What is the right softball batting helmet for me ?

If youre thinking about buying a new batting helmet, it's good to know what to look for. Because what makes a helmet better than another helmet? When reading this guide you'll learn more about the features of a slowpitch softball and a fastpitch softball batting helmet.

Wearing a batting helmet which is more an obstruction than a protection is not going to help you while you’re trying to hit it out of the park. To avoid these kind of obstructions you have to take the right measurements to find the best fitting and safest helmet for yourself.

Features

Nowadays you’ll find more batting helmets with a faceguard than without. Most of the time these faceguards are used by players wearing braces, or those who are seeking for that extra level of protection. Make sure that when you are buying a faceguard, you buy one from the same brand as your helmet. These are meant to fit for sure.

It can happen that your batting helmet fits a little bit loose. Don’t worry about this, because a chin strap is an easy solution to fix the problem. Chinstraps are very easy to attach, but make sure to buy one from the same brand as your helmet.

Maintenance

A batting helmets is designed to protect a batter against wild and fast-wielding pitches. A helmet starts to wear down after time, which is only natural. But the most damaged is caused when a batter throws his helmet into the dugout or on the infield. So handle your helmet just like your glove and bat and you are able to stretch the life of the helmet by a couple of seasons.

Also keep the helmet away from the sun, as the sun can cause the padding inside the helmet to harden and crack. And before using it, always check the outside and inside if it is still good.

Sizing

Regarding the sizes of the batting helmets, different brands use different measurements but they are all very similar. Look at it from a different perspective, for example when buying a hat or a cap. Find the right measurement of the circumference of your head and compare it to the closest size available. This can be found in the chart below.

The right fit

To see if the helmet size is the right size for you, you can use the shake test to see if it fits good. Put the helmet on your head like you would usually wear it. Now give it a few good shakes. If the helmets moves around too much you can try a size smaller. You could also buy a padding kit for a more accurate fit.

When fitting the helmet, always make sure that the helmet sits 1 inch above your eyebrows and it fits evenly on your head. When the helmet sits tilted up, the chances of getting struck in the forehead increase. When the helmet is tilted too much forward, you could get hit from the back when running from base to base.