliced off as much of the J-clips as possible in order to lessen the helmet's overall width.

iv) Put the J-clips on at the higher setting (bottom-most and second-from-top holes occupied).

v) Put on the cage in the manner described above, with the top of the cage sitting above the helmet's screws, rather than below.

Topic can be locked... unless someone wants to tell me that I'm an idiot and could have gotten the cage on without doing all that nonsense.

[CTHockey 2]

Either try flipping the clips upside down as noted before or try using a Medium mask.. A large helmet doesnt always need a Large cage, it all depends on that persons head profile shape and size. If the cage is still getting snagged up on the side then use some of those muscles god gave you and open the cage up. I've had hundreds of customs ive either had to squeeze the cage in to fit properly on their tiny head or open it up wider to fit some people with large noggins. Dont give up just because it doesnt fit right when you take it out of the package.

[mgoblue 0]

Read my most recent post; I eventually got the cage to fit by following the listed steps.

That said, I tried my damnedest to widen it with my hands - she wouldn't budge. Also, I don't see how a medium cage would have remedied the situation, as the large cage was too slim (initially) to fit unto the helmet.

Nonetheless, I appreciate the advice.