Neck Protection

A neck collar is a padded, horseshoe-shaped support worn around the neck, beneath the helmet’s lower edge. It limits how far the head can tip sideways and backwards, and takes some cornering strain off tired neck muscles. The range holds collars covered in flame-resistant aramid or a hard-wearing woven fabric, in small and large sizes.

A collar works as a stop. When the helmet rim meets the foam, the collar resists further movement and trims the extremes of sideways and backward head travel. It does not tie the helmet to the body, so it cannot control the forward whip of the head in a frontal crash. That is the job of a frontal head restraint, which many car series require and which a collar cannot replace.

Choose by use and fit:

• Cover fabric: aramid collars suit car racing, where fire is a risk and the rest of the kit is flame-resistant too. Collars in hard-wearing woven fabric suit karting, where abrasion, dirt and weather matter more than fire.
• Size: small or large. The collar should rest on the shoulders and meet the helmet rim without pushing the helmet up or pressing on the throat.
• Colour: black, red and blue, to match suit and helmet.
• Compatibility: a frontal head restraint sits on the shoulders where a collar would, so the two do not usually go together; follow the restraint maker’s advice.

Try the collar with your helmet on and the harness done up. Turn your head fully each way to check that you can still see your mirrors and through the corners, and that the collar does not lift the shoulder straps. Clean the cover as its label directs. Replace the collar once the foam has packed down, as a flattened collar stops the head later.