Peter C.’s Reviews of SafetyFirstSports & more

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“Name should be SalesFirstSports... not "safety"”

9/4/18

I ordered a Schutt F7 custom youth football helmet for my 11 year old son over the weekend using the "SafeFirstSports" website. They called today to tell me that they didn't have a helmet in stock in a youth size large (in the color we needed), and suggested that an equivalent would be the adult large... As a craniofacial surgeon, this didn't sound right to me.

Further, the "expert" on the phone stated that the shell of the adult was polycarbonate and much stronger than the youth (acrylic), and that it was therefore a better helmet. Again, as a surgeon who deals in head and neck injuries, to my understanding this is not necessarily valid. When I asked the weight of the adult versus the youth helmet, the "expert" didn't know. When she eventually checked, the adult helmet was nearly 1/2 pound heavier than the youth helmet (6 oz. To be exact). The hardness of the adult helmet was achieved at a greater weight, which is a problematic when applied to a young player with immature head versus body proportions, i. E., head larger in proportion to the neck as compared to an adult). So much for safety first (before sales).

SafetyFirstSports should know that helmet weight matters, and a heavier helmet on a youth correlates with a greater potential for neck injury.

Second, the harder material is not necessarily better, particularly if it is heavier. Again, their "expert" had no idea, and given that there is arguably no more important piece of safety equipment in football than a helmet, in my opinion she should have known.

Third, when I asked to speak with her "manager" to let them know that they shouldn't offer adult helmets to children unless they are weight equivalent, this "manager" began our conversation by interrupting me and it all went downhill from there... When I asked to speak with her manager to let them know that they were not placing "safety first", she argued with me and then canceled my order.

MORAL: In my opinion, SafetyFirstSports appears to have little understanding of helmet safety in spite of their marketing name.

CONCLUSION: I ordered the exact same YOUTH helmet from $#*!'s at a comparable price, and it is scheduled to arrive as much as two weeks sooner.

SUGGESTION: Order from $#*!s instead.

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Richard P. – SafetyFirstSports Rep Over a year old

Hello Peter,

Sorry you didn't have a great experience. What I believe the disconnect is that one of our customer service agents was trying to actually help and give you a five star rated helmet, as the youth models don't currently have a rating system.

As far as helmet weight, if that was your main concern there is lighter five star helmets available and other youth models available. Our customer service team tried to explain that but you were more interested in lecturing them. Thats great your a surgeon but your in a completely unrelated field outside of football safety. It would of been helpful to let them do there jobs instead of acting like an egomaniac. In that environment it's impossible to help a customer or educate them on football helmet safety. It is very rare we hope a customer doesn't shop with us or even play football. But your the type of elitist that will sue a local football team after your son turns an ankle. Glad you found another source.

Best of luck this season.