How to Put a Throat Guard on a Lacrosse Helmet?

A throat guard is a type of equipment that attaches to the lacrosse helmet. It is meant to protect the goalkeeper. It covers the chin area and protects the goalkeeper’s throat from potential objects that could hit the goalkeeper’s neck and hard shots from players.

The throat guard is meant to protect the goalkeeper with no limitation to the range of motion. Below, I will talk about lacrosse throat guards, helmets, and how to attach the guard to the lacrosse helmet.

How To Put A Throat Guard On A Lacrosse Helmet

Lacrosse throat guard

The lacrosse throat guards are thinner and attach easily compared to hockey danglers The guards are either made of plastic or polycarbonate. The plastic material is hard and is produced cheaply, making it a good choice for throat guards.

Polycarbonate is a form of plastic that has the reinforcement of carbon, which makes it stronger. As a result, it makes a better quality plastic than regular plastic and is molded easily.

Brands

Three brands produce lacrosse throat guards. They include Warrior, STX, and Cascade.

  • Warrior

The warrior brand makes equipment for ice hockey and lacrosse. Warrior throat guards are created to be easily used with the different types of lacrosse helmets and come in different colors.

  • STX

STX makes quality equipment for ice hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse, The STX throat guard for lacrosse is made of polycarbonate.

  • Cascade

Cascade makes lacrosse helmets and other lacrosse equipment for both women and men. Cascade throat guards are commonly used and come in different models.

Lacrosse helmet

The helmet’s purpose is to protect your neck, face, and head from injury during play. Lacrosse helmets are created to provide complete cranial protection and integrated with a facemask for protection.

In addition, it should protect you from high checks, hard shots and minimize the risk of spinal and head injuries. The helmets are of two categories: adult and youth.

Adult helmets

Players that wear an adult helmet are twelve years and above. If your head has a circumference of over 21.5 inches at the forehead, this qualifies you to wear an adult helmet.

The adult helmets include:

  • Cascade XRS

It has features such as a tri-liner system that protects you from impacts when hitting on your head. The Jaw deflection system provides ventilation to ensure you are relaxed and increases protection. It also has a vision system that increases visibility for players.

Furthermore, the vision bar has been designed to reduce the facemask in size to enhance visibility.

  • Cascade S

It has a Hard SPRfit that enables you to adjust your helmet to fit well on your noggin. It also has a tri- liner system with ventilation ports to make the helmet breathable.

In addition, the helmet uses Supermono S Shell and a tri-liner system to absorb impacts during play and keep you protected

  • Cascade CPX-R

The Cascade CPX-R helmet is very affordable compared to other helmets. It uses Cascade’s Seven liner Technology that releases energy upon impact. By doing this, as a player, you are protected and comfortable at the same time.

Furthermore, it uses a Hard SPRGE mechanism that allows you to adjust your helmets to fit you correctly.

Youth helmets

Players that use youth helmets are under twelve years and the forehead circumference is twenty-two inches or less.

The youth helmets include;

  • Warrior Burn helmet

It is a suitable type of helmet if you do not want to use a Cascade helmet. It is made of vinyl nitrate liner that is energy absorbing and polypropylene that allows expansion to help with the impacts.

Furthermore, it has pull-tab attachments to fit your head well for adjustment purposes.

  • Cascade CPV R

It is cheaper compared to other Cascade helmets. The helmet comes in different sizes and you cannot lack one that fits properly.

The R series shell and EPP liner system protect the head while playing and ensure you are comfortable.

In addition, it has an adjustable SPRfit system that ensures you change the fitting of the helmet if need be.

  • Cascade S

The Cascade S helmet for youth has an adjustable HardTail Sprfit that ensures your head fits appropriately. The XFLO ventilation ports and tri- liner system make the helmet breathable as you remain cool inside the helmet.

The helmet also uses a Supermono S shell and a tri- liner system to absorb impacts, this ensures that you remain protected despite what happens in the field.


How to attach the throat guard on a lacrosse helmet?

1. The STX throat guard

The STX throat guard does not require drilling into the lacrosse helmet. The only thing you need to do is attach the guard to the helmet using a screwdriver at the bottom and to the sides of the helmet.

2. The Cascade throat guard (TPC 2)

The Cascade TPC2 guard can be installed on your helmet using two methods. The first Includes using zip ties or shooting strings and the second is drilling the helmet.

a. Use of zip ties or shooting string

It is the easiest method of attaching a throat guard to a helmet.

You are supposed to remove the Cascade TPC2 drill pieces that have been attached to either side of the helmet. After that, connect the guard with the zip/string ties at the bottom and to the side.

The advantage of zipping/string tie is that the goalkeeper can remove it any time join the other players in playing.

One disadvantage of this method is that the guard tends to bounce and could snap off when the goalkeeper runs around.

b. Drilling the helmet

The installation of the throat guard through drilling is the most secure way though it is complex Using drilling to install the throat guard works on all Cascade helmets.

The following are the steps to follow when drilling:

Drill 3/8″ up from the chin or the middle of the front hole through the center marked “c” using a drill bit of 7/32″.

  • Drill the helmet side holes using the same drill bit. The location of the hole varies depending on the type of Cascade helmet. You can mark the spots using a ruler.
  • Use a screwdriver to connect the chin piece to the webbing.
  • The sides are connected using a screwdriver. Do not tighten the sides. The silver spacer is usually flush to the screw head.

After following these steps to install the throat guard, your helmet will be ready for use.

3. The warrior throat guard

The warrior throat guard for lacrosse is installed through the same two methods as Cascade TPC 2. The Warrior and Cascade brands allow personal customization if you cannot attach the guard yourself.

In conclusion, no equipment can prevent injuries; it only reduces the risk. Furthermore. lacrosse involves contact and the throat guard only reduces the risk of injuries. The best way to be safe is to play by the rules and remember your safety comes first.