CHEEK FLAPS

It isn’t possible for these products to meet NOCSAE’s standard for face protection.

Cheek Flaps

Cheek flaps cannot pass testing to the NOCSAE faceguard standard because cheek flaps don’t cover areas over the face that are impacted during certification testing. The standard requires these impacts over areas that include the eyes, nose, and more.

  • There is no cheek flap standard (by NOCSAE or any other organization).
  • NOCSAE’s faceguard standard requires coverage and protection of the entire face, including the eyes, mouth, nose, and jaw.

Safety Concepts

  • Cheek flaps DO NOT protect a batter’s eyes, nose, chin, or most of the mouth.
  • Faceguards that meet NOCSAE standards provide more protective coverage than cheek flap products.

Cheek Flaps—Whether Separate or Pre-Attached

Many manufacturers sell cheek flap products for baseball and softball batting helmets that cover a portion of the cheek and jaw. These products are available both as separate accessories and as factory-attached features of newer helmets.

 

Factory-Attached Cheek Flaps

  • NOCSAE’s batting helmet performance standard is for the helmet only and does not apply to any cheek flap.
  • SEI does not certify cheek flaps.
  • SEI certified helmets that come with an attached cheek flap will have NOCSAE’s mark, but the certification mark does not include the attached cheek flap.

 

When a new batter’s helmet is sold with a manufacturer’s cheek flap attached, the certification of compliance to NOCSAE standards does not include the cheek flap.

    Two Standards to Protect the Face and the Head

    NOCSAE has a batting helmet standard and a batting helmet faceguard standard. These 2 standards are related—but still separate.

    Here’s how the 2 standards are related:

      • A faceguard must be SEI certified to each helmet model for which it will be used.
      • In many cases a batter’s helmet faceguard is SEI certified for use with more than one helmet model.
      • A batter’s helmet is first SEI certified compliant with NOCSAE standard ND022  —without a faceguard—and then the faceguard is tested for compliance to ND072.
    Batter with bat swung back, getting ready for pitch.
    Two young women baseball players during a play. Batter slides in to the plate, Baseman misses the throw and the runner is safe. The runner is wearing a blue batter helmet with a faceguard attached.

    NOCSAE Faceguard Pass/Fail Test Threshold

    NOCSAE’s faceguard standard prohibits any part of the faceguard from touching the eye area during testing impacts. The standard also prohibits any structural portion of the faceguard from touching the rest of the face area including the mouth and nose. SEI certification testing will fail a faceguard model if it allows any prohibited touching. This pass/fail test threshold is a requirement of all NOCSAE faceguard standards, including

     

    Cheek Flaps Are Helmet Add-On Products

    As with almost all accessories added on to SEI certified helmets, cheek flaps change the original certified configuration of the batter helmet model. It’s possible an add-on can change the way a helmet model “works” or performs.

    Altering a certified helmet model configuration with an add-on product may create a situation where the helmet manufacturer could choose to void the certification of compliance with NOCSAE’s helmet standard. This is because the addition of an accessory product creates a new and untested helmet model, as “model” is defined by NOCSAE standards.