White helmet
Black helmet
Many years ago, I wondered how the color of a helmet affected player health/comfort.
We had black helmets, but I had some old white shells (and some black shells) in the storage shed.
During a nasty August heat wave, I filled 10 x 250mL beakers with water and allowed them to sit outside overnight.
I then placed the 10 helmets (5 white, 5 black) in a row behind the endzone out of harm’s way. I alternated the helmets black, white, black, white, etc.
One water-filled 250mL beaker was set underneath each helmet. A thermometer was thrust through a hole drilled in each helmet shell with the thermometer bulb suspended in the water.
At 7:00 am, all temperatures read 82 F +/- 1 degree.
The peak temperature that day was 101 F
By 4:00 pm, the average temperature of the water in each white helmet was 86 F, while the average temperature of the water in each black helmet was
91 F.
After that season, I switched to white helmets.
