Motorcycle Helmet Performance: Blowing the Lid Off

[FJR-Voltron]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I have something I'd like to add.

I just read that Motorcyclist article for the first time, and I have to agree with them.

Being a former Army Aviator, I can remember when they were training us on our ALSE (Aviation Life Support Equipment) flight helmets. They were talking about how the human skull can only tolerate X amount of G's, and that the flight-helmets themselves had maximum G rating of around 160. Anything more than that, the brain would receive some serious damage from impacting the inside of the skull.

 

[Bounce]

when we see our favorite... NASCAR driver

that explains a lot

 

[SacramentoMike]

MM2 said it: "The BEST helmet anyone can get is the one that fits...so they wear it." Well, here in Cali we wear it anyway, since they don't give us a choice, and I hope you all do anyway, wherever you are, but comfort is critical, for my money. Snell doesn't rate, or even test, the "modular" or "flip up" style, but that's the only kind I'm interested in wearing. I really don't like the claustrophobic feeling I get inside a standard full face helmet, and I can barely get my Obama-style ears through the opening of any full face helmet that fits me, let alone getting sunglasses back on, etc. So when I saw the article linked in the first post (some years back), I felt much better about my choice to "risk it" with a non-Snell helmet. And I've got no complaints about my modular lid after earning the Crash Club icon you see below. Even Old Michael might agree, I'm guessing.

 

[jmdaniel]

I bought a Z1R after reading that article, and have been happy with the choice.

 

[old&slow]

I've read the article before ,,, rather interesting study ,, hopefully better helmets will results from it...

I've been lucky and have never crash tested a helmet,,,,

We have a rather large MC store near ,, and I think I have tried on about every brand helmet out there..

And I keep going back to the same brand , because it seems to fit my fat round head the best..

I wear a XXL Shoei RF1000 ...

My previous helmets have been the RF 200 ,,, RF 800 ,,, & RF 900 ..

I would prefer to pay less for a helmet ,,, but the Shoei seems to be the most comfortable and appears

to be a good quality helmet...

 

[k7lvo]

Very Extremely old news. Been discussed endlessly here on the forum and everyone has their own opinion and makes their decision based on that.

Folks, one little piece of info to add: SNELL has finally agreed with the rest of the world that their helmets transmit too much force. They are coming in line with DOT and ECE max g-force allowables. BUT NOT UNTIL 2010!

I understand that it will be known as SNELL 2010 spec. Too bad they waited so long.

Slardy

Cynic that I am, the manufacturers (who buy all those little Snell stickers) were probably launching new lines then, anyway... one hand - lives; other hand - $$ :angry2:

 

[Phugedaboudet]

I just test fitted helmets, talked with folks to see what they liked best. Venting performance on hot days and fog management inside (I wear glasses so have to de-fog them and the visor), noise, and weight. I ask people I know or if I see a rider with a helemt I'm considering, I ask them if possible. price or style is secondary. Magazines, for me, only start the investigation process into a product or purchase.

 

[Phugedaboudet]

seems like Shoei was the only game in town for my big head The fact the RF1000 was lighter and quieter than others I tried was a bonus.

I've read the article before ,,, rather interesting study ,, hopefully better helmets will results from it...
I've been lucky and have never crash tested a helmet,,,,

We have a rather large MC store near ,, and I think I have tried on about every brand helmet out there..

And I keep going back to the same brand , because it seems to fit my fat round head the best..

I wear a XXL Shoei RF1000 ...

My previous helmets have been the RF 200 ,,, RF 800 ,,, & RF 900 ..

I would prefer to pay less for a helmet ,,, but the Shoei seems to be the most comfortable and appears

to be a good quality helmet...

 

[FJR-Voltron]

I have an XXL Scorpion Exo400 (which did pretty well in their test) and I find it to be a pretty good helmet for the money...

 

[LDRydr]

And now for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (and much newer technology) in helmets: Lazer SuperSkin. This is what we really need, somebody thinking in a whole new way about head safety.

 

[Baz]

Being in the business of importing things to North America from our plants all over the world, I am going to throw this at you guys.

When buying a lid, you may have a great deal of currency exchange & shipping involved in your purchase. This does not make the lid any better. So don't fall for the if you have a 100 dollar head buy a 100 dollar helmet theory.

I used to sell a line of industrial textiles and had one particular example of one that we made in Canada at a cost of $23,000.00 to my customers plant. Well we closed the plant in Canada and had the exact same product made in Sweden and to make the same profitt, I would have had to sell that same unit at a price of $49,000.00. (For the exact same thing)

Your Japanese made Arai comes with much more misc. costs than your China made HJC, although both may have the same snell & DOT ratings.

My advice to everyone is to find the best fit, and don't get too tied up on price. There are lots of reputable manufacturers out there.

 

[Old Bear]

I would also suggest that comparable "shells" would be roughly equal, HOWEVER, it appears, at least from this end, that one of the Biggest differences between the $200 lid and the $500 lid (given the same Snell/Dot for both) is COMFORT.... A better quality helmet will typically have a better liner (fit, finish, removable for cleaning, etc.) A Comfortable helmet will let you enjoy that loonngg ride, one that isn't, will quickly become a pain and greatly detract from how much you enjoy the ride. For my $$ get the best fitting, most comfortable helmet you can afford, and you will NOT regret it...

 

[SCWatts]

I don't know much about photography. But I think, based on where my eyes go every time I look at that picture (I've run the experiment 10 times so far, and counting...), the composition of the picture is all wrong.

So, you're saying you want more pictures....just for comparison's sake???

Mmmmm. Not necessarily. I just think the photographer should, uh, throw a bone to all the dudes out there and recompose the shot with the obvious focal point nicely framed in the center of the shot. To wit:

I disagree with your placement of the focal point.

 

[dwhartwell]

I don't know much about photography. But I think, based on where my eyes go every time I look at that picture (I've run the experiment 10 times so far, and counting...), the composition of the picture is all wrong.

So, you're saying you want more pictures....just for comparison's sake???

Mmmmm. Not necessarily. I just think the photographer should, uh, throw a bone to all the dudes out there and recompose the shot with the obvious focal point nicely framed in the center of the shot. To wit:

Got it! Focal point found