New Helmet - whats the score?

[Cheerfulgrin]

so i have a bit of money to buy a new helmet and was wondering what the difference is between the materials, will all cheaper helmets be plastic and more expensive ones made from polycarbonate or something? I'd like to get the best for my money.

silly question really as its for safety kit, but i am on a tight budget, so limited choices for me!

any info as always, very appreciated.
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--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[iMark]

Weight is a factor in price too... Cheaper ones tend to be heavier.



If you're on a budget why get a new helmet?
You need to price to fit not style, You're head might not be the right shape for the cheaper lids ^^
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K8 GSXR 1000
"G" : you got him to have a look at a forum which seems to have established a picture of an erect penis in a cat's mouth as it's mascot and thought he might consider it ok?

[Rogerborg]

"Best" at what?

Safety? The bit that stops you turning into a Warped is the polystyrene inside, not the shell. Check out the SHARP ratings, there's no particular connection between cost and impact protection.

Expansive helmets tend to be lighter and smaller (because cheaper ones use an XXXL shell, or fewer shells, for all head sizes), plus they add about 20mph top speed, 50mph with a dark visor.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[hedgehugger]

Marushin helmets are lighter than some, and cheaper than others.
So not all cheaper range helmets are heavy.

[hedgehugger]

[Teflon-Mike]

Helmets are good for ONE crash.
Dont crash... dont need one 'really'.

If you are likely to crash, you want good protection, and low price.

Club-Racers you will notice tend not to have high end hats. They are cheap, and hence disposeable, that meet approval standards.

But they dont have to wear them for more than 20 minutes or so at a time. They dont have to be 'great' hats, with nice easy to use venting systems, they dont have to lift them up to de-mist at traffic lights or anything.

Proffessional riders, Police, Medics, Instructors? Buy helmets for very different reasons. They DONT expect to crash, but they do spend a lot of time in the saddle at a stretych, so they want comfort. They DO have to wear them in all weathers, and use the features, on the move, so more important to get ones that are more useable, and do have visor mechanisms that stay where you put them, and venting that DOES de-mist in slow traffic etc.

And for them, they want it to last a fair few miles, so buying a top end hat that will keep its finish and is more comfy and useable, can be worth the money, they WILL get the use out of it.

What do you want YOUR hat for? How worried are you about crashing in it? How worried are you about how well it lasts?

These days I do very few miles. I used to buy Shoei's and usually top end ones, becouse they DID last, and they were very comfy, and they did 'work' in thier features. Though for racing, I had 'cheap' AGV's..... and for trials 'cheap' 'Yes' open faces.

I have a Shark Evo now, Snowie bought me. Its NOT a very high end hat; but for the money, good VFM and probably more expensive than I can justify for the miles I do. And I have a dirt cheap £25 'Open-Face' I wear when I just want to grab something to take a bike to the petrol station or test its brakes.

Its ALL down to what is important to YOU and how much you 'value' it.

FIT though is everything. Has that dont fit ent worth shit.

Safety standards, are pretty much for guidance only. Fall off at walking pace you probably wont bump your head any harder than forgetting to duck walking into a low beam or door lintle in a country pub. Come of at 150+ and face plant a Mack Truck? Sharpe rating of your hat, PROBABLY not going to make much difference!

In between where and when a hat will do any good, depends on the actual situation, and there is SO much variation, as to WHAT might get hurt or how much, the pretty SMALL difference in how much 'measured' protection a hat might offer, is not REALLY worth worrying about that much.

So, you buy on FIT and comfort and intended USE.

Materials? Well once upon a time we had polycarbonate hats and fibreglass ones. Modern composites blurr the edges and there's huge variations in how they work, BUT.

Racers used to favour Fibre-Glass. The shell was stiffer and had more abrasion resistance. And there were few poly-carb hats that were 'Type-A or 'Gold' approved for racing.

This lead many road riders to favour them, as if racers wore them they MUST be good.

In fact. the polycarbs, often cheaper and slated for notbeing as good, for PROTECTION often worked BETTER in road situations, becouse teh softer shell, though it could wear through more quickly, often wouldn't have time to wear through in the short slide on a real road where something hard would stop you sliding pretty smartly, and THERE in that sudden halt, the more flexible poly-carb shell, would deform more of the energy absorbing polystyrene liner, and so take more impact energy out of the accident.

Something that has only recently started to be more accepted, and more expensive hats using less 'rigid' shell constructions, and often using more complicated poly-carbonate 'composite' materials, with glass-fibre or carbon or kevlar incorporated into the 'lattice' of the structure.

To all extents and purposes, as far as we are concerned; it ought NOT make much odds WHAT the shell is made of.

Bit of the hat that does the job is pretty much the same; expanded polystyrene.... just like they used to pack sterio's and stuff in!

THAT is what absorbs the impact energy by crushing, whats outside it, merely keeps it in the right place!

so that shell construction is only REALLY of import in how heavy it is, and what porecautions you need to take to look after it.

Some materials are more solvent resistant than others, for example, som edegrade in UV light.....

But again, within anticipated 'life' of hat, maybe 3-years, ought not be a BIG worry, just keep it clean and dont leave it hanging up an a concervatory!

So, back to fit.

Cheap way to make a range of hats; make three shell sizes. Small, medium and Large.

To make Extra small and extra extra small, you sick more polystyrene in tside teh shell to pack gap between head and shell.

To make extra large and extra extra large, you put in LESS polystyrene.

And you do the same with the medium shell to make the inbetweenie sizes in the normal range around medium.

SO, if you have a fairly 'normal' size head around 'medium' which I think is about 58cm.... probably wont make much odds.

If you have a very BIG head, though you could have a hat without SO much shock-absorbing stuff in it.

If you have a very TINY head, you could end up with a HUGE heavy helmet and a LOT of polystyrene around you!

Better makers will have more shell sizes, and only vary by one or two 'sizes' per shell, and I think that the normal range takes about five shells to cover well. While top-line makers will often use seven seperate shell sizes, each sheel only covering perhaps two hat sizes.

So better makes, you can get closer fitting, and probably 'snugger' helmets. Cheaper ones, might put an awful lot of unnecessary hat on your head.

Then you get to the quality of fitting and trim. Better makers tend to have 'better' visors and venting mechanisms, that are easier to use, and are more reliable in operation. Same goes for fastenings.

THIS sort of 'detail' is often ALL you are 'really' paying for in higher end hats. THAT and the cudos of the brand name, and the fasionability of the paint scheme.

So, dont sweat the small stuff, and dont be over sold on what are probably 'incidental' 'features'.

Sharpe Rating, actual test standard, the brand name, the paint scheme, the novelty of the strap mechanism, or the cleverness of the venting, or 'fighter pilot' sun visors and STUFF.

Buy on fit and comfort, and the 'quality' you need to do the job intended vis anticipated life of the hat. And ONLY pay for the 'luxuaries' of 'better' finish or 'novelties' if you can afford them, and IF you dont have to sacrifice fit or comfort to get them.

And ONE thing worth bearing in mind; cost of replacement visors.

Top end hats, a new visor can be as expensive as a cheap helmet.

A hat you cant see out of is no fucking use at all, and so many people NEGLECT thier visor, and on expensive hats WILL NOT throw it away, becouse it was 'so expensive' (guilty mi-lud!... wore my last Shoei WELL past its sell by date becouse it ws like a pair of favourite shoes and SO comfy, but couldn't justify cost of another high end hat!)

Visors are easily scratched, or scratched, and render even best hat wose than useless.

When I get a new hat, I like to get at least one spare visor with it, preferably two, and one of the two I get a Fog-City shield for..... Salesmen hate to haggle on price, but they will often be a bit more accomodating, and if you are buying a £150+ hat, at very least throw in the Fog-city even if they wont chuck in spare visor to go with it!

Fog City fitted visor for damp days, clear for good weather, keep them clean and keep them scratch free and you always have a spare if one DOES get scratched or etched up, and you dont have to peer through bathroom glass letter box at the world!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Cheerfulgrin]

thanks for the input guys, especially Mike.

I have my eye on a polycarbonate one with lots of vents, looks a bit lighter than the one i have and comes with pinlock ready visor too.

thanks again
____________________
--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[HJM]

mikes on a role with these posts today!!!
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"90% of all statistics are made up"

CBT-18/04/2013

[Clanger]

[MG]

[Clanger]

[MG]

[HJM]

haha
____________________
"90% of all statistics are made up"

CBT-18/04/2013