This helm was made for a fellow who is a member of the Adrian Empire. A live steel re-enactment group. Their rule is that you can't have an opening any larger than 3/4ths of an inch. This fairly standard helm therefore has a perforated grid of steel inserted into the eyeslot.
Fortunately, when the grid is placed really close to the eyes, it sort of blurs out, and believe it or not, you can see out of this helm, and not too bad either! The nice thing about it, of course, is that if there is not quite enough visibility, the client can drill more holes....the basic helm is strong enough to handle it.
Some folks have asked about the breathing holes....like, are they actually enough? Well, obviously, 10 half inch holes are bigger than your trachea, so you know the air will get down there, the problem is that a little cloud of exhaled carbon dioxide sits in front of your mouth, and gives your body the signal "hey, I can't get enough air!" Like most everything else about the martial arts, it is something you just have to get used to! It is actually no worse than snorkeling, and people overcome THAT with little problem.
But again, this face plate is a full 14 gauge, and is plenty tough enough to take more holes if the client wants to drill them.
