Interesting article on helmets.

Sierra1

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I've always been skeptical of Icon's quality. Thought they more form over function. But when my oldest kid, who only wears Icon, got hit, I reconsidered. He did not have ANY road rash, despite only wearing a t-shirt, shorts, running shoes, and gloves. But, he had a minor concussion, broken rib(s) & wrist, torn ACL/PCL/MCL on his left leg, and a weird gash on his right knee. This was obviously a sudden stop crash; from 40 mph. His Icon helmet....I could hardly find where it hit the pavement; although the face shield was gone. So, for a helmet that cost less than half of my ARAI, it did exactly what it was supposed to. Needles to say, the helmet was removed from service; replaced by another Icon.

Would my high dollar Arai prevented the minor concussion? No telling. And according to that article, considering my age, it may not matter any way.

Oh yeah, my kid? 100% recovery, and completed rehab six month early. And, less than 9 months after the crash, he passed the Ft Worth PD physical, and completed their 8 month academy. And, although at his age he doesn't realize how luck he was, I do after seeing as many crashes that I have.

MY philosophy? Buy the best helmet that you can afford. That article confirms what I had started noticing....even the "cheep" helmet are getting better than we realize. Once again, just my two cents.
 

CatBehemoth

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I had a crash 1.5 month ago. Was wearing Scorpion EXO AT950, Olympia jacket and AGV jeans. My speed was ~70mph and I got away with just minor concussion. Not sure if more expensive helmet would save me from it, so I'm about to buy Scorpion again.
 

Xclimation

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Catbehemoth, Glad you made it out of a 70 mph crash with just a concussion! I wear an Olympia jacket myself.

Desoto, In the article I posted; it talks about how a SNELL helmet may not necessarily be more safe.
 

cyclemike4

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I read a couple interesting articles a few year back about helmet safety. One of the articles was in Motorcycle Consumer News. It pretty much said the helmets now are very good at protecting the user from straight on impacts up to a level of G force of course. It did mention none of the helmets protected against rotational forces. It stated that most brain injuries now are from rotational injuries. Helmets have really come a long way especially the cheaper ones. They will always have room for improvement though. I like wearing my protective gear and I definitely believe that it has helped me before and will again if I get into a crash. I am happy there are a lot of companies making gear now. The competition drives each company to do just a little bit better. In this case is only good for the consumer.
 
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Yep, if you have any control in a crash, you should try to slide as flat as possible. Rolling kills. Rotational forces are a beast.


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I think any helmet that fits properly with a modern certification is going to be good(snell etc). DOT not included.
I think if you read the article you might change your mind in the DOT helmets as they performed better than the others.

I’m curious as to what Snell 2015 guidelines are/were as most helmets being sold today and have Snell don’t list 2000 or 2005, which in the article said were just different in very minor ways.

I’ll need to look up Snell 2015, since that’s a full decade after Snell 2005. It will be interesting if the lowered their G force requirements and did away with the double whack steel orange test.

I was just looking at Scorpion R2000 that we’re on sale at Revzilla this past weekend. They were on sale for almost half off. $189 for their hi-visibility and black/gray graphics rich, and selling the solids for $169.

After doing some homework I really decided I should look at the R420 series over the 710, which both seemed suited for more upright riding. These were on sale for $169-$149 and $150 respectively.

The one thing about the R2000 designed for high speed tracks with chins on the tank style riding, these use air pump comfort padding.

I remember from high school football days that most guys wanted BIKE air helmets, but the defensive linebackers and WRs usually wanted the no air Riddell, where they would inject cold water into the individual pads which would depressurize slower as well as pushing cool water into their head.

Pretty soon thereafter, I didn’t see many BIKE Air at the NCAA or Pro levels.

Looking at the huge helmets pro players must choose from now, a list that is down to 5 helmets, should be factored in at least anecdotally, when it comes to cumulative G-forces as well as Soccer (football/futbol,) now that FIFA is finally starting to compile data on players that use their heads much more frequently than others.

Good stuff. Information to keep in mind when you add your next helmet to your rotation.


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jeckyll

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I think if you read the article you might change your mind in the DOT helmets as they performed better than the others.

I’m curious as to what Snell 2015 guidelines are/were as most helmets being sold today and have Snell don’t list 2000 or 2005, which in the article said were just different in very minor ways.

I’ll need to look up Snell 2015, since that’s a full decade after Snell 2005. It will be interesting if the lowered their G force requirements and did away with the double whack steel orange test.

I was just looking at Scorpion R2000 that we’re on sale at Revzilla this past weekend. They were on sale for almost half off. $189 for their hi-visibility and black/gray graphics rich, and selling the solids for $169.

After doing some homework I really decided I should look at the R420 series over the 710, which both seemed suited for more upright riding. These were on sale for $169-$149 and $150 respectively.

The one thing about the R2000 designed for high speed tracks with chins on the tank style riding, these use air pump comfort padding.

I remember from high school football days that most guys wanted BIKE air helmets, but the defensive linebackers and WRs usually wanted the no air Riddell, where they would inject cold water into the individual pads which would depressurize slower as well as pushing cool water into their head.

Pretty soon thereafter, I didn’t see many BIKE Air at the NCAA or Pro levels.

Looking at the huge helmets pro players must choose from now, a list that is down to 5 helmets, should be factored in at least anecdotally, when it comes to cumulative G-forces as well as Soccer (football/futbol,) now that FIFA is finally starting to compile data on players that use their heads much more frequently than others.

Good stuff. Information to keep in mind when you add your next helmet to your rotation.


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I'll have to have another look. DOT used to certify any piece of junk skull cap.

Maybe that's changed.
 

maverick2076

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Wear a quality full faced helmet that fits you well and that is 90% of the solution. A full faced helmet protects more than a half or 3/4 helmet. A well fitting, comfortable helmet is one that you will actually wear and not leave on the shelf at home. IMO, that is more important than which certification your helmet wears.

That being said, Snell was designed as a track standard. It is geared toward the potential of track type accidents. I lean toward ECE as a preference. Unlike DOT, they actually update standards and test more extensively. Still, certification type is not a prime deciding factor for my purchase.

My current helmet is a Klim Krios Pro. It is all day, every day comfortable. The Koroyd liner gives some advantages for absorbing impact. And it gives good coverage for my head and face. It is ECE certified, but that is just a happy coincidence.
 

VRODE

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Great article with very good data and conclusions. Mr. Ford was eventually let go from Motorcyclist because of it (Arai and Shoei weren’t very happy) It was a shame as it did lead to better helmet standards down the road.
 

quepina808

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I work in the medical field and we pick up guys all the time in bike wrecks. The biggest thing is to make sure to wear a full face helmet! nothing worse than seeing someone laying on the road without a jaw attached to their face...
 
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I did check out SNELL 2015 and they have updated many things as well.

I too worked trauma shifts in the ER of multistage trauma center.

I fully concur about getting the full face, comfortable helmet that you will wear each and every ride.

The worst vehicular stuff that actually came in not DOA was usually by helicopter and seemed to involve Jeeps or SUVs with canvas top, where people were tossed from the car during rollovers.

Sure we had our fair share of donorcycle accidents and injuries, but as stayed in the article or many discussions of trauma I juries that it’s usually an addition game with head and neck injuries compounded by trauma to the thorax, the pelvis, where many nerves and blood vessels intersect adding up to slim chances of survival or very bad odds.

Where your protective gear as much as possible. That doesn’t guarantee that you will live through an MVA, but it greatly increases your chances of not only living but having a life that you want to comeback to.

One of the worst single motor vehicle accident victims I worked with over time was an only survivor being tossed from a rolling Jeep. While the patient did have a bad head and neck injury, it was something most would recover from over time. In fact this patient was on a very slow road to walking again after more than a year of serious rehabilitation. Their worst injury by far was to the thorax where her rib cage was completely separated from her spine. How she survived was literally miraculous. They flew her into SLC from about 4 hours East in Wyoming.

These rarities do exist but if any of them were wearing seat belts their odds would have been so much better as none of the roll bats on said Jeep were compromised.


Any full faced helmet strapped on properly beats no head/jaw protection. In the article they state that most fatalities occurred with 3/4 helmets or ones with insufficient lower protection and caused blows to the jawbone which reverberate back and break the skull at the brainstem, severing the spinal cord from the medulla oblongata.

A quick but ugly death often decapitating the victim.

Both DOT and Snell needed updating. DOT should have independent testing, which seems to be its worst factor. Luckily most companies realize the mass of underemployed attorneys out there that will gladly take on wrongful death lawsuits and that keeps them as honest as worrying about fines and possible jail time for perpetuating fraud to the Federal government.

Still it can’t hurt to have multiple certifications on your helmet now that all are in agreement that 300Gs is far too many to be considered as the baseline.

At least SNELL got rid of the double hit from solid metal spheres.

I think buying a new helmet in 2019 is worlds apart from any helmet from 1999.

Just remember, one hit or drop is all it takes to need helmet replacement. That and helmets should be replaced every 5 years regardless.

I have 2 helmets currently in my rotation.


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