The Reebok 366K

Concluding my post, "Modifying The Reebok 3K L", here is the final result of my modification; an exact replica of Teemu Selanne's famous JOFA 366 lid with soft ear loops and Oakley straight visor, uniquely branded by Reebok.

The helmet really turned out nice. Greg, who funded this project, was very pleased. He told me he will only be wearing the helmet during practice and stick time; worrying about those loose cannon players out there. I can't blame him, this helmet ain't cheap, and you most definitely can't replace it easily.

I really liked the labeling on this helmet. You might not be able to read it clearly, but the sticker at the top says, "Reebok - Powered By JOFA"; how cool. I'm glad Reebok is giving JOFA's original designers some credit. One strange thing about this helmet is that it is not certified by either HECC or CSA. I guess this is why this helmet is only sold in Europe.

I sure hope Greg gets some attention with this helmet; it is sure to have hockey equipment aficionados perplexed. I guarantee there is not another player in the world rocking this lid; other than Selanne that is!

Modifying The Reebok 3K L

Recently, one of my readers, Greg, commented on my post "Modifying The JOFA 390", suggesting that I modify his Reebok 3K L (large) for a fee. It sounded good to me; I thought it would give me the chance to check out the new Reebok version of the JOFA 390, while also co-creating a one of a kind helmet. Greg also asked me if I could take some process photos and send them to him, so I did. Anyways, I thought I'd share these photos with the world, giving you readers out there an idea of what the process looks like, as well as showcase Greg's new "Reebok 366K" helmet.

The first step is disassembling the helmet. I kept the front part wrapped up to prevent scratches while separated. Notice the Reebok branding; Greg said he ordered this helmet from the UK, which made me kind of nervous doing this mod, as this model would not be easily replaced if I were to make a mistake.

Next, I drilled and pried out the rivets that hold the padding inside the helmet. The picture shows the parts side by side, with a little pile of broken rivets in the middle. Fortunately, I was able to remove the rivets with no problem, leaving the holes nice and clean without any "blowout".

This picture shows the bare part, ready for modification. By isolating this part of the helmet, it makes it much easier to handle and work on during the process. The front part is untouched, as it does not require modification.

Using painters tape as a drawing surface, I traced a template I made from an actual JOFA 366 on both sides of the helmet. This way, I can be sure that the sides are nice and symmetrical.

With the cut lines laid out, I then go ahead and cut along them with an X-ACTO knife. I remove the bottom half of the tape to indicate the area that is being removed; leaving the top half covered with tape to preserve a nice line to scribe across, while also serving as a layer of protection from handling and cutting.

The next step is fully scribing and sanding the new ear contours, as shown above. Also shown is the removed ear protection laying next to the part.

This picture shows the finished part after detail sanding; where all the rough edges have been sanded away, producing what is apparently the original manufactured part.

The ear loops take a little modification as well. Here's a look at them before installation.

After rounding up the appropriate hardware, and trimming the padding to fit, I am then ready to finish the modification. This picture shows the helmet without a chinstrap because the picture was taken before I received the part. The only thing left to do is re-assemble the helmet, install the visor, and trim the chinstrap. Check out my next post for the final product. I'm really happy about the way this helmet turned out; and so was Greg!

The JOFA 390 Jaromir Jagr Edition

Following up on my previous post "Jaromir Jagr's JOFA Helmets", I decided to show some pictures of my JOFA 390 Jaromir Jagr Edition helmet. These pictures should give you a better look at Jagr's helmet, as it is difficult to get any high-resolution photographs of his old lid. This version of the JOFA 390 is an exact replica of the helmet Jagr wore during his best seasons in the NHL. This helmet is currently up for bidding on eBay, shipping worldwide.

Notice in this close up the visor mounts. I installed the visor pro spec, where the visor is bolted on both sides. The stock visors swing up and is held down with snap straps and J-hooks; similar to a full cage. The visor is an Itech HLC Deluxe, a beefed up version of the old HLC. Although it is not the same exact model that Jagr used, I think it's better; the logo has Penguin's gold lettering on black, and of course, the visor is brand new. It's virtually impossible to find a brand new Itech 3 point visor without modern Bauer branding. The installment on this visor was a very difficult project; I found the only way to mount it securely is to remove the front part of the helmet, install the visor, and then re-assemble the helmet.

Another thing that makes this helmet unique is its condition; this is the only new, old logo branded JOFA 390 I have ever come across. I'm happy to have found one in this condition, but I feel obliged to sell it; I'll let someone else go scuff it up!