High End Helmets a waste of money?

T

trip

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I'm surprised I haven't seen it posted here before (maybe I missed it), but has anyone else read the helmet review that Motor Cyclist magazine just released?

It seems they decided that DOT testing wasn't realistic as compared to true life crashes, so they built their own tests.

Guess who won best ratings???
(lowest G ratings transferred to your head?)

A little plastic helmet called "Z1R ZRP-1s".

Yep, $80.00 us sold at Pep Boys. (LOL)

It seems Arai and other high end helmets made of fiberglass transfer 20 more "G's" than their inexpensive brothren.

It's a great article. If I could type faster, I'd plug it in for you all to read. I did search for the Z1R and found many other boards crying about their beloved $500.00 +/- helmets getting spanked by a cheap piece of S**t.

So... do we trade in our heads for a safer & cheaper form of protection???

..., trip



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Reason for Edit: None given...|1116523123 -->
 
(PACIFICBUSA @ May 19 2005 said:
never mind...here's a Snell rebuttal:


Snell


Haven't read it yet....
Click to expand...
Awesome info man thanks. I personally would never take the chance with my head. All my helmets are SNELL rated not DOT. The DOT does some good with some points but when it comes to helmet ratings I am only going to buy a SNELL rated helmet. Snell is a non-biased organization that does the testing at the helmet manufacturers request so the results IMO are much better and more conclusive on the results.


just my .05 because .02 won't get you anything!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Sounds to me like Snell is feeling a bit defensive.

"The price reflects the production costs. No one is laying out an extra $30, $40, $60 or $100 dollars for just a Snell sticker."

LOL
 
Interesting!
smile.gif
 
Something not mentioned however is *How* the forces are disipated and how well the helmet works 99.9% of the time on your head in the real world.

I read the article, it was interesting but it was also completly full of holes when it comes to real world use, comfort, cooling and yes even safety.

Remember about 6 months ago someone posted up crash statistics from AMA. Those with the absolute fewest head injuries (concussions) were wearing Arai helmets, and more folks had crashed in Arai helmets than in any other in the study. Shoei was next and close to Arai, but from there the number of injuries climbed significantly.

Sure all the helmets did the bare minumum, but there was no measure of HOW the forces were dealt with, and how that force is transfered to you noggin.

It's good to know that there were not any failures, but beyond that I didn't find anything all that compelling in the article, accept as fodder for those trying to justify wearing a poorly constructed helmet and "Hoping" that it will do it's job. Kind of a diservice to their readers I think.
 
I trust the Snell ratings more than I do the DOT. I don't want to have to wonder if my helmet is going to protect me as I'm sliding and tumbling down the road.

To each, their own. Buy what you want. How much is your head worth?

Arai RX7-Corsair is my choice
wink.gif
 
Initially, I believe that helmet choice is just that a choice. Whatever you feel good with you should purchase as long as you wear it you are taking the steps to help you when you go down.

The Motorcyclist article, IMO, described what would happen in a wreck, SNELL says what they think you need in a wreck. How many of us will go down from higher than 8 feet? The reason the cheaper helmets tested better is that they crumple like a car's hood would thus dissipating the energy of the pavement around your head not to it. SNELL helmets are really hard so they do not give and conversely transfer that energy to your nugget.

The SNELL rebuttal says that you will be sliding down the road at the same speed that the bike was going, actually a lot of the forward momentum will be used up by the initial fall to the street. You will be going forward and it is easier for tires to stop but the odds of your brain housing group getting slammed harder than the initial hit is really low (you have the most speed slamming to the ground). So, once again, IMO, I think that I would like the first shock to my skull to have the least affect on my brain.

We can probably argue all year on the what ifs -- i.e. what if a car was cager slammed into you while you were sliding? Most of the accidents that have those circumstances was the poor rider winning a lottery that he/we did/do not ever want to win.

I personnally have the AGV Ti that is not Snell but came in 3rd on the Motorcyclist test.
 
I read the article and I believe they make a lot of sense. The fall and/or the initial impact sounds the most destructive, and the helmet that absorbs that is probably the most "safe". I am VERY concerned with safety and always bought Arai or top-of-the-line Shoei helmets - but - I will consider these cheap helmets next time around. That is, until I hear an argument that convinces me otherwise
 
I have 3 different ZIR's that I wear and really like them . Seems as quiet as any I've owned , quieter than some and very light plus I dig the low cost of the replacement shields ". 9.00 bucks ". At the dealer cost I gave for them though when the shield needs replacing I can just toss them if I want .

A better all around deal than the HJC IMO .

Oridasuzuki has some blowout pricing on these helmets , or did have when I bought my Son one for the sum of 70 bucks to my door .



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High end helmets are overpriced IMHO, very overpriced, but you do get what you pay for it would seem. I wear a Shoei RF 900, and that is about my limit as far as what I am willing to spend on a lid. Just don't see the R&D and production costs much beyond that. My wife has an Z1R- she decided it was what she wanted, despite my objections, and is happy with it. Obviously she hasn't crash tested it and hopefully that won't happen. Even if others are questioning the accuracy of the artical, it is good to hear someone atleast remotely qualified has good things to say about her lid. I have five different brands of helmets personally from my Shoei and down and it is obvious to me that my Shoei is the best of the bunch. Still, IMHO ego is an unfortunate player when it comes to choosing helmets. Just because someone is on a budget they shouldn't be flamed for not spending $400 or more on a helmet. Seems there are actually safe alternatives out there.



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I saw my buddy hit the pavement head first with his Arai top-of-line... I will never own anything else and he walked away without even as much as a headache... He was going about 30 or so and down in the turns...

CLoud
 
This is very interesting and comes at a good time since I am in the market for a new helmet.
 
This falls into two of my personal catagories..

1. "If Ya Got A $10 Head Then Buy A $10 Helmet"

and...

2. Editors know no bounds as to what they'll publish too..."SELL MAGAZINES"!!!

Leave it to the rag men to "over analyze" a percentage of just one aspect and then come running out of the development room screaming the sky is falling and the entire helmet industry is a scam and that they got it right but DOT & Snell have it all wrong and have been misleading? wtf?
rock.gif


Yeah...I'll buy that magazine...NOT!
laugh.gif




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my rf900 worked flawlessly this last weekend in the 60mph crash. got it on ebay for 110.00, found out its worth 509.99 from the insurance guy
biggrin.gif
. probly saved my face/life. so to all you guys with rf900's they seem to work well.
 
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