Protective athletic headwear with open top

1. A protective insert to be received into a pocket of a protective athletic headwear, the protective insert comprising:

a hard outer layer comprising an arrangement of first openings to enable flexing of the hard outer layer to decelerate an impact to the protective insert;

at least one pliable middle layer comprising at least one arrangement of second openings;

a pliable inner layer configured to provide cushioning; and

wherein the hard outer layer, the at least one pliable middle layer and the pliable inner layer are sealed such that the second openings form sealed air pockets to absorb and distribute the impact to the outer layer about the at least one protective insert.

2. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the outer layer is made of a thermoplastic.

3. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pliable middle layer is made of a rubber or an elastomer.

4. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the inner layer is made of a rubber or an elastomer.

5. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the first openings include a plurality of spaced apart slits.

6. The protective insert of claim 5 , wherein a width of at least one slit of the plurality of spaced apart slits is from about ⅛ of inch to about ⅜ of an inch.

7. The protective insert of claim 5 , wherein a spacing between a first slit and a second slit of the plurality of spaced apart slits is from about 1/8 of inch to about ½ of an inch.

8. The protective insert of claim 5 , wherein a spacing from an edge of the hard outer layer to a slit of the plurality of spaced apart slits is from about ⅛ of inch to about ½ of an inch.

9. The protective insert of claim 1 , further comprising an engagement device extending from the hard outer layer to couple the protective insert via a linking element to a facemask.

10. The protective insert of claim 9 , wherein the engagement device is a hook.

11. The protective insert of claim 10 , wherein the linking element is a flexible band to engage a frame member or a strap member of the facemask to the hook.

12. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the protective insert has a triangular shape.

13. The protective insert of claim 12 , wherein the protective insert is truncated below a vertex of the triangular shape to provide a plane approximately parallel to a base of the triangular shape.

14. The protective insert of claim 13 , wherein the protective insert is curvilinear in one or more of a vertical dimension and a horizontal dimension.

15. The protective insert of claim 14 , wherein a curvature of the protective insert in the vertical dimension is generally uniform.

16. The protective insert of claim 14 , wherein a curvature in the horizontal dimension includes a plurality of portions extending from the base to the plane of the triangular shape, each portion having a different radius.

17. The protective insert of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of portions decreases in radius from the base to the plane of the triangular shape.

18. The protective insert of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pliable middle layer comprises:

a first layer having a first arrangement of third openings; and

a second layer having a second arrangement of fourth openings, wherein the second arrangement alternates with the first arrangement, such that the third openings and the fourth openings are approximately non-overlapping and cover a substantial portion of the at least one protective insert.