Valor Axiom Hockey Helmet (1st 5 star Virginia Tech rated helmet)

[Hills 720]

https://valorhockey.com/

Has anyone seen these yet? The pods look like tech we saw a while ago and yet it hit the 5 star rating. I know the thoughts on the V-Tech rating system but it is interesting that a new company managed to get the high score.

[Monty22 837]

[VegasHockey 1284]

2 minutes ago, Monty22 said:

Damn that thing is ugly. 

[CaptainCharisma 25]

21 minutes ago, VegasHockey said:

Damn that thing is ugly. 

Agreed.  Pricey as well.  350 USD.  

Interestingly enough, the company was founded by Pat Lafontaine.  

Edited May 18, 2023 by CaptainCharisma

[VegasHockey 1284]

7 minutes ago, CaptainCharisma said:

Agreed.  Pricey as well.  350 USD.  

Interestingly enough, the company was founded by Pat Lafontaine.  

I always wonder the actual involvement of the Pros in companies, such as Skatescribe. Are these Pros just getting a few % of ownership in exchange for attaching their name to a product, or are they actually investing significant capital? 

[iceman8310 110]

It’s ugly as hell

[beedee 227]

2 hours ago, VegasHockey said:

I always wonder the actual involvement of the Pros in companies, such as Skatescribe. Are these Pros just getting a few % of ownership in exchange for attaching their name to a product, or are they actually investing significant capital? 

Same with Mark Messier with the Cascade M11, right? I still have mine, fits me really well.

[xstartxtodayx 345]

It extends so far from the forehead it might as well be a visor.  It gets 0 stars in the looks category.

[mojo122 541]

$350 is still cheaper than the Tacks X and Hyperlite 2.

[start_today 781]

They designed a hockey helmet specifically to perform well on a laboratory test that doesn’t actually test very well for real world hockey events.  Uh, congrats? 
 

edit: being saucey towards the company, not anyone here. 
 

Edited May 18, 2023 by start_today

[cjpritch 62]

It reminds me of the KAV helmet looks wise, and looking at the KAV website I don't think they still make the hockey helmet. Although I did see one KAV helmet out in the wild last year while reffing. Will be interesting if his catches on at retail

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Curious how they do size adjustment.

I'd definitely be willing to give it a go if I can try one on and confirm fit.

Mark

[Westside 258]

Looks like a dial on the back which I’m assuming adjusts the internal padding to give you a more secure fit.

Not sure how well that would work if the shell is one size fits all. If you’re a size 6.5 and the shell can accommodate a size 8 head, that’s a lot of empty space that would be leftover 

[swede 53]

First? There is 6 more helmets that has recived 5 stars before this fugly thing!!??

[shooter27 122]

On 5/18/2023 at 10:53 AM, VegasHockey said:

I always wonder the actual involvement of the Pros in companies, such as Skatescribe. Are these Pros just getting a few % of ownership in exchange for attaching their name to a product, or are they actually investing significant capital? 

Look at the way they talk about LaFontaine in his bio on the site.  “Valor was inspired by HOF…” (emphasis mine).  That tells you all you need to know about his level of involvement.  

My guess is their target market is actually scared parents that will force their kids to wear the helmet because I can’t see any independent adult actively choosing to wear that thing.

[OldCY 94]

you need some valor for wearing that.

[flip12 735]

I wonder if the flatter frontal region above the forehead has a significant impact on the score. There’s often a raised ridge there. It would be interesting to alter that on a few helmets and keep their internal padding the same and see if their Hockey STAR score goes up.

[krisdrum 233]

Saw a message yesterday that Valor has announced a partnership with AAHA (Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association), basically the Atlantic District in the US = NJ, PA, DE, MD.  So at least in this instance they are targeting the governing bodies as a way to influence parents.   

[SirJW 207]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-valor-pat-lafontaine-stan-fischler?fbclid=IwAR3I0X6c20qpA5XUj7oWZ_vGoKhh_YM41cV1v0rHZRfmPACWnhT7r080Bkc

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by SirJW

[BenBreeg 495]

On 5/20/2023 at 2:00 PM, shooter27 said:

Look at the way they talk about LaFontaine in his bio on the site.  “Valor was inspired by HOF…” (emphasis mine).  That tells you all you need to know about his level of involvement.  

Apparently it doesn't.

[krisdrum 233]

I love the very different perspectives from Fischler and the Ranger's broadcast team (check out the video).  Three sides to every story.  Always enjoyed watching Patty. 

 

As others have voiced... I'm not sure I see how this helmet lessens the likelihood of your brain sloshing around in your skull any less than the stuff that is available now and the existing questions on the criteria VT uses in their tests being entirely valid for the most common circumstances found in your average hockey game.  Outside of some aesthetic choices (someone would have to provide some valid functional shape impact absorption data to convince me otherwise), don't see a huge different between these and the latest generation of Warrior helmets with the BOA/wheel adjustment system. 

I guess time will tell if they'll be able to show real data to back up their claims (reduced # of concussions for the same number of "concussion-maker" plays for folks wearing Valor vs other brands).  But I doubt anyone will be tracking that.    

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by krisdrum

[clarkiestooth 235]

New?  Looks like the helmet Craig Ramsey wore for the Sabres in 1974.

ram.webp

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

On 5/23/2023 at 10:59 AM, krisdrum said:

Saw a message yesterday that Valor has announced a partnership with AAHA (Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association), basically the Atlantic District in the US = NJ, PA, DE, MD.  So at least in this instance they are targeting the governing bodies as a way to influence parents.   

Just saw this myself and it definitely makes sense to target the grassroots via this route.

And FYI: the Atlantic District is Eastern PA (Harrisburg is the cutoff), NJ and DE.

https://www.atlantic-district.org/news_article/show/1274028

Edited June 1, 2023 by 215BroadStBullies610

[stick9 908]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:04 PM, krisdrum said:

As others have voiced... I'm not sure I see how this helmet lessens the likelihood of your brain sloshing around in your skull any less than the stuff that is available now and the existing questions on the criteria VT uses in their tests being entirely valid for the most common circumstances found in your average hockey game.

I am shocked by the amount of people that don't get that. 

Edited June 4, 2023 by stick9

[BenBreeg 495]

18 hours ago, stick9 said:

I am shocked by the amount of people that don't get that. 

I wonder if people actually read the VT protocol.  All they are looking at is if a helmet can reduce the acceleration of the head from the impact.  That's all a helmet can do wrt concussions.