Helmets - Are they worth it?

[Brettus]

Sorry if this has come up before (i did try a search but couldn't find much that covered this)

I'm looking for a new helmet to replace my damaged Nitro VX-1200, Personally I really like my Nitro, and the one before that, my questions are,

are £200+ helmets REALLY worth the price?
and are Nitro really that bad?I do stress the question is asked with an open mind, if I need to spend £300 on a helmet that is much better then I will but I am struggling to find the worth in that extra £200ish over a decent Nitro :smt017

[Paws]

Personal choice hun, i personally wont wear anything other than shoei or arai-but then i have expensive taste!
I find the more you pay the better the fit/feel...imo.
never tried nitro so cant comment, but if thats what you like and are comfortable in then stick with them :)

[Captain Nemo]

my mate Ian, crashed in his Nitro TT helmet, it had a fist sized hole in it.............but the police tested it and said it was one of the strongest hekmets they had ever tested.....and that nitro should use it for marketing.....the crash he had meant he lost his left leg, broke 6 vertebra and 3 ribs, , and hit a fence head on with the helmet, , yet he had no head injuries whatsover.

theres a lot of snobbery re helmets and a lot of it i think is unfounded, , i for example have an arai astro that was a bargain sale at the nec at £209, ut retailed at £370, , would the arai have got a hole in it??, who can say without being able to do a direct comparison, ,
ive 2 nitro lids and they both seem pretty good, for me the arai fits better so thats a bigger factor in my choice, , i think the fit is very important, i f the nitro fits well then go for whatever you want, Ians helmet was £120 ltd edition of a £90 helmet and it did what it was supposed to do.

[jambo]

You want to be paying for the fit, and construction of the shell.

I bought an AGV TiTech, as it was dicounted by £100 because it was in last year's colours for instance. On some lids it's an extra £100 to have a flash paint job, I wouldn't pay that, I'm happy with whatever colours as long as it's not too daft.

Some manufacturers have multiple sizes of shell, some just use more padding if you happen to have a small head. The best lid is the best one you can afford, that fits you the best.

Arai's cheaper condor lids, Shoei's Raid2, a fair chunk of the HJC range and some of the better AGV lids can all be had for Around or below £250.

It's worth noting that some manufacturers like AGV have lots of similar looking lids, some for £110, some for £350. Now at least some of that cost will be down to construction, so make sure you're buying the best shell you can afford, with the best fit. Don't buy a flash looking cheaply built lid over a dull looking expensive one;)

[Daimo]

I've had a few lids now. The best one I had all round was my cheap HJC one.

My latest Arai, well, I wont be buying another one just yet, esp not at £330. 2 years use and its ready for the skip soon. I won't be spending over £200 on my next lid.

Maybe if i was a weekend rider it would last a lot longer, but using the bike every day, well, its just not cut it really.

[hovis]

top of the range lids, can be bought from the net saving £100+ or there will be bargins at the NEC

i would try a load on and see which fit you the best.

i would stay away from the aldi/lidl type ones, but @ £30 i guess you knew that

[jambo]

As a side note on the finish, my HJC AC10 looked a lot better after 3 years hard work than my AGV TiTech does after 2, unfortunatly the AC10 just didn't fit well anymore and while a new lining was tempting I figured the lid itself was probably past it's best. The lining in the AGV's holding up well :)

[sv-robo]

have a nitro helmet myself{hopefully will never be tested}
only cost £70 and i am happy with it,from what i have heard if you drop a helmet you should replace it immedietly.
i,d rather do this with a 70 quidder than a 3/400 quid one.

Or maybe this is manufacturers after more of our cash:mad:

[kwak zzr]

both my ground head butting experiences have been in HJC ac-11 helmets rrp £199 but can be had for £80 now being an old design, its a cheap good quality lid.

[kwak zzr]

http://www.biker247.com/news/2251.asp

[hovis]

[URL]Infinity Motorcycles are using their massive buying power as the UK’s number one motorcycle & accessory retailer to offer British riders top-of-the-range helmets at HALF PRICE.

i thought Infinity had gone bust

(it must have just been the cardiff one)

[Dave The Rave]

I had Nitro before (for 4 months). It did the job, but I treated meself to Shoei XR 1000 and you will know why it is so much more expensive than Nitro as soon as you put your head in it. Go to few shops and try some new helmets on. But buy from internet. You can get XR 1000 for less that £180 with graphics these days! Bargain. I would personally never go back to Nitro. The Shoei is so much core comfier, and feels a lot more solid to my old Nitro.

[Fizzy Fish]

Anything over c. £150 is going to offer similar standard of protection, and I had a very good Kiwi lid a while back which cost £180 and was the quietest I've ever owned.

That said though, I've been extremely happy with both of the Arais i've had, and consider them well worth the extra ££ for the quality, venting, etc.

[Draper]

You only get one head...hence my original wanting of a 80 quid helmet went to 300 quid arai (after seeing the fat barstard biker jump up and down on the thin kevlar carbon compound layer without it buggering)

[Daimo]

As a side note on the finish, my HJC AC10 looked a lot better after 3 years hard work than my AGV TiTech does after 2, unfortunatly the AC10 just didn't fit well anymore and while a new lining was tempting I figured the lid itself was probably past it's best. The lining in the AGV's holding up well :)

Yeah, after a few winters and balaclava usage, the inside stretches a bit, but had this on every lid i've had.

If replacing your lid every 2-3 years due to usage, it makes a difference.

tbh, the more i look at HJC, the better they seem, in terms of design, paint, features etc..

Will be considering other lids like Shoei and Nitro, but now im more educated in what to look for when getting a lid (i.e my requirements) so this will more effect my decision. Price isn't the decider for me, but doubtfull i'll spend £300 on a lid unless its for my "in a few years time" 2nd weekend bike :lol:

[the_lone_wolf]

I now have 2 HJC HQ-1 helmets, i liked it so much i bought another one for pillions, in different graphics. The dealer i went to stocked everything from Arais down to £80 jobbys, and they recommended the HQ-1 as one of the best bang for your buck helmets. can't see a reason to go for the latest most expensive ones, you'd do much better saving a couple of hundred and buying a better jacket/boots/gloves and a back protector IMO

[amnesia]

My other half has just replaced her top of the line Nitro for an Arai Astro. The Nitro was well under 12 months old but it had most definately seen better days. The seal of the visor wasn't good at all.

The Arai seems much better in all respects.

I have just replaced my 3 year old £150 AGV with an Arai Corsair (last years Nakano colours with £125 off), which is on the whole better but whistles like crazy when the visor is half open.

Arai also offer a good aftersales service (with post-crash xrays to determine helmet condition I believe), and since the distributor is only a few miles from where I live it could be of use.

[Draper]

wheres the arai place then? anywhere near me in wolvo?

cant be too far if you're a stokey

[Lissa]

I don't have any choice when it comes to buying a helmet. The only one that fits me properley is the Shoei Raid XXS. Mine cost me £160, a small price to pay I think, considering the fit and comfort. I just wish there was a better choice of colours:D

[Fearg]

There is a lot more to helmet design than what meets the eye.

In general there are standards that all helmet designs are supposed to meet. I think it would be fair to say that ALL branded helmets on sale in the UK will have had the design tested (probably to destruction) to ensure it meets these standards. So they are all safe to use.

What do you pay for? Well for sure there will be something for a name like Arai or Shoei with there experience in helmet design and sponsorship of motorsports. Younger brands like Nitro fighting for market space will reduce the cost to encourage sales, it doesn't mean they don't work! Other things you pay for, fancy designs (plain lids are sometimes upto £100 cheaper for the same helmet,) comfort (i.e. padding, inner construction (impact absorbing technology for your bonce,) trick bits like vents and visor release mechanisms.

IMO buy a helmet that is a good fit, this is the most important thing! IF you have a choice of helmets that fit then you can choose whether to go for the cheapest, comfiest, best looking, most vents etc.

[Caddy2000]

i thought Infinity had gone bust

(it must have just been the cardiff one)


Well, I'm getting emails from them saying that they are back in business

[DoubleD]

I had Nitro before (for 4 months). It did the job, but I treated meself to Shoei XR 1000 and you will know why it is so much more expensive than Nitro as soon as you put your head in it. Go to few shops and try some new helmets on. But buy from internet. You can get XR 1000 for less that £180 with graphics these days! Bargain. I would personally never go back to Nitro. The Shoei is so much more comfier, and feels a lot more solid to my old Nitro.

I to got me a XR 1000 as well and it fits nice, also a little cut out so I can wear my glasses no problems. (other helmets might do this but my first one didn't)

[Alpinestarhero]

I had a £100 Lazer helmet before my current £250 arai. I gotta say, the extra 150 squids is a worthy investment - the helmet is comfier, lighter, better ventelated and the padding inside hasnt become all squashed down like it did on my Lazer.

If you are using a helmet everyday, its worth investing in a good quality one IMO. Not mega-expensive, but the Arai condor (which I have) is certainly very very good and well worth its money.

Matt

[G]

Shoei XR1000 i have too. Lovely fit, noisey as hell though IMO, but really really light, i dont have much experience in helmets other than the nitro i did my DAS in.....it was poo

[StreetHawk]

The aftersales service from Arai is excellent. If you drop your helmet they will inspect it for free and advise if there is any damage, also Arai dealers will service the helmet for free for 5 years after purchase.. They have trucks at all the big bike meets/races and can do services there too. Plus you can change the cheek pads for bigger/smaller ones if it's a little big/small.

My side pods were sticking and it was hard to get the visor on so I took it to Hein Gericke and they took it all apart, greased and cleaned it all for free! :-) They said they only cos it's an Arai!

[Draper]

surely there is a difference in safety between a standard UK safety rating, and then the gold sticker? thats why i paid the extra ton

obviously fit was good, tried on a good few

[fizzwheel]

Do you have a £50 head ?

Personally fit over style every time, I find that I feel more comfortable in an Arai or Shoei ( I've got both ) My Shoei lasted three years of every day use before I retired it and replaced with an Arai.

Liz has had a string of cheap lids that after 6 or so months dont fit very well anymore... I think you get what you pay for.

I find that with the more expensive brands, the real benefit you get is, Better materials for the inner surfaces of the helmet, better vents, they are lighter and I find that they have a bigger slot to look through.

[Pedrosa]

I ignored all temptations to fall in to snobbery when selecting my Shoei.;)

[Jester666]

Having been a courier for more years than I care to mention, I do have an opinion on this.

I used a £100 Caberg for 3 years before destroying it in an accident (No head injury).

I can see why people buy Arai and Shoei. They are generally lighter and better ventilated. However the premium is too much for me to justify it. The Caberg was perfect for my old job and I have an HJC (Not sure which model, its the one in my avatar) which I use on track and occasionally road during the summer.

Get the best lid you can afford without getting suckered into the 'label' thing! If a cheaper one fits better and feels better get it, but don't go under £100 IMHO.

HTH! :thumbsup:

[Brettus]

cool, wow thanks for all the responses, definitely food for thought, I'm hoping to pick up another bargain at the NEC, got my Nitro 1200 plater orange replica there for £75 with a bag and cap, the RRP is £199 (obviously only fools pay rrp but still a nice saving), i'm ideally aiming between £100 and 200, but will see what the show has to offer, will try all the brands I can get my grubby mitts on :)
Much Appreciated :D

[amnesia]

wheres the arai place then? anywhere near me in wolvo?

cant be too far if you're a stokey


It is Pheonix Distribution in Chesterton, just out side Newcastle under lyme.

[orose]

Just one thing which might shed a little light and that I don't think has been said before: there are two different safety standards for helmet testing.

ECE 22/05 is the minimum safety standard that has to be passed to be sold anywhere in the EU. This is the standard that is passed by the cheaper helmets (less than 100 quid), but does offer a basic level of protection.

BS 6658 A is the latest version of the standard that was in place before the EU one was ratified (presumably 2005, but who knows). This is a bit tougher than the EU standard, and is generally the level passed by the higher cost helmets.

The ACU sticker isn't a measure of the protective abilities of the helmet, but is more a measure of rectal-coverage - you're not allowed on a track with any helmet that doesn't have an ACU Gold sticker, but most BS-rated helmets also have that.

The introduction of the EU ECE standard is the point where suddenly helmets got a lot cheaper, because of the alternative standard - it may be cheaper to meet the EU standard, because you can skimp in some area that isn't being tested to allow you to cut costs.

Hope that helps a little with the weirdness.

[melody]

My head took quite a knocking in my Nitro helmet when I came off. I had the worst headache ever for a couple of days after.

A little over a week later, I'm still getting headaches, however not as severe.

[fizzwheel]

i'm ideally aiming between £100 and 200, but will see what the show has to offer,

IMHO for that sort of Money I don't think you'll find a better lid than a Shoei Raid II. Always gets good reviews and IMHO its well priced to.

[lukemillar]

top of the range lids, can be bought from the net saving £100+ or there will be bargins at the NEC

i would try a load on and see which fit you the best.

i would stay away from the aldi/lidl type ones, but @ £30 i guess you knew that

But if you buy online, then you can't try them on!

[lukemillar]

but is more a measure of rectal-coverage....

erm...what coverage??!

[orose]

Covering your ass, as relating to the insurance side of things.

ACU do test helmets to make sure they can hold up to the potentially higher crash velocities, but the investigation by MCN showing you could buy one for about £25 didn't really fill me with confidence.

[Lozzo]

Just one thing which might shed a little light and that I don't think has been said before: there are two different safety standards for helmet testing.

ECE 22/05 is the minimum safety standard that has to be passed to be sold anywhere in the EU. This is the standard that is passed by the cheaper helmets (less than 100 quid), but does offer a basic level of protection.

BS 6658 A is the latest version of the standard that was in place before the EU one was ratified (presumably 2005, but who knows). This is a bit tougher than the EU standard, and is generally the level passed by the higher cost helmets.

The ACU sticker isn't a measure of the protective abilities of the helmet, but is more a measure of rectal-coverage - you're not allowed on a track with any helmet that doesn't have an ACU Gold sticker, but most BS-rated helmets also have that.

The introduction of the EU ECE standard is the point where suddenly helmets got a lot cheaper, because of the alternative standard - it may be cheaper to meet the EU standard, because you can skimp in some area that isn't being tested to allow you to cut costs.


I don't know where you got your information from, but it is seriously flawed.

For roughly 12 years of my working life I have sold helmets either retail or wholesale, and worked closely with helmet designers when I worked for Nitro as a sales rep.

It has been illegal for any retailer to sell a helmet marked with the BS6658-A since January 2005, regardless of whether or not it also carries ECER22-05 approval.

ECER22-05 is not the reason why helmets came down in price compared to the BS approved ones. It was purely down to the helmet importers having to drop prices to try and compete with the ridiculously low prices that Nitro were originally offered at when they hit the market. ECER22-05 is also not the standard to which sub-£100 helemets are tested to - *ALL* helmets, cheap and pricey, that are sold in UK and EU have to be approved to that standard, and that includes Arai's most expensive offerings. It is the basic level of protection that has to be offered by a helmet, but contrary to the crap that MCN spout, it is a reasonable level considering the price of the helmets that will pass.

MCN will have you believe that a cheaper helmet will be unsafe, quoting instances where helmets have appeared seriously damaged after an accident. What do they expect? If you hit the deck your helmet is going to deform and get mullered, live with it - you bought the bloody thing to save your skull from suffering the same fate, and if you're compos mentis enough to write to MCN about the state of it post-accident, then the helmet has done it's job, you're still alive and your brain is still working (for variable values of working, bearing in mind you read MCN). Let me put it in the bluntest terms I can - Joey Dunlop's Arai RX7 didn't save his life, even the most expensive helmet available won't save you if your number is up.

You've obviously never been involved in helmet design or production, or you wouldn't quote uninformed words about cutting costs etc. You would not believe the hoops that Nitro jump through of their own accord to ensure that the helmets they sell exceed the ECER22-05 standards by a long way. They are submitted to an independent UK testing facility who rate them against figures they have for respected helmets costing up to three times the price, and only when they meet those standards are they passed fit for ECER22-05 approval testing and production.

I won't get involved in the ACU argument because I don't agree with their policy of allowing flip-up helmets to be classed as full face and suitable for racing. Nitro's £39-99 N300-V has a gold sticker, but then again it deserves it, being one of the top 10 strongest lids on the market.

Rant over - deep breaths

[Lozzo]

Sorry if this has come up before (i did try a search but couldn't find much that covered this)

I'm looking for a new helmet to replace my damaged Nitro VX-1200, Personally I really like my Nitro, and the one before that, my questions are,
are £200+ helmets REALLY worth the price?
and are Nitro really that bad?I do stress the question is asked with an open mind, if I need to spend £300 on a helmet that is much better then I will but I am struggling to find the worth in that extra £200ish over a decent Nitro :smt017

You're alive - your Nitro can't be that bad.

I've got a Nitro N1400 VX in the cupboard that I used every day for 18 months and now masquerades as a spare helmet, and it was bloody good value for money. For normal day to day use I now have an Arai Condor, purely because it was cheaper through the trade than a Nitro N1200-VX and because very few manufacturers do a helmet in size XS that fits me properly and is available in plain black.

The price difference will show itself in the quality of the interior materials, weight (carbon fibre construction), venting, quality of the visor and seal, Pinlock fittings etc.

[Lozzo]

Covering your ass, as relating to the insurance side of things.

ACU do test helmets to make sure they can hold up to the potentially higher crash velocities, but the investigation by MCN showing you could buy one for about £25 didn't really fill me with confidence.

£25? they were ripped off. I have a full sheet of ACU stickers here that I could possibly get £5 apiece for, if I was lucky. Maybe someone was just taking the pi$$ out of the thicko MCN scribe who happened upon that story...or maybe they just made it up like the rest of the crap they publish.

[Beenz]

If the lid fits and its comfortable then I think You'll be OK with a cheaper lid.

I wanted a light well ventilated lid and can certainly vote for the Shoei XR1000 which is very light, I'm on my second one. My first one got a little loose after 12K miles, the next one was a size smaller and after the same milage still fits a treat. It's very important that you get a lid that fits correctly and is comfortable. Remember that the padding will compress a little with use (I didn't take this into account with my first XR1000). Both my lids were 'last years' colours being sold off a lot cheaper.

[northwind]

Why I rate arai... My Condor cost me £180, did me for 2 years and about 20000 miles, and was still very comfortable but it took a few more knocks than I was happy with, and the lining had all come loose (the Condor doesn't have a removable liner). In that time it was probably on and off my head about 1500 times, and I'm a bad 'un for sticking gloves etc in my lids, so it had taken a licking. So, I retired it and got a Astro-R (for £250 with a spare visor, at the excel show)

While at the show I got it fitted for me- and what a great service, they replaced one of the pads and tweaked it around and it felt immediately familiar and perfectly comfortable, and still is. But they also suggested I send the Condor back for testing and servicing.

So, I did... Sent it back through Hein Gericke for free, and it came back not just tested for safety, but with a new strap, new cheek pads, the rest of the lining repaired, the chips in the paint touched up, and cleaned. Now, bear in mind I'd not cleaned it for a year, it smelled like something had died in it before.

It basically gets no better than that. Even the testing is an unusual perk, but the rest of it is unmatched IMO.

Before that, I had a HJC ZF-8 which was a fairly good helmet, but after maybe 1/3 of the use that the Condor got it was completely useless, the lining compressed and compromised the fit. It was less comfortable at best than the Arai is now. Even if the 2 helmets protect exactly as well as each other, I spend a lot of time with my helmets on, so I'll gladly pay for comfort. And I'm still a wee bit crash happy, so the servicing option can effectively double the lifespan of a lid.

[orose]

I don't know where you got your information from, but it is seriously flawed.

OK, I can handle that - I think I picked it up from an old copy of Ride, which must have predated your Jan 2005 marker, as they were comparing the standards with each other and their own testing.

Mind you, I do feel smug for actually dragging facts into the thread - it happens far too rarely :rolleyes:

[Lozzo]

OK, I can handle that - I think I picked it up from an old copy of Ride, which must have predated your Jan 2005 marker, as they were comparing the standards with each other and their own testing.

Mind you, I do feel smug for actually dragging facts into the thread - it happens far too rarely :rolleyes:

Credit to you for that, and I'm not afraid to add any facts that may be relevant. The whole testing issue might be boring for some, but when it all boils down to, it it's a very important part of why we have and buy certain helmets.

[blueglassman]

i've learned that choosing a lid is similar to any other purchase. you get what you pay for. i'll use cars as an example. you can buy a bargain, like a kia. it's ok as long as you're just going to and from work, but if you're in an accident, that car (and you) is likely to not hold up as well. Then there's the mid levels, like a Honda, Toyota, or GM. They'll be completely sufficient, with some flaws and lack of features, but solid and reliable nonetheless. Then you can step up to the luxury models which will have solid construction as well as the creature comforts, not quite as barebones as the midlevels. After having tried on just about every lid available, I will always buy Arai. They offer several different shell shapes and sizes as well as different thickness cheek pads to ensure a good fit. Many other manufacturers have just a couple shell sizes and then just add padding, and if you have a small dome it will be bulky and cumbersome. You also want to look for things like a removable and washable liner (very important after those 90 degree summer rides) and ventilation. Not only do you need to worry about the quality of the shell itself, but also the quality of construction in the face shield mechanism, vents, chin vents, etc, and ease of changing the face shield. these are the little things that can break that will really annoy you. I would definitely strongly urge you to not purchase online. I would recommend you try on the lid in a store with a knowledgeable salesperson who can check for fit, and then you need to wear it around the store for at least 20 minutes. That's when you'll find out if you're going to get hot spots or if it's too loose in certain areas. a poor-fitting helmet makes a ride become sucky really fast, and also breaks your concentration on what you're doing with the bike and instead you focus on the pressure point on your forehead (or wherever). so i guess my point after all that is to take your time choosing a lid, and don't get the cheapest, find something that has an established reputation for quality and make sure it fits properly. the end.