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Cheap helmets

G

Greenman

Lifer
So I picked up a dirt cheap helmet. It has everything I wanted and fits really well, at $100 I just couldn't resist. Now I need to convince myself that it wasn't a foolish mistake that's going to cost me my life on the day my attention slips. So my question is simple, aren't all dot rated helmets at least acceptable?
 
As long as it is actually DOT rated, it should be fine. When you buy expensive helmets you really are only paying for a fancier paint job, better venting, lighter, etc. Not so much in the way of extra protectiveness.
 
Is it a full face helmet? If so, it will probably be about as effective as any other DOT full face helmet.

I've always been a Shoei man myself. They fit me the best and the RF1100 I have now is much quieter and better ventilated than the RF1000 I owned prior...which was also excellent.

From what I've heard from people who own the less expensive models is that they can be a bit heavier and a bit noisier but otherwise they provide the same protection.
 
I actually found that Scorpion makes the best helmets for the dollar. Shoei and Arai have the name and paint job included in the price and they never fit me well for some reason.

Although I did like how the AGV's and Shark's fit as well.

Anyway, if it is DOT rated and fits well, you got the most important features down. Next is stuff like how much venting, fogging, wind you get with that helmet.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Is it a full face helmet? If so, it will probably be about as effective as any other DOT full face helmet.

I've always been a Shoei man myself. They fit me the best and the RF1100 I have now is much quieter and better ventilated than the RF1000 I owned prior...which was also excellent.

From what I've heard from people who own the less expensive models is that they can be a bit heavier and a bit noisier but otherwise they provide the same protection.
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It's a modular with a built in sun shade. You push a button and the shade drops down behind the clear outer cover. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, it's been raining all day.
It's a seven zero seven lid, cycle gear is closing them out for a hundred bucks a pop.
 
Kelvrick said:
I actually found that Scorpion makes the best helmets for the dollar. Shoei and Arai have the name and paint job included in the price and they never fit me well for some reason.

Although I did like how the AGV's and Shark's fit as well.

Anyway, if it is DOT rated and fits well, you got the most important features down. Next is stuff like how much venting, fogging, wind you get with that helmet.
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I have several Scorpion EXO400's and I've learned that mediums hurt the front/top of my head after 45 minutes, and large is too big. Shoei RF1000 (medium) fits beautifully.
 
jlee said:
I have several Scorpion EXO400's and I've learned that mediums hurt the front/top of my head after 45 minutes, and large is too big. Shoei RF1000 (medium) fits beautifully.
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Thats why there are so many to choose from, right? I personally wear (wore) a small scorpion. I remember some HJC's that could twist right off my head if I got a size large enough not to pinch me.
 
Tip to properly fit a helmet: Put it on and tighten the straps, it should be very snug, almost to the point of being painfully snug. Try to forcibly twist the helmet on your head and pull it off from behind. If you can twist it around your head it is too big.
 
Kelvrick said:
Thats why there are so many to choose from, right? I personally wear (wore) a small scorpion. I remember some HJC's that could twist right off my head if I got a size large enough not to pinch me.
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Yep, different brands fit differently. I was hoping I'd luck out and have the $60-on-clearance Scorpions work for me, but they didn't. 😛
 
First helmet I got with my bike was a XL Vega Mach 1. I didn't really know anything about fitting at the time and when I put it on it fit my head pretty well. Fast forward to stripping the fairings off my bike and the helmet started to suck. Whenever I got up to speed the straps would cut into my neck and make it hard to breath and it would press back into my face.

I went to Cycle Gear and managed to pick up on of their silver/black Scorpion EXO-1000s. Haven't looked back. The integrated sun screen is awesome!
 
Greenman said:
So I picked up a dirt cheap helmet. It has everything I wanted and fits really well, at $100 I just couldn't resist. Now I need to convince myself that it wasn't a foolish mistake that's going to cost me my life on the day my attention slips. So my question is simple, aren't all dot rated helmets at least acceptable?
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sorry how much is your brain worth?

100 bucks in your case..
sorry.

When it comes to helmets you DO NOT skimp.
The prices here do not come from brand names they come from materials for the most part and protection.

Shoei and Arai and HJC with Scorpion coming in a close 4th are the names you should be looking at when buying helmets.
You want DOT and the latest Snell rating for max protection.

Sorry i dont trust my head to a 100$ fiberglass lid.

my current lid is a top of the line Scorpion which I am pretty happy with.. but not as happy as I was with my Shoei.
 
CVSiN said:
sorry how much is your brain worth?

100 bucks in your case..
sorry.

When it comes to helmets you DO NOT skimp.
The prices here do not come from brand names they come from materials for the most part and protection.

Shoei and Arai and HJC with Scorpion coming in a close 4th are the names you should be looking at when buying helmets.
You want DOT and the latest Snell rating for max protection.

Sorry i dont trust my head to a 100$ fiberglass lid.

my current lid is a top of the line Scorpion which I am pretty happy with.. but not as happy as I was with my Shoei.
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Disagree 100%. As long as it's DOT approved, it's fine. The only thing telling you otherwise is all the money that the high end companies put into making you think that their competitors are inferior. The only thing you're really getting is a brand name and a pretty helmet, neither worth the outrageous price. Perhaps those super expensive helmets provide some benefit above 100mph, but I don't drive like that. My $80 Raider full face helmet from the local Farm and Fleet does me just fine.
 
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simonizor said:
Disagree 100%. As long as it's DOT approved, it's fine. The only thing telling you otherwise is all the money that the high end companies put into making you think that their competitors are inferior. The only thing you're really getting is a brand name and a pretty helmet, neither worth the outrageous price. Perhaps those super expensive helmets provide some benefit above 100mph, but I don't drive like that. My $80 Raider full face helmet from the local Farm and Fleet does me just fine.
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This is mostly true but one thing the more expensive helmets do buy is better quality, lower noise, possibly better/more comfort. That said, I only paid $389 for my Shoei RF1100 with graphics. Not a lot of money for an awesome helmet IMO.

RF1100.jpg
 
simonizor said:
Disagree 100%. As long as it's DOT approved, it's fine. The only thing telling you otherwise is all the money that the high end companies put into making you think that their competitors are inferior. The only thing you're really getting is a brand name and a pretty helmet, neither worth the outrageous price. Perhaps those super expensive helmets provide some benefit above 100mph, but I don't drive like that. My $80 Raider full face helmet from the local Farm and Fleet does me just fine.
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Do some research man.. DOT means exactly squat these days. never really did just means it meats MINIMUM requirements.
SNELL is much more up to date and demanding.

I have watched cheap helmets kill their riders flat out.. they lack the cushioning, crush zones and good design.
when a good helmet would have saved their lives. I've seen cheap DOT helmets completely split open as well as just fail altogether.

Yes I have road raced and still possess a valid CCS license and have seen some helacious wrecks in my 30 years of riding/racing sportbikes.

If you think your head is safe at any speed with that cheapo helmet you are direly mistaken and have never been down hard yet..

I really pity when you do go down.. and if you think just becasue YOU dont ride past 100.. you haven't measured the forces of when a CAR HITS YOU..
can be alot worse than going down solo even at 100+ as on the track there is nothing solid to hit except other bikes.

It's your brain... and I've been down HARD and tested my gear..

And btw.. good helmets are only good for 1 drop.. that includes dropping it and it hitting anything solid.. after that Xray is needed to verify integrity.
 
CVSiN said:
Do some research man.. DOT means exactly squat these days. never really did just means it meats MINIMUM requirements.
SNELL is much more up to date and demanding.

I have watched cheap helmets kill their riders flat out.. they lack the cushioning, crush zones and good design.
when a good helmet would have saved their lives. I've seen cheap DOT helmets completely split open as well as just fail altogether.

Yes I have road raced and still possess a valid CCS license and have seen some helacious wrecks in my 30 years of riding/racing sportbikes.

If you think your head is safe at any speed with that cheapo helmet you are direly mistaken and have never been down hard yet..

I really pity when you do go down.. and if you think just becasue YOU dont ride past 100.. you haven't measured the forces of when a CAR HITS YOU..
can be alot worse than going down solo even at 100+ as on the track there is nothing solid to hit except other bikes.

It's your brain... and I've been down HARD and tested my gear..

And btw.. good helmets are only good for 1 drop.. that includes dropping it and it hitting anything solid.. after that Xray is needed to verify integrity.
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100% agreed here. but instrumented tests, like those posted by jlee, show that more $$ does not necessarily buy a better helmet.

that being said, a lot of times the shoeis and arais will have better fit/comfort, more features, etc that give them their price tag. and despite carbon fiber being exotic, either shoei or arai (i think) flat out states that they think carbon fiber is too stiff for use in helmets, so they only use fiberglass.

unless you develop another test that can more accurately simulate helmet impacts, extrapolating what little data there exists is an extremely dangerous game from an engineering standpoint, and the DOT and Snell standards are all that we can judge by (there's even some debate over whether Snell is too stiff, in fact)

there are quite a number of helmets that have a fake DOT endorsement on them, and i wouldn't be surprised if some of the helmets you claim split in half were of those variety.
 
No way you can compare a helmet <$200 to an Arai Corsair or top of the line Shoei. Do some research & you'll see they really do separate themselves from the pack. Arai & Shoei don't carry the price tags they do just because of cool graphics & the name.
 
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