Hurling: Original Cooper helmet vs. New Incarnation

coillcam

Anyone able to offer up any comparison on the original vintage coopers compared to the new ones that are sold on www.cooper.ie ?

I used to have an old stitched model cooper which I sold a while back for silly money. I see the odd one available on adverts for even more ridiculous money these days.

Using a mycro xtra lite at the moment which is a decent helmet but not as comfortable as my old one. The new coopers are a lot cheaper than the originals and I'm thinking about getting one but unsure if it's worth lumping up for it. Any recommendations?

penexpers

I don't think the new Cooper's are available for adults yet?

Connorzee

the Junior ones online fit adults. Had 2, one last last year and one the year before. Got split through it over my ear by my temple the year before last: 3 stitches, and just above my eyebrow last year: 2 stitches. Got a mycro after the second one. Both instances it was the plastic of the helmet that cut me, through the padding, after getting hit with the hurley. Wouldnt recommend them.

Squidgy Black

I have one for around 2 years, taken a good few knocks to the head, not as protective as my old mycro I have to say.

Those bloody screws all fall out too, mine's held together by cable ties at the moment, for 90 quid it's not worth the money to be honest, try and get mycro's through your club, tend to be cheaper.

LostBoy101

I agree that Mycro is your best bet as it is cheaper and more reliable than Cooper helmets as they don't protect you fully around the shape of the helmet.

Jimbobjoeyman

Ill throw my own thoughts into this as well
I have a original cooper and compared it to a friends new cooper after he got it.
Original cooper with a kilkenny guard wins by a mile.
Firstly the originals are much more comfortable to wear,
The new ones are really tight.
The plastic in the new ones just feels really cheap and feels alot weaker than the new helmets
And the kk guards are much better quality than the ones they sell with the new coopers.
On the new helmets the guard rusts off the helmet after a couple of months of use and the metal bars that are used are really thin (I honestly cant see it offering much protection from a really hard belt to the face)
Ive had my original cooper for two years now and its definatly some of the best money I've ever spent
I've had a good couple hard knocks and it saved me each time.
I had one of the new mycros for about 3 months before I bought my cooper and I hated it, very uncomfortable

hurler_87

I have got an old school cooper off an auld lad around the club, but tis black as black could be, with dirt - badly worn down.

Any idea, where you could get one of the new coopers? Like any shops selling them so I could try them on?

Jimbobjoeyman

as far as I know there are no shops stocking them
Cooper.ie is a terrible business model
They have no shops selling their helmets and they promise the realease of the senior helmet every six months for the last 2-3 years but keep delaying it for one reason or another.
If they pulled themselves together they would own the helmet market :rolleyes:

Anyway you can send it to cooper.ie and they will refurbish the helmet with new padding,screw,etc http://cooper.ie/?main_page=page_2
Trust me the old coopers are much much better than the new ones