Helmets...why pay more?

[wanaride]

I'm currently on my third HJC helmet and I have been impressed with HJC thus far. It seems odd to me that I wear a $100 helmet and $300 boots...

Can anyone tell me whether or not the more expensive helmets (Arai, Shoei, TLD) offer better head protection than the less expensive brands like HJC?

If they do a better job in the protection department I'll likely move up next time, but if all that extra money is simply thrown at better graphics and lighter materials, I'll stick with HJC.

I really don't care what my "favorite rider" is wearing, I just want maximum protection.

Thanks!

 

[KX02]

Allot of pro's are wearing HJC, I haven't heard anything bad about them. Just remember boots are made in Italy, use more expensive materials, and require allot of labor. HJC and most other helmets are made in Asia these days where labor is dirt cheap.

 

[biglou]

Check out this thread, particularly post #7 http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=106563&referrerid=19516

 

[DEX]

Another local pro racer and guy I practice with occasionaly has a saying on this subject.

"If you have a hundred dollar head, wear a hundred dollar helmet. Personally I have a hundred dollar head but protect it with a thousand dollar helmet." :)

I just went to that auction site and bought two 500 dollar helmets for 100 dollars each!

 

[xsnrg]

wanaride, With the HJC, stay with the AC-X1 or X2 and up rather than the CLX line and I believe you have protection on par with the Bell, Shoei, and Arai. Get a shell that will crack if you take a hit (composite) rather than a shell that would bounce (solid thermoplastic).

 

[marcusgunby]

They all pass the safety standards so i would be surprised if they differ that much in protection levels, i think the fit is important to allow the helmet to work properly.

 

[bclapham]

The Shoei and the Arai far, far exceed all the others in terms of saftey. I have a friend that works in the industry, he buys all the helmets on the market and they test them, so i have this info on good authority. The Shoei and Arai are made in Japan and are much higher quality IMO.

As for the TLD, all you are paying for is the expensive paint job.- TLD dont even make that helmet, its made in Korea by a company that only made mountain bike helmets before, no wonder its light!

Its a bit like comparing a Honda with a Kia!

If you are looking for a top quality helmet on a budget, have a look at the Shoei V-Moto- rockymountain has good prices for them.

 

[bclapham]

They all pass the safety standards so i would be surprised if they differ that much in protection levels, i think the fit is important to allow the helmet to work properly.

Sorry marcus, some pass, some fail and some far exceed the standards.

But you are right, fit is very important.

 

[wanaride]

Thanks guys, outstanding info, especially from bclapham about his buddy in the helmet testing industry.

Sounds like I need an excuse to slip a $400-500 purchase by the wife...well, she is the one who noted how stupid it was to have a $100 helmet and $300 boots!! :)

 

[bclapham]

Wanaride- check out the V-moto by Shoei- its very good value.

Also, Shoei have a new lid coming out, so have a look for good deals on their VFRX lid.

 

[holeshot]

If you've got a $450 head, buy a $450 dollar helmet. I figure my head is worth about $200. :fft:

 

[marcusgunby]

bruce your probably right but i would like to see the data before knowing this to be the case.

 

[tx246]

oh boy....this helmet stuff is a pet peeve of mine. the only problem i see with people buying expensive helmets is that they might not replace them when they should. it takes deep pockets to be able to can a helmet after a few knocks on it. people dont realize the damage a helmet takes to the inner styro on the simplest of impacts. i challenge yall to take a good look at the styro liner of the helmet that you are going to wear this weekend. most are painted black and impressions and cracks show up easily. those impressions are where your head was decellerated from simple get offs. from my understanding, its the liner performs most of the work in decellerating your head. my last helmet never saw me going over the bars at 40mph or running into trees. as a matter of fact most of the helmet trauma was generated by lowside crashes in corners. my point is that i would rather have a fresh middle of the road helmet than an old top of the line helmet that should of been replaced but wasnt because of money. for those of you who can say you replace your top shelf helmet at the first sign of liner damage, carry on, but those of you who cant honestly say you would replace it might consider the above.

 

[Okiewan]

Very good point tx246.

 

[bclapham]

Well, all i can talk about is my experience with Shoei- they offer free inspection, and their customer service is excellend. I know quite a few riders that have had a good crash, but they have checked everything out and have cleared them for future use.

One note, the thing that puts the Shoei and Arai above the rest is that they make a new shell for every size, rather than one shell with different thickness padding etc.

As for the expense of things- well, i am not gonna cheap on a helmet, but i dont think just over $300 is too bad for the Shoei that i run. What amazes me is that people will show up with a $500 pipe, yet run cheapo helmets.

 

[kuritaro9]

i would have to say that sizing is the most important thing.i have an "lets say odd"shaped head,and found that i can pretty much only wear arai lids.a bonus is that they sell dif. sized cheek pads for a perfect fit.not many companies do that.i know here in japan,the also offer an inspection service.not sure about the states.i love my arai.it is the most comfy thing i have ever worn...for a helmet anyway.also,some of the higher end companies will sell blank shell to a reputable painter,then when the paint job is done,they ship it back to them for arai to install all the labels and foam.that way it wont void the warranty.check out a shop that carries a lot of lids,and try them on till you find one that fits.remember that the liner will break in slightly,so if it is a little snug at first,it may fit perfect after a ride or two. :cool:

 

[Sawblade]

One note, the thing that puts the Shoei and Arai above the rest is that they make a new shell for every size, rather than one shell with different thickness padding etc.

Arai only does this with their street helmets. I pulled the following from Arai's web site from the FAQ.

WHAT ABOUT OPEN-FACE AND OFF-ROAD HELMETS?
Arai's Motocross and off-road helmets - the VX and MXC series - as well as our three-quarter open-face helmet lines - the Classic and SZ Series - do not share the multiple-fit packages. These are built on a single-fit package that runs in the middle of the shape range. This is because Arai has had very little problem fitting customers choosing these products, within the single-fit package.

Bell has has the new Moto8 coming out with a release date of April. MSRP for the Moto8 matt black is $350.95. The McGrath and Motoworld is $399.95, with the rest of the colors going for $375.95.

http://www.bellmoto8.com

tx246 - Okies right, nothing but straight shooten and common sense on that one!

 

[bclapham]

you guys can wear whatever you want-i am not here to prove myself right or wrong on this topic. i wear a shoei since i have it on quite good authroity that they make one hell of a good and very safe helmet, that is supposedly better than anything out there. it wasnt cheap, and if it gets a knock, then i will replace it, regardless of $$$$

last year, we lost about 10 (TEN) riders at my local tracks. One young man was from my club, he died from head injuries sustained from a racing crash. I am not saying any brand would have saved him or not, but i will never forget the tears i have shed over that, and the tears i saw plenty of others shed. For that, i will go an extra week on a set of tires, or a month on a top end, or just not bother with them new graphics for sake of getting the best helmet i can.

The first post was about the high end helmets vs boots- my opinion, dont spend more on your boots than you do your helmet.

 

[Jaybird]

The tests that the Gov. madates be conducted on helmets to meet certain specifications...DOT, Snell, etc... are the very same tests for all helmets,yes?
Bruce, when you say that some helmets do not pass...are you saying that these helmets are listing that they meet the specifications, yet they don't really pass the tests? Or do you mean that these helmets aren't passing the tests that your Pal is conducting on them?
If a helmet passes the DOT and Snell approvals, can we not assume that they are safe per industry standards?
I just have a hard time buying the high-dollar helmet logic that gets thrown around.
My personal opinion is right in line with Marcus and tx246.

If I have a very serious crash involving my headbone, I will definately check things out and try to discern if I need to replace my helmet or not...however, I want to see a show of hands of all the folks who change out helmets after a crash no matter what. Be honest.

Bruce, how many times did you crash last year? Trash out your helmet each time?
One more question, while I'm on a roll....could ya float a brother a loan? :)

 

[jmics19067]

Jay bird,

I beleive Bruce is saying that the helmets that pass the tests, do pass the tests, it is just that some helmets have better grades with Arai & Shoei on top. Also D.O.T. tests are only mandated for street legality, Snell is a volunteer program the helmet manufactures sign up for. There are some helmets out there that don't meet either.Kinda ticks me off that there are hard shelled motorcycle styled helmets out there that might be good enough to teach your kid to roller skate ,but since it looks like a motorcycle helmet some people think it is good enough to protect you when riding.

". from my understanding, its the liner performs most of the work in decellerating your head. my last helmet never saw me going over the bars at 40mph or running into trees. as a matter of fact most of the helmet trauma was generated by lowside crashes in corners. my point is that i would rather have a fresh middle of the road helmet than an old top of the line helmet that should of been replaced but wa"

That is a question I ask, unfortunately I believe the answer is that you can't be overprotected, and there is no written rule on what is adequate protection. All the tests are done in the same manner for all helmets while all crashes are going to be different.And I am not so sure that the testing involved can ccurately duplicate the different types of problems helmets are supposed to protect us from. I have had relatively high speed instances where you tumble and slide,helmet visor broken off,all scratched up and just plain ugly looking shell with no known damage to my skull :think: I have also been trail riding at relatively slow speed when i just run into a low hanging branch that rung my bell hard enough that I would quit riding for the day :bang: .

My only recourse is to buy a Snell2000 that I can afford at the time buy early and buy often since I dont bother with sending them out to get tested.

 

[Lissa]

Here's the deal, the low dollar helmets are a two piece design while the more exspensive helmets are a one piece design. Even on the middle-of-the-road helmets they are also a two piece design. The difference? The two piece has seam that goes straight down the middle of the helmet. The manufactues will usually sand this seam away so it 'looks' like a single piece construction helmet. What this means is upon a really hard impact it could split in half! Not good. I wore HJC's, KBC's and now I wear a Arai. I will never again buy a cheaper helmet. Just the differences in construction between this and my previous helmets when I disassemble them to wash the liner is huge. The more exspensive helmets are also lighter and fit much more snug and secure. Don't be fooled, it is worth the money for a better helmet.

 

[bclapham]

the first thread was asking the difference between the high end helmets and the regular ones.

I answered this to the best of my knowledge, i believe there is a big difference between the japanese made Arai and Shoei and the others that are made in Korea and elsewhere in Asia.

It seems this thread is turning into one of those "I am right, you are wrong, lets beat this to death threads" I am not arguing anymore, where what helmet you want.

 

[fundgh]

I am just getting into dirt riding, but the last bit of MC experience I had was plowing into the back of a stopped car doing about 40. I did considerable damage to my MC, and I took the tailgate on my mouth (guard). The helmet is done, but made a great sacrifice. I had on hiking boots (ruined), a polar fleece jacket (cut off by ems), and Jeans (ripped), but my head was OK. Point being...my helmet was the only piece of gear that I had invested in, and had I skimped and bought a German Soldier top cap, I would be missing everything from my nose down. I agree with the point that you should not skimp on a helmet, but the question in my mind is, are there helmets that DO NOT protect your head sufficiently? Are the $100 O'neal, Fox, Thor, Answer, No Fear, etc helmets lacking anything? Are the high dollar helmets going to protect you more in a crash, or are they just filled with bitchin' features like ventilation, paint, removable/washable foam?

 

[bclapham]

are there helmets that DO NOT protect your head sufficiently? Are the $100 O'neal, Fox, Thor, Answer, No Fear, etc helmets lacking anything? Are the high dollar helmets going to protect you more in a crash, or are they just filled with bitchin' features like ventilation, paint, removable/washable foam?

In my opinion, yes. Also, my opinion is that i dont want to prove that right or wrong for the sake of $200-300!

Heres a funny story- well maybe not funny actually. I friend of mine had a brand new $200 helmet from one of the high end gear manufacturers. He was waiting on the gate for his moto, and someone crashed on the track right in front of everyones view. This dude had the same helmet on as my friend, and it split right in two, down the middle seam.

Needless to say, my friend turned up the next week with a different lid!

 

[bclapham]

Arai only does this with their street helmets. I pulled the following from Arai's web site from the FAQ.

WHAT ABOUT OPEN-FACE AND OFF-ROAD HELMETS?
Arai's Motocross and off-road helmets - the VX and MXC series - as well as our three-quarter open-face helmet lines - the Classic and SZ Series - do not share the multiple-fit packages. These are built on a single-fit package that runs in the middle of the shape range. This is because Arai has had very little problem fitting customers choosing these products, within the single-fit package.

Bell has has the new Moto8 coming out with a release date of April. MSRP for the Moto8 matt black is $350.95. The McGrath and Motoworld is $399.95, with the rest of the colors going for $375.95.

http://www.bellmoto8.com

tx246 - Okies right, nothing but straight shooten and common sense on that one!

Sawblade:

1. are you sure that is talking about using just one shell? doesnt sound clear to me.

2. lets talk dollars- if you dont think $350-400 is too much for a lid, you can get the Shoei V-moto for less.