Equipment Teardown Bauer RE-AKT Helmet Initial Thoughts/Teardown

[Wildcat85 0]

Protection wise how does it compare to the 9900? I took a questionable hit to the head last season and my dads into this helmet technology now. Would it be worth the upgrade from my current 9900?

[808puck 0]

Coming from a 4500. Tried on the Re-akt today and had to pass. It fit great length wise but rocked a bit on the width. It's a great helmet if it fits your head.

[RussianDangler15 0]

Tried it on today and fwiw I wear a medium in 4500/9900 and felt I would be better off in a small in the RE-AKT.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Tried one on today. I couldnt get the large (my normal size) small enough, so tried a medium. HOLY CRAP this thing is comfortable. All the hotspots I have in my current helmet (CCM V10, which is actually better than every other helmet I tried on in that regard), completely gone. Could barely even tell I was wearing it. I think I need one!

I had tried on the Krown just before the RE-AKT. I thought the krown was comfortable, until I put on the re-akt. Wow. I'm VERY impressed!!!

[Coldclay 53]

Yup, I tried on a Re-Akt a few weeks back, and I thought it was the most comfortable helmet I've ever tried... Also tried on a 11k and I thought that was almost as comfortable. I love my S19, due to the ultra light weight, but comfort level wise, Re-Akt has it beat by a mile.

[wrangler 157]

I wore one at SJ and it was great for my wide head. I wear a 5100 XL normally, but a L RE-AKT was just fine on me. The cage, which combines titanium and the oval bars, is my favorite.

[althoma1 574]

I also tried a large RE-AKT combo at SJ. The cage is light, has great visibility and a comfortable chin cup. I know they weigh a little less than the itech titanium I currently use and I think the visibility is slightly better (not a huge difference there) and the chin cup is more comfortable. The RE-AKT cage is definitely the best cage I've ever used.

While the large cage was the perfect size for me, I don't think the large helmet was - I could adjust it comfortably, but then it'd be a bit loose with some negative space. If I put it as tight as possible there was a bit of pressure on my forehead, but still some negative space in other areas. It's a nice helmet, but the large just wasn't the right fit for my head - if I get a chance to demo them again I'll try a medium helmet with a large cage to see if that works better.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

For anyone interested, theres a black size M re-akt on ebay for $155 BIN.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Ffffuuuuuuu

Had a $80 gift card for hockeygiant. Went in, all they had in navy sz M was the helmet, no cage. They didn't have a single M helmet in any other color to swap the cage with (not sure if they even would have...). So I got the helmet thinking I could just get the cage elsewhere. Went to hockeymonkey - full combos, no cages. Went to Hockeytron, they didn't stock re-akt at all. So I hop online when I get home. The damn cage is $70 alone! So the cage costs $30 in the combo, and $70 separate. I would have expected it to at least be relatively close to the same price, maybe within $20.

Ugh. It's not even worth the drive back to return it, it's a good 1.5-2+ hours each way, depending on traffic. I -knew- I should have just ordered it online with the giftcard code, but hockeygiant's order form doesn't accept gift cards.

It drives me friggin bananas that these huge retail chains never seem to have what I'm looking for in stock. Don't even get me started on non-black pants...

[Goonsquad 209]

I like this helmet alot . I tried it on at SJ as well. the guys there fitted me with a L. While i had it on the sweat management was good. Keep in mind i've worn a V10 and a Cascade M11. Thing I hated about the V10 was that I had an incident with a wall and crushed the foam. The helmet is pretty much done. Think I like about the M11 is the padding very comfortable but sweat manangment is questionable.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

I was in a V10 until now also. I'm blown away by how comfy the re-akt is.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 132]

Got rocked by a guy, I was going full speed in a non-checking league and my 5000 finally bit the dust. Helmet flew off my head, mask got ripped out at the screws, side straps got pulled an inch from where they were. Picked up the first REAKT combo I saw. Light, comfortable, fits well. I play with it for the first time tomorrow.

[althoma1 574]

As mentioned, I demoed a large combo at SJ and the large cage was a perfect fit, but the large helmet wasn't. I had a chance to try on a medium RE-AKT alone and it fit much better - didn't try it on the ice, but based on the store fit I'm pretty confident that the medium helmet would work well on the ice. I wear a large M11 and wore a large Carbster before that - I also fit a large E700 (the medium E700 wasn't comfortable). So before buying I'd definitely try on a couple sizes - don't just go with the size you usually wear.

[Goonsquad 209]

Althoma. .agreed. Fit is most important. I felt the Medium might be better for me when I tried it on at HockeyMonkey. I like the technology that went into the design.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Agreed Althoma. I'm usually a large in any other helmet I've ever worn. With the re-akt, I actually have to tighten a medium.

[wrangler 157]

I like this helmet alot . I tried it on at SJ as well. the guys there fitted me with a L. While i had it on the sweat management was good. Keep in mind i've worn a V10 and a Cascade M11. Thing I hated about the V10 was that I had an incident with a wall and crushed the foam. The helmet is pretty much done. Think I like about the M11 is the padding very comfortable but sweat manangment is questionable.

I wore the RE-AKT the whole skate, and haven't thought about sweat till now, so it was obviously no problem for me. I sweat a lot, but it seems that it hasn't been a problem for me, unless the cage has been heavy enough to pull the front of the helmet down a bit.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Played my first game in the Re-AKT helmet on Sunday night. Overall, it was great. It's SO light! Fit well, was very comfortable... mostly.

The only issue I had was that the forehead pad felt kinda like it was digging into my forehead. Almost like it had a sharp edge. It wasn't painful per se, but made my forehead almost itchy, if that makes sense.

Oh, I also noticed the placement of the bars on the mask as opposed to on the CCM mask - i had to be careful to insert the water bottle straw straight in and straight back out, or else I'd pinch my upper lip. No big deal, though.

Still miles better than the CCM V10 that I had been using, though!

[salibandy 21]

Hey guys, it seems that a bunch of you had to size down on the Re-Akt? I tried on a 9900 today (the local shop does not stock Re-Akts), and I couldn't get the M tight enough. I then tried on an S, and it fit well. Strangely enough, I had to tighten it a bit as well. What size do you guys reckon I get for the Re-Akt? An S? There is currently no option to try that where I live.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 132]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I wore a 5000 in Medium and I'm wearing a REAKT in Medium. Love the cage and chin cup much more than the 9900FM.

[Fire Walker 22]

Hey guys, it seems that a bunch of you had to size down on the Re-Akt? I tried on a 9900 today (the local shop does not stock Re-Akts), and I couldn't get the M tight enough. I then tried on an S, and it fit well. Strangely enough, I had to tighten it a bit as well. What size do you guys reckon I get for the Re-Akt? An S? There is currently no option to try that where I live.

My last 3 helmets were a medium. The Easton e700, a bauer 7500, and now the REAKT. I'm not sure if the REAKT fits similar to the 9900.

[wrangler 157]

Head shape is a big part of it. Discussing tightness in general doesn't tell much; some reference to width, length, hot spots, etc., might help.

I found the 9900 XL too tight, just got into a 5100 XL, and the 4500 was a bit loose in L & XL, all in the width. Length wasn't a problem. The RE-AKT was just a bit wider in L than the 5100 in XL, and fit me well. I have to flex my 5100 occasionally to keep it a bit wider, while the RE-AKT is perfect out of the box for me, in width.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 132]

I definitely do have a little more width, but it's not anything crazy that causes the helmet to shift or rock. I've got the length at the smallest setting and the occipital lock all the way up or whatever.

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

The fact that it has the Poron on the sides of the helmet means it's accommodating wider heads better as there's more give in the padding.

I dropped down to M. I typically wear L in Bauer helmets.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

The fact that it has the Poron on the sides of the helmet means it's accommodating wider heads better as there's more give in the padding.

I dropped down to M. I typically wear L in Bauer helmets.

I did too, and I even had to tighten it. I'm not entirely surprised that an overall better fitting helmet can require a drop in size. All the hotspots I have with other helmets are eliminated completely. Especially the back of the head.