Helmets - Are they worth it?

Originally Posted by Draper

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.

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.

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]

Originally Posted by Brettus

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.

Originally Posted by 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

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

Originally Posted by orose

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

erm...what coverage??!

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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

Originally Posted by 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,

1. are £200+ helmets REALLY worth the price?
2. 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

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

£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.