I have Cascade helmets for my three sons, but I don't buy conspiracy theories. I called NOCSAE myself as a parent and spoke to David Halstead at NOCSAE's impact labs for about 15 minutes. That is 15 minutes at a time when they can't spare 15 seconds. The mud slinging here at STX is somewhat misplaced. There is no doubt their pre-launch campaign was negative and viscious, but I keep reminding myself that the foundation of their arguments comes from independent lab test data. Warnings to not wear helmets improperly is not a perfect hedge...if a helmet can be manipulated and secured into a tilt that is unsafe or unsound, then so is the product insofar as NOCSAE is concerned, period.

I concur with your point that the relative number of head injuries sustained in football is much greater than in lacrosse because there is legal head on hitting on every play. A good bit of the attribution for football head injuries is the sport itself is unsafe. I don't let my kids play football for that reason. My point is if STX is a safe and conforming helmet but is heavier than non-certified helmets, I would fault toward safer over lighter. I also posted that lacrosse players seem to have too much of a love affair with lighter equipment. Over the years it has thinned out the protective gear and lessened the safety of body armour.

I actually saw the tested product at Boys Latin this spring, and was also handed the D3O orange foam component part not screwed into a helmet. I was amazed how heavy it was considering how foamy and airy it felt. That led to my question as to what the relative weights are for the Cascade R versus the Schutt/STX. All else likely being the same with weight of the helmet shell and face grille, the weight differential is likely the protective foam. To me the D3O felt like and on their website looks like more of an industrial application material than a density and weight material for sporting head gear. It is just as easy to foam carbons or other polymers. It looks to me like STX and Schutt took a ready fire aim approach to the design and used some poorly suited materials because of weight.

So again, I am no big fan of STX but believe that this is more than an administrative bump for Cascade to clear. I like Cascade products and expect they will modify the design so that non-intended end use ranges can be sufficiently reduced. It won't be enough for the position that parents spend an hour noodling with a Cascade R or go to a Cascade tent at an event to get to the proper conforming fit like it is some bespoke Saville Row suit, because it isn't. Commercial helmets cannot be bespoke fitted products save for the back of head rim tighten belt.