Of course, Doug, If you went real heavy you could still wear 7 armor plus the 1 life plus the 1 combat reflexes. 8 is always better than 7.
Just trying to tempt you there. I'd make a real heavy helm if it mattered. As a warrior with no restrictions it makes very little difference. 10 armor or 9 armor and 1 cr isn't any different. Course, statistically, 10 is probably better anyway, given it's evenly divisible by 2.
My posts in no way reflect that of anyone else nor are they in any way official.
Yeah, I ran into that same problem with my canine mask. It would be interesting to come up with something (I'm quite partial to the idea of a "turtle-skull" mask, myself) that would fit over the mask, but I don't know if I could come up with something without jeopardizing my visibility and I also don't think I could come up with something "Real" enough looking, either.
Mike: For the majority of you, choosing to use a packet instead of a weapon is a hindrance because your aims suck.