Buying motorcycle helmets used to be easy. Plastic was crap, Fibreglass was good, Kevlar / Carbon was best. If it was a Shoei, Arai or Bell it was good, everything else was only OK.
BUT – interestingly enough, every single helmet you could buy had passed the crash test standard, so the better / worse was opinion, nothing more. In Australia this is an Australian Standard (similar to the US DOT standard, and many others). Really, it’s a “minimum”, everything on the market is better than the standard, it’s just a question of how much.
There was a defacto “better” standard – Snell. This was only issued to the “best” helmets, so if you cared, you bought a helmet that also had Snell certification.
Well now there is something better. The UK govt has setup a research and testing laboratory to test and rate motorcycle helmets like they crash test cars – with a star rating. You’ll find it at http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/
The testing is based on the new EU standard ECE 22.05 and discussed on webbikeworld.
I just bought a new Shark RSR2 to replace my aging Arai Qantum(1996). The new Shark is comfortable, quieter than the Arai on my head, and has a 5 star rating.
I prefer the new EU standard over Snell etc after reading this debate on MotorCyclistOnline and the testing they did. The base concept is that the Snell standard is very tough, and a tough helmet is not as soft and squishy. Soft and squishy is more likely to be useful to you in the accidents you are most likely to die from. The more serious accident that the Snell rated helmet is designed to protect your head for, will leave you dead from other injuries and with brain damage anyway.
Of course nothing will protect you from those big ones that just leave you dead.
Dugie, quote of the day…
“Of course nothing will protect you from those big ones that just leave you dead”
My immediate thought was “except physics, especially the one about an object in motion…”. I had a mental picture of me in a Hummer H2 wearing the cheapest dodgy helmet on the market, and some poor soul (or former soul depending on your beliefs) on a GSXR1000 with a $2000 lid….
You make mention of replacing a 13 year old helmet, but you are now paying attention to 5 star safety ratings.
I suggest that from now on you purchase helmets more regularly. Check what all the manufacturers say about the age at which helmets should be replaced. All the ones I have seen state 5 years from manufacture. This is due to the materials used in construction perishing over time (not just the padding compressing and causing a looser fit for helmets without replacable pads, but also the foam used to absorb any impacts).
Always good to see a new standard though. Better to be able to make informed decisions with more information.