When was the last time that you saw a clear shell Chicago Bears helmet? If your answer is "never" you are not alone. This helmet was produced in 1986 for the Chicago Bears.  The Kineomatic model was produced in 1986 shortly after the Bears won the Super Bowl against the Patriots. By the mid 1980s, MaxPro had switched their interior padding on their Kineomatic line to vinyl coated padding rather than the popular leather wrapped padding that was used for more than a decade - back to the Marietta helmets of the early 1970s. The vinyl coated padding was in use with other helmet manufacturing companies due to lighter weight as well as the cost of the interior padding.  

Clear shell football helmets have been around for more than 80 years.  It seems that every major football helmet manufacturer has produced clear shell helmets at one time or another.  Today, they are rare, highly collectible and bring top dollar with serious collectors. The clear shell helmet has the logos, size/brand labels, striping, and paint - under the shell - unlike conventional helmets with the exterior painted and decals/striping applied over the exterior paint.  The idea was that the paint and any logos and/or striping would be protected by the shell, keeping the helmet paint and logos in undamaged conditon from game wear.  

The period of these helmets that is most desired by collectors is the mid 1960's through the mid 1980's, due to the logos used and "displayed" under the helmet shells. NFL teams and college teams alike used the Marietta and later MaxPro Kineomatic model helmets, with superstars of both preferring to wear them due to the fully padded interiors.  These helmets were, and are today, a bit brittle and prone to cracking - especially at the facemask mounts.  This helmet is an exception.  The helmet has no cracking at any of the facemask mounts and remains in excellent condition.  Yes as far as cracking, this helmet is a rarity - it is perfect. 

The other issue with the clear shell models was the paint.  Some of the helmets had some paint issues with the paint not properly adhering to the shell, which is a bit more prominent with white, silver and gold colored helmets.  Additionally, as the paint was sprayed on the inside of the helmet, some helmets exhibit light paint coatings and inconsistent paint thicknesses.  Internal paint wear or scratches resulted in a clear spot on the helmet rather than a molded base color or primer spot on the exterior.  Lastly, since the outside of the helmet is clear, it had tendency to yellow over time or with exposure to light - resulting in a different shade of color than a teammate's conventionally painted helmet. This helmet has no major paint issues at all - some spots on the insides of the logos of light paint but nothing out of the ordinary with all clear shell helmets.  

This beautiful helmet is complete except for the chinstrap.  The helmet itself is all original and unaltered in any manner.  The padding is original, including the MaxPro vinyl jaw pads, in near perfect/mint condition with no visible wear or issues.  The helmet padding is complete except for one of the three crown padding inserts.  The logos are perfect and colorful, properly positioned with no issues.  The helmet is a highly desired size large - 7 3/8.  The facemask is an original Schutt NOP Green Dot sized, dated 1984, secured to the helmet with the original Schutt 1984 clear clips along with the original hardware.  There are two factory labels on the rear of the helmet - under the shell of course - the Warning label on the right side of the helemt and the MaxPro helmet name on the rear left side.  Finally, there are two factory labels, one on each side of the helmet interior with the 1986 factory date code written on each label. When we purchased the helmet, the rear padding was loose from the helmet. The velcro that was on the bottom rear of the shell had been pulled from the shell along with some paint at the left side of the warning label - easily repaired. 

A great, beautiful, very rare MaxPro clear shell helmet - bright and beautiful logos, mask, and padding, no cracking, and in a size LARGE, just as nice as it left the factory nearly 40 years ago.  Don't wait on this one.