Bauer 5100 vs. 4500 hockey helmets

I've owned a Bauer 4500 hockey helmet for two seasons now. I bought it in particular because it fit my extra large head [Size 8 - 63cm]. It's important to note that if you have a larger than normal sized head, you're in for not much selection. Only a few XL helmets exist that I've found, and not all fit all XL people.

This is my experience with the 4500 and 5100 helmets.

Bauer 4500

Bauer 4500 XL hockey helmet - two seasons old.

The Bauer 4500 is a staple in hockey, used all the way up to the professional NHL level. It's got a lot of padding, but some would argue too much. When I first bought it I accepted it for what it was, which was a decent, solid, if not a bit sweaty, helmet. I also picked up a cage, the Bauer 2100, which I use for games, but not for practices.
The 4500 uses screws to adjust the depth of the helmet, which is a two-piece design. When you loosen the proper screws, you're able to expand the helmet length-wise, which allows it to fit larger heads. The helmet itself sits high in the back, which took a little getting used to, as I felt a little exposed back there. It offers quite a bit of flexibility because of that, especially when in the proper hockey stance. There's no rub or interference caused by the back of the helmet.

First Impressions

I'm always a bit tentative going in when it comes to helmets of any sport for guys with my size head. My first consideration for whether I could play hockey or not was whether I could find a helmet that fit. If that didn't happen, there would be no hockey. Luckily, the 4500 fits.
When I first unboxed it and put it on, it was very stiff and uncomfortable. With some adjustment it fit well on my head, but it needed to be worn for awhile. The foam padding was not very forgiving at first. I spent a few days wearing it around the house before I got it worked in.
The helmet isn't particularly light, but doesn't overly weigh me down. It sits on the crown of the head, as opposed to sitting evenly around it, which is an interesting feeling at first.
The shells have a front piece that curves around to the back of the ears. The ear cover is of a neutral design, and is large enough that your ear doesn't disappear when you fully expand the helmet.

Fast forward two seasons

Aside from the scuffs and dings that happen through normal wear and tear, the helmet has held up well. It eventually formed to my head in a way that was comfortable, although I do sweat a lot in it, even at open skates. I considered taking some of the foam out, but I didn't want to ruin the integrity of the helmet, so I didn't. What also doesn't help is the feeling of wetness when you put your helmet back on after a break in action. Once it's wet if feels wet. There's virtually no breathability, and despite all that foam, it doesn't seem to help regarding sweat pouring into the eyes. So, time to helmet shop....

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Bauer 5100

Bauer 5100 XL - no seasons old.

First Impressions

Right away it felt lighter, much better ventilation, and it had more complete coverage on the back. Within minutes of wearing it, it not only felt broken in, I had almost forgotten I had it on. It was a bit scrunchy on the sides, particularly the ears, but otherwise felt absolutely more comfortable than the 4500 right out of the box.

The mechanism for adjusting the helmet is flipping up the Bauer logo pieces on each side, then making the adjustment. When I first tried it, it didn't move at all, but eventually loosened to the point I could move it. Once in place, it stays in place. It's much easier to adjust than the 4500, and takes minutes to properly set up.
There's more ventilation, and there's also better strategically placed foam, as well as more variety of it. Throughout the front half of the helmet, the 5100 uses three layers of foam, with the innermost layer being considerably more comfortable than what comes in the 4500. It also comes with this layer that is meant to help disperse contact throughout the helmet [HX-SORB], or something like that. All I know is it's a damn comfortable helmet.
The shell configuration is a little different than the 4500, notably in that the 5100 front piece doesn't cover behind the ears like the 4500 does, but cuts back to the temples. I think this might move the weight to the back of the helmet as opposed to the front, making it seem not so heavy on the head.


The Ear Cover Problem

There was still a question about the ears. My wife saw me wearing the helmet and asked me if it was going to be "comfortable like that", and I had to figure out what she was talking about.

The two helmets have two different ear covers. They both mount essentially in the same way, but the cover on the 5100 has more "shape" to it than the more one-size-fits-all design of the ear cover on the 4500. What that means is that the allowable area for the ear is more defined. The bad part of that is, when you adjust the helmet to its maximum setting, the ear covers don't adjust with it. This causes the ears to scrunch, or fold over, from the back towards the front.

This is how the helmet sat upon first adjustment. Note the ear torture.

This lead to a difficult decision. In its current state the helmet didn't fit, as there was no way I could keep it on with what it was doing to my ears. I either return the helmet or come up with a repair solution. I decided to remove the ear covers completely. Removing the ear covers from a Bauer 5100 hockey helmet was pretty easy. I removed the screws holding the J-clips, and the screw holding the button that the cage strap attaches to. The ear covers and bolts came right out. I replaced the bolts, screwed it all back in, and it was perfect. Fantastic helmet, fits wonderfully. Except now my ears were exposed.

I really don't want to take a puck or stick to the ear. Through these past two seasons I've gotten both sticks and pucks to the helmet and cage, so I'd like as much protection as I could get. But what to do? Bauer doesn't make any other replacement covers for large heads, just the same ones.
So then I thought, since it's got an adjustable back, and by the nature of its design, maybe if I just bypass the J-clip screws completely, and just connect it in the back, it would be roughly in the ballpark of my ears.

Reset ear cover. Remove ear cover only from J-clip screws. You'll then be able to slide the ear cover back to meet your ears.

If you wear an XL helmet and come here looking for what to do regarding the Bauer 5100 ear covers, hopefully this helps solve your problem. It did mine. Despite only being connected by the back screw, the covers are still well-seated and do not move. I could take a puck to the ear cover with as much confidence as any other helmet, so problem solved.

This is now the perfect helmet for my head. Everything fits great and it's incredibly comfortable. On ice it's well-ventilated, feels much lighter, and doesn't gross me out if I take it off for a minute or two and then put it back on.

There was a pretty controversial report released a year or so ago on helmets and their ability to take abuse and how good they are regarding protection against concussions. Thing is, they aren't. That's a different type of thing, and hockey helmets just aren't designed to take that into consideration. With that said, the results of the test for the two helmets put the 4500 as "not recommended" and the 5100 as a "good" helmet. So there's that.

Do I feel safer in the 5100 than the 4500? I'd have to say yes. There's a feeling I get with the 4500 that it's like a bucket with foam in it [okay, maybe that's a little unfair], and that makes it feel like there are limitations to it. The 5100 on the other hand feels like some research and effort went into it, as well as consideration to more protection and comfort.

So what am I going to do, just toss the 4500 in the dumpster? No. Like I explained to my wife...I can have two different color helmets.

Here are a couple of video reviews done by IceWarehouse: 4500 / 5100

Now....regarding the two different cages I got with them.....

Why this?

I started playing hockey not long after turning 50. I know my experiences aren't unique, but I still want to write about them. I'll be doing that here.

I'm not a professional, nor do I have the wealth of knowledge to be the perfect critic. I'll comment on the things I buy and try, as well as other stuff related to an old guy playing hockey. I think there are something things that are important to older guys that might not be as important to younger guys. Hopefully I'll be able to cover that with some success here by sharing my experiences.

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Buying Your First Hockey Gear

I think it's important when first starting out not to get in the trap of buying something online because it looks cool or you saw someone else using it. Unless you're lucky, you'll be doing a lot of returns. I went down to my local hockey shop [LHS] and consulted them there. As time went by and the relationship grew between me and the people at the shop, I felt that I'd like to support them, so I bought my gear from there as opposed to online when I could. The only things I bought online were helmets, which I was extremely lucky both times.

I looked at stuff online, and what people wore, and thought that I'd just get that same stuff. Thought it didn't matter what your body shape was and all that, outside of "yeah, I'm probably an XL in everything." Turns out I'm not an XL in everything. When I went down to my LHS and tried stuff on, I couldn't believe the differences, not only in manufacturers, but in each of those manufacturer's lines, and the sizes and shape differences in those lines. So each item needed to be fit to me, and it ultimately didn't matter what brand it was. The nice thing is that, even though I'm tall [6'4"], I weight about 225lbs, and have what I would consider a pretty normal body shape, if not a little lanky and long-armed. So chances are I could find an entire line of gear by one manufacturer's line and be pretty well off.
And that's exactly what happened, even though I tried other things first. After finding out that a lot of traditional fitting gear fits loosely on me, I ended up fitting very well in the Bauer Vapor gear. It's advertised as "tapered fit", so it gets thin in all the right places for me. Almost all my protective gear ended up being Vapor, except the elbow pads [Reebok 18k] and gloves [Warrior Dynasty AX2].

It's important to note that although I thought I would find a complete line that fit well, this was not the line I expected to fit, nor would it have been my second or third choice. Once I dropped the conception that I'd buy based on looks alone, I didn't really care which manufacturer my stuff came from, as long as it fit me. While each piece of gear alone isn't terribly expensive, together they are costly, and I didn't want to buy a bunch of bad-fitting gear.

I also decided early on that I wanted to go a step above entry level for most, if not all of my gear. Even the first step above entry level is usually an improvement in just about every piece of gear I've found, and I ended up with mostly Vapor 800 stuff, although I did pick up a set of Vapor 700 shin pads.
Due to the size of the shop, most of the gear wasn't current, with exception of the gloves. Not that any of that mattered, though, as it was all still new, still covered under warranty, and still very good gear. A lot of hockey players buy last year's model, as it's often discounted to move when the new model is released. Savings can be huge. I got my True A4.5 sticks for a fraction of the original price, all because newer models came out.

Deals can be had, especially if you shop wisely. Going through my LHS gets me deals on everything now, all the way down to tape. The know all my gear and can help with all of it. They can even suggest what might not help me, which is always helpful.

So head down to your local hockey shop, buy all that gear, and sit around in it in your house for a few days. Everybody does it. Get used to wearing it. Get used to putting it on and taking it off. Adjust it so it feels right. Experiment. Then get on the ice with it. Chances are you'll see right away what works and what doesn't. Having good-fitting hockey gear improves your game, no doubt about that.