Behind the Scenes: Prep on Allen’s Helmet

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Stumbled across this in my YouTube feeds. Found it interesting that even for a top of the line league like the NFL, the prep of changing out helmet insignias and color schemes is done by some grunts eyeballing placement of glorified stickers akin to finishing hobby work on a model airplane…no 3D printer level precision here! 😎

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by NoHuddleKelly12

[SoCal Deek]

Grunts? There are probably hundreds of people on TBD alone that would literally love doing that job. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

42 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Grunts? There are probably hundreds of people on TBD alone that would literally love doing that job. 

💯 agree so cal—myself included. My point was made tongue in cheek and not artfully phrased. I meant it more along the lines of this being apparently a completely OBD operation (as one of the workers is clearly wearing Bills gear) as opposed to an order sent to a specialized vendor to supply this service for the Bills, like the helmet company or the decals supplier, etc. Just speculating here, but probably the same folks handling issuing weekly equipment or laundry or any number of other jobs in the building, are also tasked with the double duty of decal swaps? 

Edited 1 hour ago by NoHuddleKelly12

[OJ Dingo]

38 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Grunts? There are probably hundreds of people on TBD alone that would literally love doing that job. 

 

I'm a helmet addict so this would be my dream career. I actually took a volunteer coaching job at my old high school, and now I design, order, and put on all the helmet decals.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

1 minute ago, OJ Dingo said:

 

I'm a helmet addict so this would be my dream career. I actually took a volunteer coaching job at my old high school, and now I design, order, and put on all the helmet decals.

Is it fair to say decals never come shipped from the helmet companies already applied? Every team has to handle this job on their own? Also, how difficult is it to remove/and adhesive residue left behind? Do you ever use a heat gun on them? 

[OJ Dingo]

Just now, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Is it fair to say decals never come shipped from the helmet companies already applied? Every team has to handle this job on their own? Also, how difficult is it to remove/and adhesive residue left behind? Do you ever use a heat gun on them? 

 

I go through ProTuff Decals. They have our information on file so re-orders are simple, and they allow me to send custom designs that they turn into decals. Yeah, every team has to apply their decals. Helmets go to their parent company (we only deal with Riddell), for reconditioning and recertification after every season. They come back freshly painted and with a certification for the current season. Helmets are only allowed to be recertified for 10 years, after which they are no longer eligible to be used. The decals are easy to apply and are actually easy to remove within the first couple days if you want to adjust the location. The adhesive really doesn't "lock on" to the helmet until about after a week. At that point, removing the decal is much more difficult, and there is no way it can be reused. Taking it off doesn't require a heat gun, just a good strong pull. Sometimes, if there are several layers of paint from older helmets, taking off the decal will remove the paint down to the original shell. It's why the head coach no longer lets me use stripes down the center. I pretty much learned through trial and error. A lot of the kids were putting the logos at all sorts of wrong angles and it looked horrible to me so I took over doing everyone's helmet. Roughly three to four per day during the summer practices. 

[Old Coot]

On the issue of helmets you'd think the interior could use some form of cushioning to absorb the force of the back of the head hitting the turf. Maybe cushioning on the outside back of the helmet or better yet, natural grass.

[OJ Dingo]

6 minutes ago, Old Coot said:

On the issue of helmets you'd think the interior could use some form of cushioning to absorb the force of the back of the head hitting the turf. Maybe cushioning on the outside back of the helmet or better yet, natural grass.

 

VICIS actually has an inner and outer shell with a series of columns in between. The inner shell is solid and the outer shell is kind of soft. I can actually put my fist into it and it and the knuckles sink in a little bit. Any contact with the helmet, causes the outer shell to conform to the impact point, and the columns distribute the energy so that the skull absorbs significantly less force. The Axiom from Riddell is pretty great too. It has a lot more flexible points than the speedflex, including the base of the skull. But for my money, the VICIS Zero 2 is the safest helmet I've ever worked with.