Is the GM Purist GEO II helmet good value cricket batting gear?

The Gunn & Moore Purist GEO II helmet is a great value helmet at an entry level price and offers high-quality features. It retails for about £70 in the UK on GM’s website and you can find it at major US cricket retailers for about $70. If you don’t want to deal with shipping minimums and paid returns, the helmet is also available on Amazon.

Personally, I bought it for only $65 from Crickworld on eBay with a coupon offer. If you can get it for under $100, the value is fantastic for the price, especially in terms of its weight, as I’ll discuss below.

How much does the GM Purist GEO II helmet weigh?

Although the GM Purist GEO II has a steel grill, somehow my Senior size helmet only weighs 707 grams. I was actually stunned by what the scale said. More expensive cricket helmets are usually more lightweight because they use lighter and costlier materials such as titanium.

To put 707 grams into context, Beulah’s (Small) Shrey Koroyd cricket helmet that costs $300 more and has a titanium grill plus fancy vent technology weighs 730+ grams. We also weighed our Forma helmet (Small) that has a Kookburra titanium grill, and that weighed 730+ grams.

So GM worked some absolute magic with the GM Purist GEO II, on a budget, with the shell and EPS (polystyrene) liner. Part of this might be thanks to the vents in the shell. It has multiple linear cutouts that both lower the weight and allow exceptional breathability during long innings.

Is the cricket helmet safe during batting?

Despite being lightweight, this batting helmet doesn’t compromise on safety. It meets BS7928:2013 specification, AKA, the British Standard for cricket head protectors.

The “geodesic” grill is actually where the GEO helmet line gets its name. The uniquely shaped steel grill provides optimal impact resistance from all angles and sides. We tested to see if a men’s ball or the smaller women’s ball can fit through anywhere, and there’s no way it can penetrate the grill from any angle.

Just a head’s up that the Senior Large size is certified against adult cricket balls, but not the even smaller youth-size cricket balls.

Is the GM Purist GEO II helmet adjustable to different head sizes?

The GM Purist GEO II cricket helmet actually has an adjustable size dial. It’s something I’d expect to see on a pricier cricket helmet, like the Shrey Koroyd, but not a helmet that I bought for under $75.

I twist the wheel on the back to shrink the helmet to the exact perfect fit. The Senior size fits heads that measure 540mm to 590mm. It’s just a tad too big for me, but with a few cranks of the size dial, it locks down on my head. If you need even more room, the Senior Large fits head sizes 580mm to 620mm.

To be fair, the size adjuster doesn’t offer as fine of adjustments as the Shrey Koroyd Helmet that Beulah wears. However, I feel that for my level of play, it’s more than good enough, and finally allows me to bat without my helmet drooping in front of my eyes.

What I didn’t like about this batting helmet.

This budget GM cricket helmet definitely isn’t perfect. Buckling the chin-strap is a two-handed affair because the buckle is pretty tight/stiff. I prefer to just fully expand the helmet, and slip it off from the back during drink breaks.

Another thing: the screws on the side of the GM Purist GEO II cricket helmet made me think the grill can move, but they literally do nothing.

Finally, the unique notch/cut-out in the back is negated by the size adjuster. I initially got this helmet for wicketkeeping because the cutout reminded me of the one on WK helmets (which are expensive and hard to find). Unfortunately, the size adjuster negates the potential benefit of the cutout and I’m not really sure why it’s there.