The Story Behind Our Helmets

PoloGear has been making its own polo helmets since 1993. For 20 years, we have been the leader in helmet fit and helmet safety. The staples of our line are our “Traditional Helmet” known for its lightness, great fit, and history of safety and use by the top pros in Argentina, England, and America. 

77 - 100 PoloGear™ Traditional Helmet

PoloGear™ has set the standard in traditional style helmets. Since 1993, PoloGear has sold helmets to more high-, medium-, and low-goal players than any other manufacturer. The reason being that PoloGear’s traditional helmet combines safety with distinctive traditional style, attractive colors, and lightweight features. We offer both traditional Argentine style and the English Loche style design

Our traditional helmet features the style and looks that set it apart from other helmets. It comes with the sharp, distinctive color combinations and detail that PoloGear is noted for. The PoloGear traditional helmet features a fiberglass shell, a full neoprene lining, a triple layer cardboard brim for safety with a foam padded nylon sweatband, and tie crown liner.  PoloGear helmets are covered with colorful cotton twill and available in solid, two-tone, and three-tone color combinations. All Polo Gear helmets come with the distinctive PoloGear™ front label and PoloGear Player ™ embroidered on the backside panel. Our helmets are available in sizes including kids, small, medium, large, and extra-large. They can also be measured by 

• 6 ¾”,
• 6 7/8”
• 7” 
• 7 1/8”
• 7 ¼”
• 7 3/8” 
• 7 ½”
• 7 5/8” 
• 7 ¾”

1998 Helmet Safety Test Results Wayne State University

PG '98 Traditional

Front	Side	Rear	Top	Test Date	Average	Cumulative Rating
1161	801	1202	939	1998	4103	3rd Traditional 5th Overall

77 - 2000 PG 2000 Helmet

In 1999 Polo Gear introduced the PoloGear 2000™. Initial testing at Wayne State University universally recognized it as the most advanced and safest helmet on the market.

For over two years, PoloGear has worked with its engineers, the USPA Safety Committee, and Wayne State University to improve helmet performance for our demanding sport. The result of our efforts is the PG 2000 helmet. This helmet scored second overall in the 1998 Wayne State University testing and passed the NOCSAE standards in all locations. It scored first out of all the traditional helmets. Its performance impressed Wayne State so much that it received an accolade by Chief Wayne State Engineer, Tim Walilko in a letter to Dr. Nice, head of the USPA safety committee.

“From the data collected so far, it is my personal opinion that this helmet’s overall performance is better than any of the polo helmets we have tested to date.  One of the reasons this polo helmet performed so well is because the padding used in this particular helmet is superior to the padding used in many of the other helmets. In addition to giving the helmet excellent shock attenuating properties, the padding and shell combination makes the helmet lighter than many of the previously tested helmets. Mr. Fellers should be congratulated — the PG 2000 is a helmet that has classic polo helmet style, lighter in weight than many of its predecessors, and it has excellent shock attenuation properties.” 

 - Tim Walilko, Wayne State University Bioengineering Center  

The helmets’ superior performance is a result of the special Polo Tec™ padding inside the helmet. Polo Tec™ is a space-age impact absorbent material used exclusively in the PG 2000 helmet. It is a lightweight, low density, non-toxic material that provides maximum shock attenuation.

The PoloGear 2000™ features a new, thicker (almost two times as thick as our competitors) fiberglass shell, a full Polo Tech 2000™ lining, an extra layer of special Polo Tech 2000™ closed-cell foam to absorb shock, a triple layer cardboard brim for safety with a foam padded nylon sweatband, and a Polo Tec 2000™ crown liner and tie crown suspension liner. PoloGear helmets are covered with colorful cotton twill and available in solid, two-tone and three-tone color combinations.  All PoloGear helmets come with the distinctive PoloGear™ front label and PoloGear 2000 logo embroidered on the backside panel. Custom colors, embroidery, and designs are available by special order. The PoloGear 2000™ is available in sizes including kids, small, medium, large, and extra-large.

1998 Helmet Safety Test Results

 

Front	Side	Rear	Top	Test Date	Average	Cumulative Rating
1212	457/707	842/1064	640/1003	1998	3151	1st Traditional 2nd Overall

 

In 2003 PoloGear founder, Gary Fellers, had a life-changing accident playing polo when his horse flipped. He landed headfirst upside down under his somersaulting horse and sustained a shattered C1 vertebra and a cracked C2 vertebra along with 5 ruptured discs. At first, he was dead on the field, but was revived only to be barely alive. It remains interesting to note the first thing the orthopedic surgeon said to him was “ You are very lucky. Your helmet saved your life.'' He had no idea of the connection of Gary to the PoloGear 2000 helmet. This story should give a helmet designer an interesting perspective on the craft.

In 2011, the PoloGear 2000 was improved and became the PoloGear Extreme. It initially was the only helmet to pass the NOCSAE polo tests. Here, we laminated different densities of foam together to improve shock attenuation. The PoloGear Extreme remains one of the world's safest and highest shock attenuating helmets.

Currently, PoloGear and founder, Gary Fellers, are working on the design of a new helmet that seeks to exceed the safety standards. Stay tuned.

In addition to its renown as a leader in helmet safety and design, PoloGear is also known as being a leader in sublimation, and our work in sublimated polo helmets is also a cornerstone of our helmet business. We are able to take any design and sublimate it on your helmet. The order process is simple and easy, and so is the delivery time. Call PoloGear today to learn how to order, or just email your sublimated fabric and we can quickly and easily communicate online. 

PoloGear features stock and custom helmets in solid colors and in any sublimated pattern. Call the leading helmet maker for almost 30 years and take a look at our helmet collection, our custom helmets, and our helmet sizing chart.