Motorcycle Helmets

     A helmet during the world war protected soldiers from being shot to the head. It was usually made of steel and thus very heavy. Modern motorcycle helmets are now constructed from hard plastic materials. High priced helmets are made with fiberglass reinforced with Kevlar (one used for bullet proof armor) or carbon fiber. They generally have fabric and foam interiors for both comfort and protection. Motorcycle helmets now have evolved and are much lighter. It is a common misconception that a fracture or a broken skull is the one that helmets are used commonly but it is actually not. The helmets are design rather to protect you from traumatic brain injury while skull and face injuries are also taken into consideration. Brain damage is the very cause of why riders die during head injury, the skull or face usually heals but brain damage results in a change of personality or permanent disability. 

     When looking for a helmet, you need to try it on and make sure it doesn’t move up or down. It should be a snug and comfort fit, not too tight but not too lose either. You should try looking to your left and right, it should move with you. It should feel natural too you and should not have any pressure points commonly on the forehead or your ears.  Do not buy a helmet just because you like the design, comfort and proper fitting should first come to mind. They come in a variety of sizes usually extra small, small, medium, large and extra-large. Helmets also have standards and you usually see this either at the back of the helmet or printed on its tag.

Here are the standards for helmets.

• ACU (Auto-Cycle Union) Gold or Silver badge
• AS/NZS 1698:2006 (Australia and New Zealand)
• BSI (British Standards Institute) 6658
• DOT FMVSS 218 (USA)
• NBR 7471 (Brazil)
• IS 4151 (India)
• JIS T 8133:2000 (Japan)
• Snell M 2005 "2005 Helmet Standard For Use in Motorcycling"
• SNI (Indonesia)
• SHARP (UK) - Star Rating
• ECE 22.05 (Europe)

     Now some helmets have one standard approved and others on premium ones might have two or more tagged or printed at the back, my rule of the thumb the more the better and probably more expensive. If you see any helmet that has a reputable name and brand but do not have any standards printed or marked into it I personally would not buy it. It might be fakes or it might be that the helmet has not gone the standard test.

Full Face Helmet by Scorpion

    A helmet’s weight should also be taken into consideration. The more heavy the weight of your helmet during impact, the more you risk having neck injury. Your neck usually absorbs the impact from the crash so if possible buy the lightest one you can afford.

    Wind noise is also another consideration in buying a helmet. When you’re cruising at 60km/h you might not notice any wind noise but if you’re a long distance rider and travel speeds above 80km/h then you’ll know what I’m talking about. Sometimes the wind noise is just barely tolerable on some cheap helmets that there’s no way to minimize them than to lower the speed. Some helmet manufacturers will give you free ear plugs with the helmet you buy from them. If possible, ask the shop if this helmet is a bit “noisy” or you can read some online reviews of the helmet before buying it.

Helmet Styles

     They come in different styles namely the full face, half face, modular, off road motocross and half helmet. Out of all the styles the full face helmet has the most protection second would be the half face, modular and the off road motocross helmets.

 

Half Face Helmets by Zeus

     The modular helmet is something of a combination of a full face and a half face. The chin bar can be flip up so you can have a breath of fresh air or drink your favorite soda as you take a break while riding.

Riders wearing a modular helmet

     The motocross helmet is usually worn with goggles due to its lack of a visor unlike the full face or half face helmets. The chin bar is also noticeably extended a bit.

a motocross style helmet is worn with goggles

      I would not advise that you get the half helmet  or novelty helmets are now a thing of the past. In some countries the use of half helmets are not anymore accepted.

Helmets not for riding
  
     Some helmets are not for riding but you still see them being worn by motorcyclist from time to time. They are usually for those motorcyclist who only try to trick others of compliance with mandatory helmet laws. Such items are often smaller and lighter than helmets made to DOT standards, and are useless during a real crash because they lack the energy-absorbing foam that protects your brain by allowing it to come to a gradual stop during an impact and obviously will not protect the face from being erased. Some of this so called helmets even fly off since they don't have straps. Some examples would be a hardhat, a baseball cap or a bikers helmet. Well if you know them people wearing such helmets advise them to get a full face or something that is actually useful during a crash, they might fool the law but in the end they only fool themselves with those pale like helmets.

Second hand helmets

     There are some riders offering second hand helmets usually on online buy and sell sites such as eBay. Now is this a good deal? Well you can save actually a lot of money but it is not advisable to do so. First reason is that helmets are only design on first impact, after that there is no guarantee that it will do its job of protecting you. That is why it is advisable to replace helmets after a crash or once every 3 years if you haven’t been to a crash. Another reason is that you can’t be sure the helmet has no damage, the outer designs might be intact but the protective foam might have been already crushed by previous accidents unknown to you. So don’t buy second hand helmets and don’t sell your used ones either.

Helmet do’s and don’t

• Always store your helmet in a safe location and be sure it won’t get dropped on the floor.

• Avoid hanging them on the walls of your room or any area that risk them to dropping.

•  Clean the helmet with mild soap and water do not use heavy solvents for cleaning.

•  Don’t paint or add stickers to them.

• Take care of your helmet and it will take care of you at the best of its abilities when that critical time comes in your riding. Ride Safe Always!