JOFA Helmets | Halos of Hockey

Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Selanne, Savard, Sundin, Forsberg, Fleury, Kurri, Housley, Palffy, Salming and Stastny are some of the NHL greats who have worn the JOFA emblem proudly upon their foreheads during some of the highest scoring and most important seasons and careers in NHL history. This blog discusses the JOFA helmet, the different models, who men who wore them, their significance, where to buy and sell them, how to fix and modify them, and why they are icons of hockey excellence.

May 3, 2011

The JOFA 366


The JOFA 366 helmet is the pro stock model of the JOFA 390 helmet, worn most notably by Mario Lemieux, Teemu Selanne, Denis Savard, Theo Fleury, Phil Housley, Pat Verbeek, Vincent Damphousse, and Alexandre Daigle. The difference is subtle, but it makes a huge difference in the helmet's look as well as comfort. If you haven't already noticed, the ear protection is absent. This may have been a suggestion from Mario Lemieux to JOFA's designers, or could have it been a coincidence that it was dubbed the JOFA 3"66" - Mario Lemieux's number? This removal of the solid ear protection found in the Jofa 390 replaced with ear loops turns what used to be a bowling ball into a sports car of a helmet.


The sculpted intakes mimic that of a Ferrari or some other exotic car; and these helmets are just about as rare too! These helmets are next to impossible to obtain in the states.


Teemu Selanne, a known motorsport enthusiast, rocks his JOFA 366's with an Oakley straight visor, making it look more like a motorcycle helmet. Also, notice Selanne's mod to the ear loops, as he replaced the plastic ones for a more comfortable rubber ear loop, like those found on about every other brand of helmet. This may be a modification, but it could also be a different variation of the JOFA 366; research has found that pros have worn the JOFA 366 in a variety of ear loop styles. The JOFA 390's ear protection touches your ears and reduces your ability to hear, the JOFA 366 is the solution to that.


So if you ever thought your JOFA 390 helmet looked slightly off and a little awkward compared to how the pro's JOFA helmets looked; you're right. It is possible to modify a Jofa 390, however it voids HECC and CSA certification. If you are in a men's league or a professional, it might be possible to get away with. So if you're a kid getting a hand-me-down, don't start cutting into it until you're older, until then it will be a waste of a perfectly fine helmet; and do yourself a favor and leave the certification stickers on regardless of how lame they are.   


To avoid doing a botch job imitation of Selanne or Jagr's helmet, do some research first; I plan on eventually posting some guidelines and advice on how to install a visor properly on these helmets so no one else ends up wearing some dangerous contraption like the one above.  


Here's an image of Pat Verbeek wearing a JOFA 366 helmet, notice how his visor turns up to accommodate the helmet's screw mounts.  This is the JOFA 995 visor made specifically for the JOFA 290-390 helmets; it doesn't seem that they would fit on any other helmet.  JOFA helmets were not designed to accept second party visors (Itech, Bauer, 1Xcel, Oakley), and to correctly install them takes a bit of craftsmanship.  Just check the difference of installation between Selanne's visor and Verbeek's.  


Aside from Selanne's modern Oakley visor, the difference is that Selanne removed the rivet in front of the ear, and added an extra hole above that to securely mount the visor.  During Selanne's early years in the NHL, he mounted his helmet with a horizontal screw configuration on the front piece of the helmet, which also works, but is likely less durable and secure.


Either way, Selanne seems to have been customizing his helmets for quite some time.  The JOFA 366 is a sweet helmet without the visor, but theres something awesome about rocking a visor on these helmets.


This last image dipicts Swedish player, Kjell Samuelsson playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, and his JOFA 366 with a 1Xcel visor. His visor is mounted the same as Selanne does his modern Oakley visor today; Selanne has also used a 1Xcel visor during his career, where he today uses the same modified visor mounting holes for his Oakley. Notice the yellow "1" logo on Selanne's visor below.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for starting the blog. I'm looking forward to future posts. Also, I'm looking forward to suggestions you may have to modify the ear protection of the Jofa 390. I have a Rbk 3k on the way from the UK and was hoping to do something about the ear protection. After I placed the order for the Rbk 3k a Jofa 366 popped up on ebay but I decided not to pick it up. I was surprised I saw one on there. Keep up the good work.

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  2. You're welcome! I plan on posting some pictures of my helmets eventually, and will discuss the different ways that you can modify them. By the way, I'm the one who bought that JOFA 366 on eBay you speak of! I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to future posts, so am I! Make sure you check up on old ones too, I will update old posts as I gather more pictures and info.

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  3. Once I found this blog I figured you may have been the guy that bought the helmet. Haha! I'm curious to hear about the shape that it's in. The pictures the seller posted were pretty blurry. Anyway, good find. If you know of anywhere else to pick up a 366 I'd love to know about it. Although I guess ebay is probably the best bet.

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  4. Yep, eBay is most definitely your best bet if you live in the states. The JOFA 366 I picked up is in pretty good condition, and doesn't smell at all (which was my first question to the seller). I wish it had the front "366" bumper, though. It has scratches from use, but no cracks, the ear loops are in great shape and everything is in nice working condition. I'm happy I now have a template to perfectly modify helmets in the future. The free JOFA 480L cage was a perk as well, I didn't expect the helmet being sold with a cage. I have recently replaced the chinstrap with a left over JOFA strap from a modified JOFA 390 (which the chin strap was cut off), and switched out one of the chin strap snaps for an old JOFA one from an old cage. The dual snaps on the chinstrap are awesome too. As you can tell I'm pretty happy about this find, I check eBay regularly and have not seen a true JOFA 366 pop up until recently.

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  5. Hi, Can Someone Tell me How much a Black Jofa 366 in 8.5/10 Condition (very light surface scratches) with original 366 bumper/chin strap and mint condition inner padding would be worth? Thank you in advance.

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  6. Hey Nick, before you rate the helmet based on surface scratches, really examine the metal parts. Do the rivets have any sort of green/white corrosion? Are all the screw backings in place (two on each side of the front piece, and two in the middle for mounting a cage)? Also check the condition, and originality, and originality of the chin strap and snaps. The condition of the JOFA paint is also important, more so than small surface scratches, which from my discovery, are evident on even brand new helmets, due to factory packaging and transport.

    Also, to my knowledge, there are 3 versions of the 366, one with yellow padding and leather ear loops and back and front bumpers. One with black padding and leather bumpers, but plastic ear loops. And one model, most popular as Selanne wears his today for example (minus ear loops!) where there are rubber bumpers and black padding.

    I would advise you to start the bidding on eBay for no less than US$50, no matter the condition. However, if helmet is truly brand new, start your bidding at US$80-$100.

    And for anyone who ever sells a helmet on eBay:

    CLEAN YOUR HELMET BEFORE YOU SELL IT!

    Not only is it nice for the customer that you cleaned your own dirt, dead skin and hair, but you can potentially sell it for more as the pictures will be that of a clean helmet!

    Disassemble the helmet, set the parts aside (taking note of where they went if you feel lthe need). Use room temp water to wash, NO SOAP, and air dry the parts by a fan, rotating the pieces throughout the day. Reassemble when dry, then take pictures and post!

    Hope this helps! But my advise to you, dust it off and keep it on your shelf! It will be more valuable with time!

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  7. Wow, first off thank you for the detailed reply! very appreciated. The helmet is black with a white rear bumper and a white 366 front bumper (all numbers full intact with no chips or scuffs) and black inner padding. The hardware on the helmet is in absolute mint condition, with no signs of corrosion, the mounting backings (visor mounts) and all of the rivets and screws look original and authentic, so do the chin strap and white snaps. The helmet looks like it might have been worn 3-4 times maximum, with no signs of wear on the inner padding, the paint is flawless, with a few minor surface scratches that look like they were caused when someone rested the helmet upside down or on its side, also there are VERY minor circular scratches that indicate someone had a visor mounted at one point. The 3 white jofa logs are all very much intact showing very little (grain of salt sized) paint chips. the ear loops are original black plastic, and the 6-3/4-7-3/8 sticker is in 100% original condition. I Would love to post some pictures of the helmet if someone can tell me how. thanks again for all of your help and for having such an incredible website.

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  8. just a great, great blog! greetings from austria

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  9. Glad you like the blog! I created it with readers like you in mind!

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  10. FYI THERE IS A BRAND NEW IN BAG "366 ORIGINAL" FOR SALE ON EBAY!

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  11. Thanks for telling me about this:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-VERY-RARE-JOFA-366-PRO-HELMET-MARIO-LEMIUEX-IN-ORIGINAL-BAG-HTF-/300826409989?pt=Vintage_Sports_Memorabilia&hash=item460aa6bc05

    Just a bit out of my price range! I usually look for deals where I could sell the helmet for more than I the purchase price. I've never seen a JOFA helmet listed for so much!

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  12. I posted my new black 366 on ebay for half of the 1000 one. its mint! lmk!

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  13. I just picked up a couple of 390's for my son and I for Pond Hockey because these helmets seem better than most current helmets. Ie the M11, which is all marketing hype.

    I think the int. padding is the perfect mix of cushion and firmness. Am I correct that the 390 is a "good" helmet?

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  14. I notice that the 390 I've seen don't have cage stops. Is this normal?

    I'm concerned about the cage getting rammed into the face.

    TC

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  15. Yes, the 390 is a good helmet! As a matter of fact, it's one of my favorites! However, it doesn't currently meet safety standards as the HECC and CSA stickers on the helmet are likely expired; which means you shouldn't let your son play in a league with the helmet and he might get flagged by officials. But if your son is playing pond hockey, the helmet is more than enough! He probably doesn't need a helmet, you guys aren't playing check hockey on the pond are you?!

    Also, I wouldn't worry about the "J" hooks to hold the cage if you're just playing on the pond. JOFA does make them and you can install other brands, but they are primarily for check hockey. My advise is to just wear a warm hat and a mouth guard! I would be more worried about wearing shin pads and gloves, but if you insist on wearing helmets, then what you got is perfectly safe!

    Have fun out there!

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  16. i am looking to sell a 366 in red color, a 366 in blue color and a NOS 397 in blue color (teemu's olympic choice)..
    feel free to contact me for pics and offers or special modifying recquests..
    zentagasse@gmail.com

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  17. How much are you asking for the 366 in blue?

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  18. Hello from 2020) it is still my favorite helmet yet)

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  19. I make and sell Selanne helmets. Anyone who wants to buy one hmu

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