LACROSSE HELMET

1 . A lacrosse helmet comprising:

a single-piece shell adapted to receive and protect the head of a wearer;

the shell having a front region, a crown region, a rear region, a left side region, a right side region, an inner surface and an outer surface;

a jaw protector attached to the shell and extending forwardly from the shell and adapted to cover and protect the lower jaw of the wearer;

a front molded pad nested within and against the inner surface of the shell in the front region to overlie a brow area of the head, the molded pad having an outer surface which conforms to the inner surface of the shell such that the front molded pad nests within the shell;

a lateral padding assembly attached to the inner surface of the shell in the rear region to at least partially overlie an occipital area of the head;

an inflatable occipital pad attached the inner surface of the shell in the rear region, the inflatable occipital pad being disposed between the inner surface of the shell and the lateral padding assembly;

a crown shock absorber attached to the inner surface of the shell in the crown region and associated with an inner crown liner positioned between the crown shock absorber and the head of the wearer;

a left jaw pad attached to the inner surface of the shell in the left side region to at least partially overlie an upper left jaw of the head;

a right jaw pad attached to the inner surface of the shell in the right side region to at least partially overlie an upper left jaw of the head;

a faceguard removably attached to the shell and jaw protector.

2 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the shell is composed of polycarbonate plastic or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic.

3 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the front molded pad comprises a core of elastomeric material with a first durometer laminated to an outer layer of elastomeric material with a second durometer.

4 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the lateral padding assembly is composed of a central lateral element and side lateral elements abutting the central lateral element.

5 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein

the inflatable occipital pad has a valve assembly for inflating the inflatable occipital pad,

the valve assembly extends through a hole in the shell, and

the inflatable occipital pad biases the central lateral element toward the head.

6 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein

the faceguard comprises a grid of a plurality of horizontal wire members, a plurality of vertical wire members, and a bottom wire member,

a left loop strap and a right loop strap attaches the bottom wire member to the removable jaw protector,

a first one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of each of the left loop strap, and

a second one of said plurality of vertical wire members is attached to the bottom wire member at a position forward of each of the right loop strap.

7 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein each of said right jaw pad and left jaw pad comprises a shock absorbing layer and a cushion layer, wherein the shock absorbing layer comprises a plurality of spaced-apart projecting hollow protrusions protruding from a base sheet, and the cushion layer is removably attached to the shock absorbing layer.

8 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the shock absorbing layer is comprised of thermoplastic urethane.

9 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein the shell has a thickness in the range of 0.11 inches to 0.13 inches.

10 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 3 wherein the first durometer (of the core) is greater than the second durometer (of the outer layer).

11 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 3 wherein the first durometer in the range of 37 to 43 on the Shore “C” scale and the second durometer is in the range of 35 to 40 on the Shore “C” scale.

12 . The lacrosse helmet of claim 1 wherein a removable comfort pad lines the inner surface of the front molded pad.