After discussing Denis Savard's JOFA 266 helmet, I found it appropriate to follow up with an overview of the JOFA 290. This helmet emerged after the JOFA 280, and was worn nearly exclusively by European players. You may tell from the photos, the JOFA 290 was a popular choice amongst international competition, especially Scandinavian teams, during the early 1990's.
Notice above that Selanne's helmet has a different front piece than that of his famous JOFA 366 (JOFA 390 without ear protection), where the JOFA 290 has an "Armadillo" pattern on his forehead rather than the styled intakes of the later produced JOFA 366/390.
Here we have the JOFA 290 being worn by Niklas Lidstrom playing for Team Sweden, and Mats Sundin playing for Djurgårdens IF(black and white), early in their careers around 1990-92.
The visor that Selanne, Lidstrom, and Sundin are using is the JOFA 995 visor. As I made note of this before, the JOFA 995 is the only visor that fits the JOFA 290-390 helmets without modification including the addition of custom mounting points.
The blue JOFA 290 helmet above is outfitted with a JOFA 267 cage, which was specifically designed for goaltenders. This image also reveals the sizing specifications, 290SR 6-3/4 - 7-3/8, which is identical to that of the JOFA 390 helmet.
Tommy Soderstrom, one of the finest goaltenders to come out of Sweden, wore this JOFA 298/267 combo during most of his career. Notice the photo of him playing for the Flyers looks as though he has stretched the cage out at the sides. I have not yet found a skater that has worn the JOFA 298 in the NHL; it seems that, given the choice, the pros preferred the JOFA 366 and 390 helmets.
Today, the JOFA 290 is still being sold, well kinda. Reebok manufactures a junior helmet sharing styling traits with the JOFA 290, sold in Europe as the Reebok 1K. Notice that the foam padding looks like styrene with mesh padding adhered to it, not the same as JOFA's traditional dual density, soft foam padding found in nearly all their helmets.
Not sure if you're still monitoring this blog, but I am HUGE Jofa fan. I have an original black 390 helmet and 290 visor.
ReplyDeleteNice! Glad to hear that! I plan on adding more soon...
DeleteI just found this site and I love it. I have been modifying 390's for a couple years now and I am thinking of doing a 290. I am just worried about regretting it afterwards. I can find tons of 390's but a great condition 290 is a bit more rare.
Deletehttp://www.salshockeyautographs.com/2007/08/zdeno-ciger.html
ReplyDeleteSlovakian Zdeno Ciger is your man with the helmet.
can you send me somehow the exact template size or delineate on paper with the distances.. that would be great. i will try to do a mod. soon..
ReplyDeleteSo... I just bought the Söderström helmet with the streatched cage in Umeå. The wide cage is not Jofa's, it's a Torspo product (Swedish back in the days right?). Mail me if you want more info and pictures of it: thomas.sunhede AT gmail.
ReplyDeleteDobrý deň. Rád by som zakúpil klietku akú nosil Tommy Soderstrom. Neviem ju nikde nájsť. Viete mi nejako poradiť?
ReplyDeleteAno, vím.Bohužel se vyrábí pouze na zakázku v Minesotě v USA cena 225$.Výroba trvá 3-4 týdny. Gugli: olympia composites . Vyrábí retro masky, helmy i mřížky.
Deleteolympia composites
DeleteDej si text do angličtiny abys měl správný název té firmy, která to vyrábí a její výrobky si můžeš prohlédnout.
Deletehello, do you know what the difference is between the 895 and 995 visor? I saw an 895 visor on ebay and was wondering if it would fit my Jofa 390 helmet?
ReplyDeleteThe smaller model, is named 295-jr i belive.
ReplyDeleteOnly difference is the padding, shell is identical.
Delete"The blue JOFA 290 helmet above is outfitted with a JOFA 267 cage" - That's a 278 cage. The two center bars are not flared at the top like a 267.
ReplyDeleteSoderstrom used a 290, not a 298. The sticker is actually clearly visible in some pictures.