Our testing method involved a limited sample size and a random way of selecting the helmets.

Marketplace got an old-timers team to give up some of their helmets. We collected helmets from young players too. And we also purchased some second-hand helmets and some brand new helmets right off the shelf.

Marketplace took the helmets to a leading expert on helmet safety at the Southern Impact Research Centre in Knoxville Tennessee.

We wanted two tests. First, we wanted to know how the Canadian hockey helmet standard measures up to standards for other sports helmets. And second, we wanted to know how helmet safety is affected by the repeated use of the helmet and by the passage of time.

While the helmets were tested using accepted protocols, the results can't be considered statististically significant; that is, they don't suggest that one particular helmet is superior to another. We are reporting the results to tell you what we learned, not how to shop.

FIELD LACROSSE STANDARD

Passing helmets:

USED
The two used helmet that passed the Lacrosse Standard test were nearly-new CCM helmets we collected from children. Their age and the light treatment these helmets received in kids' minor hockey could explain their superior performance in the tests (we can't tell you whether your kids' helmet would have passed - even if it was the same model).

Even so, the results do suggest that it's possible to make a practical hockey helmet that attains the higher safety standard.

NEXT: Hockey helmet warranties »

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