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Full Face Helmets

thad

Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
388
21
Awesome article. Backs up what I've been doing for years, buying cheap DOT helmets and replacing after even the most minor impacts.
Last time I looked at moto helmets, everything was both DOT & Snell. Snell seems way too stiff / not absorbent enough. Like the article said, "you pretty much need Snell cert to sell a helmet in the USA. Customer wants to see that sticker" I was looking at Bell, Fox and Troy Lee.

My last and worst concussion, was a head on into the shuttle truck.... not my best move. I was coming out of the trail hot, was not expecting truck to be bombing down the road, got owned. Out for 10 minutes, dented the bumper with my head, fractured c1 & c6 verts. I was wearing a Bell Drop, which meets ASTM dh standards, and is quite a bit bigger, more of a bobble head helmet in comparison to most dh helmets. Way thicker EPS foam than say a D2 or 661. The fiberglass barely cracked, and EPS foam was slightly compressed. Minor dent, I'd say. I honestly expected the foam to compress and crack a **** load more. I'm sure it helped, but I think more of the energy of the impact should have gone into obliterating the helmet, not my delicate brain tissue.

Honestly, I do not expect to ever have a head impact that severe again. And feel like typical helmet is TOO STIFF/ not absorbent enough. Crumple zones, you know?

It brings up what I've wondered about, how helmet/head size affects impacts. I assume that helmets have the same EPS thickness regardless of head size? I've never checked though. If so it would suggest that bigger guys need stiffer helmets.

Lots of question though. Thicker, heavier helmets would solve a lot of problems. They are already so ridiculously light these days. It seems like a vented, thicker than normal DOT helmet would be ideal.
I want to say most helmet brands have two different sized shells for all sizes. Then adjust the size with the thickness of the EPS liner, as well as the cheek pads and inner liner. No one really gives you much info on the density of the EPS foam that they use.

When it comes down to it, most people buy helmets based on what looks cool/ makes them feel faster. Case in point, the D2, for years and years. That thing was a joke. Huge bobble head helmets do look fairly retarded.

The D3 seems like the best helmet out currently. Peaks and valleys in the EPS seem like they give more "crumple zone", and that red **** is medium density foam that helps with lower impacts.


The Kali COMPOSITE FUSION™ Plus is a similar idea
 

rosenamedpoop

Turbo Monkey
Feb 27, 2004
1,284
0
just Santa Cruz...
Mods... wake up. This site is dying because the same 5 to 10 guys derail nearly every thread into a convoluted high brow pissing match about something off topic.

The OP left the building because you all started using his thread as a place to argue about a bunch of WTF...
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
OP - to sum up all the chatter. Don't buy a new helmet they are all bad. Just don't hit your head.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
sums up a lot of what i was saying:

The problem is that EPS doesn't absorb much energy unless the impact is forceful enough to make it start to disintegrate. "Think of it like a drinking glass," Parks said. "If you hit it lightly it won't deform at all. But if you hit it hard enough it will shatter. It's not really attenuating any impact energy until it starts deforming and cracking."
http://www.bicycling.com/senseless/index.html (taken from william42's thread)
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
Mods... wake up. This site is dying because the same 5 to 10 guys derail nearly every thread into a convoluted high brow pissing match about something off topic.

The OP left the building because you all started using his thread as a place to argue about a bunch of WTF...
one of the mods is part of the problem. :rolleyes:

also, wasn't a thread derailment. it was a discussion as to why a certain recommendation was bad advice.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
Last time I looked at moto helmets, everything was both DOT & Snell. Snell seems way too stiff / not absorbent enough. Like the article said, "you pretty much need Snell cert to sell a helmet in the USA. Customer wants to see that sticker" I was looking at Bell, Fox and Troy Lee.
At the high end yes. There are plenty of cheap moto helmets that are DOT only. Which is hilarious since they are like 1/8th the price and probably protect better.

Edit: One industries DOT only helmet is on chainlove right now!
 
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Verskis

Monkey
May 14, 2010
458
8
Tampere, Finland
Here in Europe you can get some mid or higher end moto helmets without the Snell certification. Many helmets do have it, but not all. European helmets do have to comply to the ECE 22.05 standard, which lies somewhere between the DOT and Snell.
 

dylan s

Chimp
Jan 16, 2010
63
0
Sooo... OP did you get a D3 yet??? :D
Looks like its heading that way. Still interested in the new Giro though to save some cash but it doesn't look like anyone has tried one and i don't really want to be the Guinea Pig.