It’s a sunny day and you have some free time, so you decide to spend it in the best company, with your trusty steed riding on the trail or practicing your sport. Nothing can beat the gusts of air on your face, amazing scenery, and the bond between you and the horse.
The sun, however, might be too much on some of these otherwise leisurely days, especially during the harsh summer months. You know safety is the priority, and wearing a baseball cap definitely won’t protect you in the event of a fall.
A good helmet visor, an accessory that limits your face’s exposure to the sun, is a great way to keep you shaded without compromising on protection. In this comprehensive guide, we take a look at the best equestrian helmet visor you can find and shop for online.
The Best Equestrian Helmet Visor: Review and Guide
We’ve made an effort to check the quality of the products we recommend so you don’t have to. We’ve tested out the top helmet visors on the market today and ranked them according to their durability, color loss, sun protection index, how stable it is on the helmet, and the price/quality index.
In the following review, we’ll be taking a look at the best of the best, but keep in mind that even the best visor may be useless with some types of helmets, and you may have to consider buying a compatible helmet for your preferred equestrian helmet visor.
For this reason, we’ve broadened our ranking according to different people’s various needs and tried to cover as many scenarios as possible to help you find the right visor for you.
Without further ado, here are our results.
1. Intrepid International Equestrian Helmet Visor
It has a long velcro closing so you can adapt it to your helmet’s circumference, and a partially adhesive inner side to make sure the visor won’t slip off the helmet.
It won the ‘universality’ category because the fabric is of great quality, and after numerous washing and exposure to UV rays, it kept its color better than others in the category. The number one perk of the Intrepid visor was the size of the sun-guard, as it was the widest among all the visors we looked at.
The wide visor may seem a bit silly looking, but it will cover a much larger area and provide more shade than visors with smaller surface areas.
This equestrian helmet visor sticks out long in the front of the forehead to protect you when facing the sun and it also has wide side-guards to protect you from rays coming at you from side angles.
Specifications
- Size – 14 x 13 x 2”
- Materials – Cotton
- Color – Various one-color
- Size of helmets – 2X-small to 3X-large
- Type of helmets – Unrestricted (almost any)
Pros
- Very long and wide visor
- Machine washable
- Durable
- Doesn’t fade color easily
Cons
- The adhesive sometimes fails on some helmets
- Difficult to keep it when riding against the wind (produces strong resistance)
- Looks a bit goofy
2. Champion Man’s Father Visor
The product is 100% quality cotton and the visor part is wide at the x-axis (away from the forehead), it loops at the forehead length, so it doesn’t obstruct peripheral vision. The bill is also pre-curved which closes the visor towards the eyes, bringing more protection for less surface area. The visor is made of material that can be adjustable, so you can customize it a bit.
Other than the mentioned, the visor is pretty light, so you won’t feel much of a difference while wearing it, and it can be washed in a washing machine.
Specifications
- Size –N/A
- Materials – 100% Cotton
- Color – Black, Medium red, navy, white
- Size of helmets – 2X-small to X-large
- Type of helmets – Unrestricted (almost any)
Pros
- Universal visor that can fit some helmets
- 100% natural materials
- Fashionable
- Adjustable closure
- Adjustable visor
- Machine wash
Cons
- Can be very slippery on some helmets
- It doesn’t support larger helmets (above 24 inches)
- Doesn’t protect from the side
3. Pineapple & Star Vienna Visor
The Pineapple and Star Vienna visor is also packable and portable. It won’t take too much space during transportation. The wide sun-guard covers the whole angle of view, and that means your visor will protect you from the sun no matter where it is, and no matter where you are.
Finally, the braid polyester fabric allows free airflow while protecting you from the sun, so it will keep you protected from the heat more efficiently than other air-tight fabrics.
Specifications
- Size – 21.6’’-23.6’’ (4 1/7’’ brim)
- Materials – Paper braid and polyester
- Color – Beige, black (rim), grey, midnight black, natural, natural stardancer
- Size of helmets – 2X-small to medium
- Type of helmets – Unrestricted (almost any)
Pros
- Great protection from the sun
- Wide sun-guard
- Breathable
- Fashionable
- Foldable
Cons
- Can break easily
- The brim can obstruct the line of view
- Very easy to slip during strong winds
- Not great for winter
4. Core Vintage Open Face Helmet Visor Peak
There is actually a purchasable visor for these helmets that can be additionally installed. The company knows how important the line of view to the rider is, so they opted for keeping the visor smaller. With that in mind, this doesn’t mean there’s no protection from the sun.
The visor is positioned in just the right way to provide optimal protection against the sun in the most important moments. There’s also more freedom to move the head, lowering and tilting especially, because the visor doesn’t obstruct so much of the upper-front view.
It’s attached to the front of the helmet with three snap bubbles which can be moved horizontally (the side snap bubbles) and vertically (the central one). This means it can technically fit other helmets if they have the same snap-bubble places, but there are some that were willing to do a little tweaking to their existing helmets.
Specifications
- Size – 7.874 L x 10.16 H x 9.804 (package)
- Materials – Plastic
- Color – Black
- Size of helmets – One size for all
- Type of helmets – Core Vintage Open Face Helmet
Pros
- Very stable and durable
- Provides more area of sight
- Easy to put on and off
- Bang for your buck
Cons
- Only for a certain type of helmet
- Only one color
- Can’t protect from sunlight near the horizon
5. Ovation Helmet Visor Extreme
The visor is made of quality plastic and it perfectly fits the Ovation helmet. It can also be put on and taken off easily. There are some offers that provide the Ovation helmet along with the visor.
Ovation has really put an effort into designing this helmet visor. Some say it’s small, but it does its job for the most part.
Specifications
- Size – N/A
- Materials – Environment safe plastic
- Color – Black
- Helmet – Ovation
Pros
- Very durable
- Great for Ovation helmets
- Can be put on and off easily
Cons
- Very small
- Does not protect from sunlight at the horizon
Buyer’s Guide
Finding and purchasing an equestrian helmet visor is actually a decision on priorities and purpose. Once you know what your priorities are (comfort, nonslip, fashion, amount of sun protection, gender, rider age, etc) you’ll know what visor you need.
We’ve narrowed it down to a couple of situations, and this is our summary:
Best Universal Visor: Intrepid In. Equestrian Helmet Visor
There’s almost no helmet on which the Intrepid visor can’t fit. It has an adjustable closure and patented fabric on the inside that provides a good grip against most helmets, so it doesn’t slip.
The best thing about this visoris that it has the widest sun-guard that protects the whole face and 120 degrees angle of view (the side view, as well). Made of 100% cotton, it’s our recommendation for the vast majority of our readers.
Best Helmet Visor for Men: Champion’s Men’s Father Visor
Champion’s Father Visor for men seems like the best option if your helmet doesn’t have a circumference beyond 24 inches. It provides very good protection from the sunlight and it doesn’t restrict peripheral vision. The 100% cotton fabric allows it to be washed in a washing machine with no problems. You can also put it on and take it off the helmet easily.
Best Helmet for Women: Pineapple & Star Vienna Women’s visor
Made for romantic beach strolls, this stunningly fashionable visor can easily become your best friend during sunny summer gaits on your favorite horse. It’s very breathable and it has a great UV factor.
The very wide brim will protect not only your vision from blinding rays over the whole line of view, but it will also protect your face from the strongest sun rays. No more sunburns during riding.
Best Hard Visor: Core Vintage Open Face Helmet Visor
Using snap bubbles, this visor is intended for mounting on a Core Vintage open face helmet, but with a little research and adjustments, you may be able to add it to your helmet if you don’t already have a Core Vintage Open Face Helmet.
Best Short Plastic Helmet: Ovation Helmet Visor Extreme
Most people think of a short sun-guard in a visor as a disadvantage. The experienced riders know how to cherish a short visor because it doesn’t obstruct their line of sight. This is very important during fast riding, hunting, and horse-sports activities.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, our list for the best equestrian helmet visor! As you may have realized, it’s not always easy to pick from the visor assortment on the current market, but if you know what you’re looking for, you can always go for an option that’s proven universal, widely used, and has the most benefits.
We hope our guide has been instrumental in helping you find the right visor for your needs! If you’re interested in other horse-related product reviews and guides, feel free to check out some of our other articles before you go!