{"id":15412,"date":"2018-01-23T21:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=15412"},"modified":"2022-01-06T07:39:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T15:39:28","slug":"wrsi-trident-composite-helmets-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2018\/01\/23\/wrsi-trident-composite-helmets-past\/","title":{"rendered":"The WRSI Trident and a Composite of Helmets Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love talking about gear: the upsides and downsides of functionality or craftsmanship, the styling. I even enjoy diving into issues of market share and brand positioning. Of course, all of this becomes more interesting when looking at historical examples and technology trajectories over the decades. But I\u2019m digressing. When it comes down to it, at some point, everyone has to make that decision whether to buy or pass up a piece of gear. If that said piece of a gear is a helmet, there are a lot of specs to take into consideration and burliness isn\u2019t the most important. Like a PFD, the most useful helmet is the one you actually want to wear, and a helmet you want to wear is one that will be comfortable all day long. Insert the WRSI Trident whitewater helmet<\/a>. This is a helmet that should not be dismissed. Let me explain.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve owned a lot of helmets over the years: the Romer, Wildwasser, Seda, Shred Ready, Grateful Heads, FnA, Predator, Sweet (Rocker and Strutter), and, of course, the ubiquitous Pro-Tec (thank god those days are over). I treasured each of them at various points in my 27 years of kayaking and rafting. At one point, I even dabbled in shaping and making my own fiberglass shell with a mini-cell foam liner. Of course, the many variations of glittery fades of color and flames are just fun and eternally stylish. Right? <\/span><\/p>\n

I now wear the WRSI Trident helmet for every type of whitewater and in any temperature. I love it. But let me back up.<\/span><\/p>\n

For simplicity, comfort, weight and durability I will always love my plastic Wildwasser helmet. It\u2019s the low-profile helmet usually seen in the slalom crowd. Once adjusted, it rarely needed work done and it was the lightest and most comfortable right off the shelf. Safety rating? It was probably safe enough for most uses, but I needed something better once I started running class V.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Sam Swanson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Until now, my favorite helmet had been the Sweet Rocker Full Cut from 2010-ish. This is the gold-standard that I have since judged every other helmet by. I\u2019ve owned four Rockers and they have all generally fit the same: warm, well padded, predictable. I like the looks and I\u2019ve never had to fuss much with the outfitting\/padding to make it fit right. But, there\u2019s that price tag. Rockers are definitely the most expensive on the market.<\/p>\n

Back in 2007, after learning about the origin of WRSI, I was hugely disappointed when I didn\u2019t love the original Current Helmet. It was and still is revolutionary in safety design. The unique safety harness and multiple layers of varying densities of foam and plastic that absorb and dissipate impacts made it an instant success story. The helmet was designed and engineered by Gil Turner after the tragic loss of his son Lucas. Nick Turner, Lucas\u2019s brother took the helmet and WRSI brand into households across the country.<\/p>\n

My problem was I just couldn\u2019t get the helmet to fit right. The outfitting options were far from a fix-all, the strap was finicky and I felt the helmet fit too high on my head, even when I did get the shape to fit right. In the years since then, WRSI has developed two versions of a full face, as well as a composite shell. Today, the newest composite helmet also features outfitting that has taken the helmet to the top of my list. This is the Trident.<\/p>\n