Abstract: A faceguard to be mounted on a football helmet which greatly reduces the ability of an opposing player to penetrate the exterior surface of the faceguard and grasp, with his/her hands, the faceguard and rotate the wearer's head in such a way as to cause injury to the wearer's head, neck, or spine. Furthermore, the faceguard will accomplish the above stated while still providing appropriate ventilation for the wearer and allow the wearer to receive water from a standard squeeze type sports water bottle. The faceguard is provided with a flush elastomeric mounting bushing to make the faceguard simpler to manufacture and easier and less awkward to mount to a football helmet. The flush elastomeric mounting bushing provides shock absorption between the faceguard and the helmet at the mounting points.

Abstract: A substantially noiseless fastening system for a carrying pack includes a flap attached to the shell of the carrying pack along one edge of the flap, a fastener button attached to the flap near a second edge of the flap, and a button receiver attached to the shell. The button receiver has a tapered interference fit slot terminating in a notch for receiving the fastener button, the slot narrowing towards the edge of the flap attached to the shell. The fastening system also includes a pouch attached to the shell, a locking channel attached to the pouch, and a locking groove attached to the shell. The pouch has an edge that forms an opening between the pouch and the shell, and the locking channel engages the locking groove in an interference fit to close the opening.