Cheap helmets

[Greenman]

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.

You really need to read the link Jlee posted. It's a very interesting article, with some eye opening comments from helmet manufacturers. The most interesting one was the simple statement that a SNEL sticker allows them to charge $40 to $60 more for a helmet. The tests they ran on the cheap helmets were pretty surprising as well, they all exceeded DOT standards.

I've always believed that quality is the best value, but I've never believed that a higher price guaranty's better quality.

 

[CVSiN]

You really need to read the link Jlee posted. It's a very interesting article, with some eye opening comments from helmet manufacturers. The most interesting one was the simple statement that a SNEL sticker allows them to charge $40 to $60 more for a helmet. The tests they ran on the cheap helmets were pretty surprising as well, they all exceeded DOT standards.

I've always believed that quality is the best value, but I've never believed that a higher price guaranty's better quality.

I read that article in 2005 when it was written..
The problem with DOT is exactly this..
NOT all helmets are tested at all.
So its 100% on the honor system as written. So technically you could be wearing a helmet that has NEVER even been tested at all.
At least with SNELL and the other Euro standards they are actually testing.

"The DOT standard, like laws against, say, murder, also relies on the honor system; that is, there's only a penalty involved if you break it and sell a non-complying helmet and get caught. Manufacturers are required to do their own testing and then certify that their helmets meet the standards. But it also gives helmet designers quite a bit of freedom to design a helmet the way they think it ought to be for optimum overall protection. The question is, how well are those designers doing their job with all that freedom?"

Again.. you cannot even compare a bargain 100 dollar helmet to even a bottom of the line Arai or Shoei who no matter what rating or standard always beat it.

being able to afford the bike was only the beginning.. no one ever thinks about the safety gear required to ride one safely when making their purchase.

What always cracked me and all my serious road racer friends was.
Seeing a new guy on a brand new liter bike with a 1000 dollar exhaust a 300 dollar power commander custom tail kit..

wearing a 70 dollar helmet and a 50 dollar crappy jacket and tennis shoes..

priorities..

mine is my life and to never have to tolerate the pain from road rash again.
So yeh I'll spend the cash to have the best safety equipment on or off the track..
you can replace the bike..
you cant replace you.

 

[jlee]

I read that article in 2005 when it was written..
The problem with DOT is exactly this..
NOT all helmets are tested at all.
So its 100% on the honor system as written. So technically you could be wearing a helmet that has NEVER even been tested at all.
At least with SNELL and the other Euro standards they are actually testing.

"The DOT standard, like laws against, say, murder, also relies on the honor system; that is, there's only a penalty involved if you break it and sell a non-complying helmet and get caught. Manufacturers are required to do their own testing and then certify that their helmets meet the standards. But it also gives helmet designers quite a bit of freedom to design a helmet the way they think it ought to be for optimum overall protection. The question is, how well are those designers doing their job with all that freedom?"

Again.. you cannot even compare a bargain 100 dollar helmet to even a bottom of the line Arai or Shoei who no matter what rating or standard always beat it.

being able to afford the bike was only the beginning.. no one ever thinks about the safety gear required to ride one safely when making their purchase.

What always cracked me and all my serious road racer friends was.
Seeing a new guy on a brand new liter bike with a 1000 dollar exhaust a 300 dollar power commander custom tail kit..

wearing a 70 dollar helmet and a 50 dollar crappy jacket and tennis shoes..

priorities..

mine is my life and to never have to tolerate the pain from road rash again.
So yeh I'll spend the cash to have the best safety equipment on or off the track..
you can replace the bike..
you cant replace you.

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=9238

$60 SNELL rated helmet.

You were saying?

 

[CVSiN]

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=9238

$60 SNELL rated helmet.

You were saying?

And that same model Scorpion was 200 bucks just a couple years ago.

if you look at my first post I highly recommended them as well as the big 2.
I wear that same model that is now a lower end Scorpion as they have improved over the years.

That is a blowout price on a very good helmet.
Retail Price: $189.95
You save: $130.00 (68&#37

 

[jlee]

And that same model Scorpion was 200 bucks just a couple years ago.

if you look at my first post I highly recommended them as well as the big 2.
I wear that same model that is now a lower end Scorpion as they have improved over the years.

That is a blowout price on a very good helmet.
Retail Price: $189.95
You save: $130.00 (68&#37

I bought that same model (well, a Warhawk EXO400) for $99.95 on 11/13/2008 (minus 30-35% Bing cashback). I bought two more for $65.95/ea on 11/30/2009. The EXO400's have been cheap for years...it's certainly not a bad helmet, but my point is that you don't need to spend $400 (as some people are saying) to have a helmet that will keep you safe.

Don't get me wrong...now that I have a Shoei, the Scorpions see no use (they hurt my head after a while..Shoei doesn't), but I would trust them in a crash just as much as anything else.

I have spent more on safety gear than I paid for my bike.

 

[CVSiN]

I bought that same model (well, a Warhawk EXO400) for $99.95 on 11/13/2008 (minus 30-35% Bing cashback). I bought two more for $65.95/ea on 11/30/2009. The EXO400's have been cheap for years...it's certainly not a bad helmet, but my point is that you don't need to spend $400 (as some people are saying) to have a helmet that will keep you safe.

Don't get me wrong...now that I have a Shoei, the Scorpions see no use (they hurt my head after a while..Shoei doesn't), but I would trust them in a crash just as much as anything else.

I have spent more on safety gear than I paid for my bike.

totally agree Scorpions are a great helmet I trust them as well..
but you are correct even the EX1000 doesn't fit me as well as the equivalent Shoei.

 

[Greenman]

So there is no real correlation between price and protection, I'll buy that. I don't know that I agree with you about the SNELL rating though. What I read indicated that because the inner padding had to be firmer for a SNELL rating, and that it could actually transmit a greater amount of energy into the wearers head. It's a very interesting concept that I would like to see tested.

 

[CVSiN]

actually there still is like we posted above that helmet when brand new and current was 200 bucks minimum.

It is on clearance and closeout for a discontinued model.
if you are lucky enough to find a closeout like this than by all means jump on it..
you can even find Shoeis and Arai's on closeout for really low prices as well.