SquidBusters Archive - this month's motorcyclist - Helmet Standards Comparison and Testing Article

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this month's motorcyclist - Helmet Standards Comparison and Testing Article
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Posted by: paperairplane

Great helmet article.... though I am now in posession of way to much information about DOT and Snell ratings.... I may have to re-evaluate my current Snell only stance on helmets.

And is it just me or does KR repeat himself a lot in his articles on GP? Don't get me wrong, it is very interesting, but I get the idea - you weren't paid much... sheesh!

Posted by: triplesecman

I might hafta get a subscription to that magazine. I always enjoyed reading through them.

Posted by: Oxi-Rider

let me tell you, looking at helmets that close is eye opening to say the least. Although, i know so much now that i am totally confused

Posted by: paperairplane

Agreed... though I am thinking this affects the wife more than me, as I have a 7 3/4 head - so for a big, heavy melon like mine a stiff shell is good, but for the wife's petite, light head a softer lid is better.

The transmitted G's is kinda scary... the fact that a $79 helmet will limit you to 165 and my Snell rated Arai will allow up to 300..... sounds like a lot of impact to me.

Another confusing factor they did not mention was helmet weight and potential neck injury due to wearing a heavier lid. (The Schuberth is a heavy one for ex.)

Posted by: tzortn

One tidbit of information that the article did not include is the duration of the shock. A few milliseconds makes a big difference in the resulting stress levels.

Posted by: Falcn

What I find disconcerting about accepting DOT only helmets is that you are trusting the manufacturer of the helmet to assure compliance. If they had mandated testing, or some kind of control or something more than just being able to say "Sure we tested it.." i think DOT would be fine, especially based on what they found.

What I don't understand is the Snell Foundation reasoning for having a 300 G shock limit when helmet manufacturers are OBVIOUSLY able to meet and exceed that high limit, with most of them below the 200G mark, in addition to requiring that the helmet not transmit more than 300G when hit in the same spot....based on statistics like they say, people rarely hit their heads that hard 2x in a row, and if they do they first time, chances are the rest of their body is messed up more than their head!

Posted by: R1Armadillo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxi-Rider

let me tell you, looking at helmets that close is eye opening to say the least. Although, i know so much now that i am totally confused

It was a very interesting read though. The question is are any of you going to change out the helmet that you are wearing now because you read this?

Posted by: Oxi-Rider

I tell you this...comfort and looks are going to be a lot more important than a "name" the next time I get a helmet.

Posted by: tzortn

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcn

What I find disconcerting about accepting DOT only helmets is that you are trusting the manufacturer of the helmet to assure compliance. If they had mandated testing, or some kind of control or something more than just being able to say "Sure we tested it.." i think DOT would be fine, especially based on what they found.

I have the same issue. I even question the Snell tests. Where do they get the helmets that they test? How often do they test production helmets to assure that the original design is being used?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxi-Rider

I tell you this...comfort and looks are going to be a lot more important than a "name" the next time I get a helmet.

Price will be more of a factor for me. I would be much more inclined to replace a $150 than I would a $500 helmet.

Posted by: Nate

Just out of curiosity... did they say anything about KBC? Because I'm not likely to replace mine.

Posted by: natrona848

I look at it this way and some may question it but if you see multiple guys out there racing, crashing multiple times in one season wearing the same brand/type of lid and living to do it the next year, that's a good sign that the helmet in ? is not a piece-o-shite.

Now, is it the absolute best, maybe, maybe not but it's not the bottom of the barrel either. Does it fit your head right? yes you say. good, that's an important part too. I'll stick with my Suomy unless I find something that fits better...fat chance for now.

Posted by: Wingspan

Snell's response

Posted by: natrona848

WOW, good for them!

Posted by: Falcn

That is what I was waiting for. I'm a Snell fan again

Kristen's $110 helmet is Snell certified and it fit her best out of the ones she tried on...so I know there are good helmets out there for not a lot of money.

I still don't trust DOT only stickers, like I mentioned.

Posted by: Red Raevyn

For those who didn't get to read it (I just read it for the first time), here it is all scanned in. I think it's been discussed here but for those who haven't read it themselves:

http://themonkeyhouse.org/sv/helmets

Posted by: Falcn

Threads merged since they are about the same thing.

Posted by: RebelRugger

Article on Snell test failings. Great read for someone (like me) who can't spend $500 on a helmet > http://motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/hatz/
Be sure to read their reply at the end, though. Snell's explanation for the continued test of the double blow is lacking.
"The only reasonable way for Snively to stress the helmet properly was to hit it twice. By the mid '60's, Snively switched over to the guided fall rig, the same type Snell, BSI 6658 and DOT use today but, by that time he'd also bumped up the test severities. He still needed the double hit. " Crap, just read about this a few posts down....

Posted by: RebelRugger

Anyone know of a good (online) place to buy an orange helmet?

Posted by: Falcn

threads merged - same topic

Posted by: Falcn

I really really like the ECE helmet rating. The Sparx is light compared to the Scorpion I trashed while racing.