Helmet Standards

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Pardini

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I've been thinking about a new lid. I have an Arai Vector which I like but it's too noisy. Looked at the new Sharks that the sales guy said are fairly quiet.

The Shark isn't Snell approved. It complies with DOT and ECE22.05. Anyway I found this chart researching helmet standards.

About.com: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/

I was surprized at how many failed the DOT standard even though they were DOT approved. The Arai Profile for example. I always thought that if it passed the Snell test then the DOT was easily satisfied.
 
I am always amazed when someone will pay over $30k for a bike then complain a helmet is too expensive or they ride with a "salad bowl" helmet...

Most helmets seem to not have a Snell rating anymore...almost all have an ECE rating now...kind of threw me off when shopping for a helmet as (at the time) I'd never heard of ECE as I've always had a Snell rated helmet.
 
I wear a Neotech 2 and it sacrifices some crash proofing to the flip upfront. It's DOT and ECE in European markets though. I did notice Revzilla only sells the DOT version in the US, so I guess there is a European version that meets ECE. For riding the BMW it is the bee's knees though, especially in really hot weather. I like the Neotech because it doesn't look like an old man's flip-up helmet, especially with the lid down. I have an RF1400 Shoei for speed blasts on the Busa.

More important than ratings, how many of you change helmets every 5 years or so? I didn't even know about this until a tech inspection when they failed the helmet because it was 6 years old.
 
I really like fortnine vids , I did not know about this talented bloke till someone on here posted the H2SX Top Gun vid ( imho funny as hell ), a bit before I took a long break from all online chit . And I realize I certainly am not up to speed about helmet safety standards . But I do like my AGV Pista , and also got an Arai Corsair RX7 , that sort of dont fit my long shaped pin head no more ....
I just seen Fallenarchs time limit on lids , and I did know about it , but not exactly that it is 5 years . I will probably update my lid to another AGV Pista , I really love the aero , but pretty noisey without ear plugs
 
fallenarch said:
I wear a Neotech 2 and it sacrifices some crash proofing to the flip upfront. It's DOT and ECE in European markets though. I did notice Revzilla only sells the DOT version in the US, so I guess there is a European version that meets ECE. For riding the BMW it is the bee's knees though, especially in really hot weather. I like the Neotech because it doesn't look like an old man's flip-up helmet, especially with the lid down. I have an RF1400 Shoei for speed blasts on the Busa.

More important than ratings, how many of you change helmets every 5 years or so? I didn't even know about this until a tech inspection when they failed the helmet because it was 6 years old.
Click to expand...
I change out my helmets pretty much every 5 yrs...it is amazing how many people either don't know about this or choose to ignore it.

The protective layer inside the helmet tends to break down offering less performance in an impact even if the helmet looks brand new.

This standard has been around for many years, even in the '80s when I was racing but in those days I was sponsored by Shoei so I always had new helmets.

When I was teaching riding, the first day (dry session) I'd inspect gear, a few of the helmets I checked were older ones so I wouldn't let the students use them as we as a company were liable...sadly all this was in the joining instructions of which many didn't read.
 
When i used to commute everyday, my helmets lasted about 3 years before they were replaced. They were midrange helmets ($150-$250). I did make sure that these helmets had the ECE rating at a minimum. I recently got an Arai Defiant X (my first premium helmet) and I kind of regret not getting one sooner. It is comfortable and I am glad it has the SNELL rating.
 
fallenarch said:
More important than ratings, how many of you change helmets every 5 years or so? I didn't even know about this until a tech inspection when they failed the helmet because it was 6 years old.
Click to expand...
I knew about the recommendation to change helmets but I never felt it was a must. The Shoie RF1100 I just crashed in was exactly 10 years old and it seems to have done the job as well as I would expect from a new one. I have yet to inspect the inner shell though.

Even now, I would probably keep a $600 helmet more than 5 years but I wouldn't use it except for slow riding.
 
ottafish said:
ECE22.05 is the lowest I'd consider now. And DOT is marginally better than a ice cream bucket
Click to expand...
Agreed. Helmets with sliding internal face shields, strap closures other than double d rings and flip up models didnt usually meet the older Snell standards. You can find such things that currently meet ECE. It's not all about the helmet itself, it also has to do with the way the helmets are selected for testing and the frequency. There are DOT helmets that are marginal but I would not go less than ECE.
 
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