expensive helmets

[stranger12]

Hi Guys,

I am spending decent money to get myself some quality leather and helmet to protect me in case needed.

I have bought the leather etc and now time for helmet.

Mine is spada and at the time i paid £100 for it .

I have seen some Shoei helmet as high as £500 or some shark ones.

What is the difference in your view? is it worth spending that much money on a helmet?

is it not the case that they all have fiber etc in them which can protect you ?

Also my helmet looks a bit silly , well at least I think of it that way .
To me racer helmets look more professional and eye catching . mine seems to be to round with no shape etc like those which delivery guys put on.

https://images.esellerpro.com/2189/I/306/60/Spada-Tucana-Flip-Front-Motorcycle-Helmet-Matt-Black-2.jpg

so in your view, why should I spend a fortune on a good brand helmet?

should it be very tight fitting ?

what brands would you go for ?

for instance I know dainse and alpinstar are amongst the best brands and rst is midway so did go with rst . same with helmet if you think that will do
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SV650 Red
R6 Red

[Tungtvann]

There will be people here who say they spent 15p on their helmets and they're fine, and those who've spent £500 on theirs and say it's worth every penny.

My experience, first helmet was a £170 Shark, was okay but didn't wear too well and had a few problems. Second helmet is a £400+ Shoei, so far, so good.

[stuartt]

if you have £250 - £300 the reevu is a great helmet .

[FriendlyEllis]

I have an HJC RPHA-10 and love it.
They change the designs all the time so "last seasons" are always discounts.

https://www.lidsdirect.co.uk/clearance-sale/clearance-helmets.html?helmetbrand=24&p=2

Although a mate of mine has a Shark and the in built drop down sun shade is v useful.

https://www.lidsdirect.co.uk/clearance-sale/clearance-helmets/shark-s900c-creed-black-white-red.html

I think at a certain point you're just paying for a name...... But then again these firms (shoei, arai etc) must have good products to get a good name in the first place.
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Honda CB600F Hornet 2013 -> Kawasaki Z1000SX ABS Tourer 2015

[Ste]

The £500 helmets have got the latest paint jobs, might be slightly lighter and might have a few more air vents. But all helmets have passed the same safety standard tests so you're paying for things that don't offer you any extra protection to your head.

If a £50 lid from Aldi fits you better than a £500 Arai then the £50 one will protect you better.

What someone else says is a great helmet doesn't matter, what fits you is what matters.

Fit is everything.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Over the years used a few. Nava (cheap), Kiwi (cheap and fitted pretty well, but not that tough), Nolan (not cheap at the time, fitted pretty well), then had Shoei lids. The Shoei lids (none anything like top of the range ones) fitted well, were pretty tough and lasted well.

However Shoei seem to have changed the shape of heads they are designed for and they no longer fit me so well. Last lid I bought was an RST one. The size and shape wise fits my head better than the Shoei ones do now, but it isn't a nice fit (ie, rather than fitting all over it is as though it has lumps of padding which fit) and quality wise feels cheap.

All I would suggest is having a good hunt round to find which lids fit you.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[waffles]

I have used cheap lids and expensive lids, the ones that I found were the best for me were the ones that fitted correctly and were comfortable. So long as it's going to give you the best chance of reducing injuries if your head hits something, does it really matter how much it costs?

Buy the best one for your head (that you can afford).
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Drax]

Started off with a HJC - good piece of kit for the money.

Then moved to Arai as my head fit.

Moral of this story - try before you buy(On your head - over here my son!!)

[chickenstrip]

Pretty much all helmets consist of the same things. An outer shell, which may be of fibreglass, polycarbonate plastic (rarer nowadays), or of multi composites (which may include carbon, Kevlar etc). Underneath this is the EPS, a thick layer of polysterene, usually affixed to the outer shell using some kind of double-sided sticking tape. And inside that, you have the liner and padding; most commonly these days, the padding will be attached using poppers so that you can remove it for washing.

This applies for cheap and expensive helmets. Whilst the modern outer shell composites may add significantly to the price of the helmet, they won't necessarily add significantly to the protection the helmet gives you, although they may contribute. Other price-increasing things will be the quality of the lining materials, the complexity of the ventilation systems and vents, and the amount of research that has gone into the overall shape, streamlining etc.

So as has been said, the most important factor is the fit. If a helmet does not fit well, in an impact, more force will be applied to the skull as the helmet has room to accelerate/move. If the helmet is a good snug fit, this movement will not occur, and the EPS will be allowed to do it's job of absorbing the major part of the impact.

The helmet should fit snugly all around. It should sit on top of the crown of your head, and should be snug against your forehead without being so tight that a few minutes of wearing leaves a big red weal on your forehead, or cause headaches. The cheek padding should squeeze the cheeks a bit from new. Your chin should have full depth protection from the chin bar of the helmet.

Everybody has different shape heads, so it does not follow that any make of helmet will give you a good fit in your particular crown measurement. Helmets from different manufacturers will also have different shapes, so you must try them on to see if they are compatible with your shape.

In some helmets, if the crown, forehead and general fit is good, but the cheeks are too tight/loose, you will be able to swap the cheek pads for a different size. I find this with the HJC RPHA10 - a medium fits very well but is too loose in the cheeks, whilst a small is too tight elsewhere. Therefore, if I was to buy this helmet for myself, I can change the cheek pads to those from the S/XS to give me a good all round fit.

How's that for a TL;DR effort?!

[Shaft]

I've almost always had premium lids, but I've also had a couple of cheapies and you can tell the difference a mile away.

Latest one is an MX lid I bought while I was waiting for an expensive one I'd ordered; it does fit pretty well and it's comfortable, but it's heavy, noisy and all the 'add ons' (vents, peak etc) are flimsy and look it.

It's the details that make it worth the extra, IMHO. For example, on the cheap lid, the strap is shorter and less flexible and the D rings haven't got properly bevelled edges, so it's possible for the strap to snag against them, then you haven't got enough to get hold of to give it a good pull.

As said, they all meet the same standards and fit is the highest priority, but I would rather feel like I'm using something quality, even if that is only a psychological thing.

I've just bought a cheap flip off the net to leave at work, so I'll be interested to see what that's like, when it turns up next week.
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Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
WooHoo, I'm a Man Point Millionaire! https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=234035

[Old Git Racing]

If you're doing wheelies and knee downs I'd get the best you can afford.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[Benno]

https://sharp.direct.gov.uk for safety ratings

They all conform to the same minimum standard though and the truly expensive won't be significantly safer. The margins of a crash would have to be astronomically narrow to make a difference between injury or no injury if comparing a cheap helmet to a safer, more expensive one.

Basically what I'm trying to say is an expensive helmet, if safer at all, is only going to be negligibly safer. Pore over the safety ratings all you want. I'd go for something that reduces noise as much as possible if I had the money to spare, but earplugs will do for 40p what a Shoei will do for £600.

I also prefer system helmets because they are easier to put on and take off (with earplugs/earphones) and are convenient. HJC do some decent cheap ones with good safety ratings, and features like sun visors, bluetooth capability, etc.

Buy in a shop, don't order online. You ought to try it on before you buy. Bad luck if you get nits.
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I'm autistic. That means I'm smarter than you.

[Ste]

[Eddie Hitler]

I've always used AGV, found they fit my head shape perfectly. You could spend £500 on an amazing helmet, if it doesn't fit you properly it's worthless in a crash. Find what fits best, regardless of cost.

[Dave70]

Lids are like whores. A £20 smack head whore will ultimately do the same job as £1,000 whore but, the £1,000 pound whore will be more classy and generally have nicer features.

HTH

[Shaft]

A couple of things I should add.

I have found that cheaper lids can fit OK and be comfortable, but they always seem to have pressure points, ie they are tighter in certain areas and looser in others, whereas more expensive helmets have a better overall fit.

Also, the more expensive brands often use multiple shell sizes, so when you buy an XS, it's not just an XXL full of padding.
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Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
WooHoo, I'm a Man Point Millionaire! https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=234035

[biggeeman]

Any of the main brands will be fine
biggest problems with helmets is fitting not so much the brand so get it sized and fitted properly.
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lol your funny

[pinkyfloyd]

Double post, nothing to see here!
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[pinkyfloyd]

[sidewinder]

I find my £99 box helmet is very comfy and a good fit.had it 3yrs now and still looks ok

[BrownTrousers]

As mentioned, all helmets will have met the same safety standards and fit is everything. Of course if you pay a bit more you might get extra features like better vents, sun visors or pin lock but can still get all that <£150 so not sure I'd want to cough up £300+.

Also worth mentioning that if you drop that thing off a chair or knock it on the floor once, you affect the protection it offers forever and thus it becomes less safe. If you've spent £400 on it you might be tempted to not replace it and then you are compromising your safety.

Just my

[thepuma]

Ive got 6 helmets at present (cant help buying more!!)

Ive got 2 HJC lids....a £30 CS14 and a £300 RPHA10....they both fit fine but to be honest I much prefer wearing the cheaper one (I only tend to wear the more expensive one just because ive spunked so much money on it) the cheaper one has a slightly smaller shell, feels lighter and has a ratchet fastening rather than the bloody fiddly D rings. BUT....it doesnt have pinlock (so cant use it in winter) and is louder at speeds.

Most people will advise to try loads on and physically buy in a shop....this is sensible but I currently have 6 lids from 4 manufacturers and they are all size medium and they all fit fine, so ive never understood that really (maybe my head shape changes!!). You get much more for your money buying online..lids direct are good for big discounts on last years designs.
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YBR125 (SOLD) - CBR250R(SOLD) - CBR650F(SOLD) Current - Street Triple
765 RS

[c_dug]

[-Matt-]

I don't think more money = more safety with helmets at all personally.

It might be a bit more functional in terms of fancy bluetooth gadgetry, vents, visor changing or some other non-essentials, but in terms of actual safety and strength if its passed the standard tests and meets the legal requirements, any helmets as good as another.

I've worn helmets ranging from 30-120 quid the last 7 years. Crashed in a 45 quid one and it took the impact fine. It just depends on how you crash and what you hit, plenty of people wearing arai and shoei helmets die just as easily as those wearing a cheap ebay lid.

[stranger12]

i have dropped mine dozen times and thought it is ok as I was fool and left it on the bike seat so when doing the locking etc , it did fall off and roll and few other times while trying to do multiple things so guess mine is gone and time to bin ?
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SV650 Red
R6 Red