# Skull cap or riding hat with peak - which is better?



## djlynwood (24 April 2008)

Im about to invest in a new hat. I quite like the Champion Ventair hats as they have done quite well in the safety tests. 

Im not sure whether to go for a skull or a hat with peak. What are the pros and cons of each?


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## CastleMouse (24 April 2008)

Depends if you intend to do quite a lot of XC and hunter trialling or not!


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## Asimmons (24 April 2008)

gatehouse HS1 skull...fab.


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## Box_Of_Frogs (24 April 2008)

Dunno about the rules and regs but for hacking I guess there's a lot of personal preference comes into it. Can't remember the make of my hat but it's lightweight, vented and peaked. Love it to bits and super comfy. I would say though that when I had a bad riding accident 2 years ago and landed on my face before heading to A&amp;E on a spinal board, I had a nasty, sore red band all around the front of my head where my (previous) hat was pushed into my face by the impact on the peak. Still prefer peaks though!


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## SpruceRI (24 April 2008)

Also depends how often you fall off and in what position?!!!

Having had a few falls where I've landed head down face first, I can say that flexible peaks aren't flexible enough for my liking and cause worse whiplash than a skull cap does.


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## Dressagebabe (24 April 2008)

If your a child or adolescent then you shouldn't really use a hat with a hard peak as the forehead is still fusing together and should you fall off then the peak can cause damage to the softer part of your forehead! However, I suspect you are a fully fledged adult and for this reason I would look at the injured jockey website as they give you all the star ratings on most brands &amp; models.


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## sunlover (24 April 2008)

Funnily enought I was pondering this today and wondering if I ought to get a hat with a fixed peak for my daughter (7) to wear whilst jumping - just in case she is too far forward over the fence and gets a sock in the face - or I could just let her learn from her mistakes......(ouch!)


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## Gorgeous George (25 April 2008)

I've been wondering about this, when I fell off George at the show I landed flat out and the peak of my hat pushed the hat into my head and I ended up with a very bruised forehead, but of course the peak could help prevent facial injuries - dilemma.


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## mariond (25 April 2008)

Thats what I like about the Dublin Onynx it has a removable peak allowing me to change it to a skull type for X country


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## peanut (25 April 2008)

I much prefer falling off in my velvet peaked hat than my skull type.  The thickness of the skull causes me a painful neck in the way that the thinner peaked doesn't.


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## Twizzel (25 April 2008)

I had both the peaked and skull Ventair hats. The peaked one is lovely, except I went XC schooling in it last September and fell off, landing on my head 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 The peak broke which isn't surprising.

I replaced the peaked version with the skull, and apart from appearance they both do exactly the same job, both have the same results. It depends what activity you will  be doing when you wear it... both hats have the same good results!!


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## Mattb125 (25 April 2008)

I just bought the AP McCoy racing skull cap.Its a fantastic hat for cross country offers lots of extra temple protection.Its pretty good value at £115 and you can choose your own cross country colours.


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## CastleMouse (25 April 2008)

About a year and a half ago I had quite a nasty fall out hunting with Castle... I landed face first onto a rock, and if it wasn't for the fixed peak on my hat my face and nose would've been f*cked! I'll try and find a photo of my hat afterwards... I got away with just a sore neck and a graze on my chin...


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## CastleMouse (25 April 2008)

My hat afterwards -


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