When to replace your helmet? - Page 2

lemosley01 · 05-21-2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by velocity bmg

Over the years I have dropped a helmet or two. Like when pulling into a store lot to have a smoke, and placing my helmet on my mirror stalk...forgetting to close the visor.

DOH!

It hasn't happened since I got back into riding again this past December 2006.

I would not use a helmet once dropped at all onto a hard surface like a parking lot...except to get to the nearest store to buy another one.

Dropping a helmet is not problematic, unless you are dropping it from the rooftop or you are leaving heavy items in it. Make sure the shell isn't cracked (and it shouldn't be!) and go on with life.

Ed Becker from Snell and Bruce from Arai is where I got this information.

edit: Think about it - if a short 3-5 foot drop of an empty helmet is enough to damage the EPS liner (from it's own weight), do you really think that it would protect your head in a crash?

rohde88 · 05-21-2007, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemosley01

Dropping a helmet is not problematic, unless you are dropping it from the rooftop or you are leaving heavy items in it. Make sure the shell isn't cracked (and it shouldn't be!) and go on with life.

Ed Becker from Snell and Bruce from Arai is where I got this information.

edit: Think about it - if a short 3-5 foot drop of an empty helmet is enough to damage the EPS liner (from it's own weight), do you really think that it would protect your head in a crash?

A rooftop is a bit extreme, but anything above your waist will let the helmet gain some decent speed. Regarding the EPS, yes I would like the helmet to break down a little, isn't the interior foam pretty soft? The biggest concern is that there is no way to estimate damage without destroying the helmet. It just comes down to how much risk you're willing to take.

OT: I was at Iron Pony the other day and saw some stupid kids playing around with helmets, it slid off the back of his head and a brand new helmet just cracked the ground, employee walks over and just puts it back on display.

Don't buy a helmet that was on display!

Ron

lemosley01 · 05-21-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohde88

A rooftop is a bit extreme, but anything above your waist will let the helmet gain some decent speed. Regarding the EPS, yes I would like the helmet to break down a little, isn't the interior foam pretty soft? The biggest concern is that there is no way to estimate damage without destroying the helmet. It just comes down to how much risk you're willing to take.

The interior foam is actually quite stiff - to handle shocks of however many hundreds of Gs they see during testing and 'only' transmit 100-200Gs, means you have to use a fairly stiff foam.

I'm not an expert, but when two different sources agree that dropping a helmet really isn't an issue, I'll take their word for it. Remember, Bruce works for Arai and it's in their best interest to sell you another helmet.

Of course, you do what is right for you - it's your head and the decision how to protect it is yours. It most certainly won't hurt anything but your wallet to replace it.

Quote:

OT: I was at Iron Pony the other day and saw some stupid kids playing around with helmets, it slid off the back of his head and a brand new helmet just cracked the ground, employee walks over and just puts it back on display.

Charming. Make sure you check any of them over before buying - since most of their helmets, except the high-end Arai/Shoei/Shark helmets are out for anyone to try on, any of them could have been dropped.

I like going there - I can spend hours in that store.

rohde88 · 05-21-2007, 03:15 PM

Sorry, I was referring to the different layers of foam, yes the outermost foam is very dense, but to protect your head in a slower impact the interior foam needs to be softer.

This is why there's a lot of debate over Snell and DOT ratings, DOT will let you walk away from a 40mph crash, but you may not survive an 80mph crash. Snell ratings will send you to the hospital with a concussion from said 40mph crash, but will also keep you alive(albeit with major head trauma) from an 80mph crash.

At least, this is what I've gathered from reading online and talking to MSF people, they do agree that there can be a short drop with no ill effect.

Do you ever post on CORE for group rides?

Ron

lemosley01 · 05-21-2007, 03:35 PM

Ron,
I've posted on CORE a few times. I keep forgetting to check it regularly, but would love to go on a group ride with them sometime. The board is full of 'my kind of people' seemingly (ie, guys and gals that aren't going out to race each other on the streets).

At the risk of starting the whole 'Motorcyclist Helmet article' debate again, I did notice in the April or May motorcyclist that they had a blurb that the new SNELL standards (2010 I think?) will now include different-sized/wieght headforms to better represent people of different sizes.
It appears that SNELL has reversed position and now agrees in part with some of the European standards and the Motorcyclist article.

Interesting stuff.

rohde88 · 05-21-2007, 03:42 PM

I have gone on a couple group rides and hung out with guys from there. Pretty cool group, maybe I'll see you out there.

Do you have a link to that article? I am always a curious engineer wannabe.

Ron

lemosley01 · 05-21-2007, 03:55 PM

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ge...helmet_review/

medic3084 · 05-21-2007, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SUPRELURK

I've heard that EMT crews can use them for practicing how to remove them from accident victims...so think about donating it to your local EMT squad.

That's actually how we got our helmets when I went through the EMT program. We used it for simulations of motorcycle accidents to learn when to leave it on and when we can take them off.