It may not seem very important when it comes to playing football, but learning how to properly put a chin strap onto a football helmet can help prevent injury and make things more comfortable while playing.
The chin strap is a very important part of a football helmet. It’s designed to be flexible and comfortable, while also being strong enough to take the impact of a tackle and not break or come apart. It attaches to the helmet via buttons, similar to those found on some types of denim pants, and wraps underneath your chin to help hold the helmet on to your head.
It’s extremely important to have the helmet chin strap properly fitted as it can cause injury if it’s too loose. If not adjusted properly the helmet could come dislodged from your head which can lead to a head injury if it comes off during a play. It can also cause the helmet to move around while on your head, which can lead to the helmet itself causing injury to you when hit.
Your football helmet is the only line of defense when protecting your head on the field of play so it’s imperative that you wear it properly. Keeping the chin strap attached, and attached properly, is how you keep the helmet from falling off your head. It’s also important to make sure you have the right size helmet in general as you don’t want the helmet to move around while on your head, and you don’t want space between the helmet pads and your head.
Safety is the most important thing when it comes to playing a contact sport, so let’s take a look at how to be sure your helmet strap is properly attached and sized to your football helmet.
Properly Attach a Chin Strap to a Football Helmet
While installing the chin strap onto your football helmet may seem like common sense, it’s important to make sure everything is sized correctly and fits well before going out onto the field.
The first thing you want to do is place your helmet on your head and make sure it fits snug.
When it comes to attaching the snaps to the helmet, you’ll want to attach the top snaps on both sides first. But make sure that the straps are going underneath the helmet face guard before they attach to the snaps. This will help keep the snaps in place and prevent them from accidentally getting pulled out while on the field.
Once the top snaps are in place, hold the chin strap cup up to your chin so that it’s snug and centered. You’ll probably need two people to help with this part.
After you’ve got the chin cup positioned properly under your chin, you can buckle the bottom snaps on either side and begin your resizing.
You want to resize both the tops and the bottom straps so that they have an equal amount of tension throughout as this is what will keep the chin cup centered under your chin where it’s supposed to be.
If you’re trying to make these adjustments on your own, you can remove the helmet and make the adjustments that you think will help, and then place the helmet back on your head.
When you’ve got the helmet straps in a position where they feel tight and comfortable, you can unbuckle the bottom snaps and remove the helmet.
The top snaps should remain snapped at all times with only the bottom ones being unsnapped when you’d like to remove the helmet. Since the straps are laced up through the inside of the face mask it would be hard to remove them in the first place, but keeping them snapped just ensures that you won’t accidentally lose the straps or forget to put the chin guard on when you re-enter the game.
The chin strap on a
football helmet is just as important as the helmet itself. It prevents the helmet from falling off during a game and helps prevent it from moving around when you get hit.
Make sure that you have the correct size and fit for your chin strap before entering into any contact sport as an improperly fitted helmet can result in serious injury.
