What is the safest helmet to buy?

[J∆kk∆ls]

Splashed out R3k for a Kask Vertigo because I like the design and the way it felt on my head. I imagine the price only influences the weight and comfort but a helmet is a helmet. 

 

As long as the helmet is in tact and it fits then it should keep your noggin from cracking open. But if your going to bomb down hill get a full face!  

[pista]

  On 6/23/2015 at 11:45 AM, Jakkels said:

Splashed out R3k for a Kask Vertigo 

That's more than my bike costs

[J∆kk∆ls]

Did I mention that I cringed when I swiped the card. Still no regrets. It is a killer comfy lid that I forget I'm wearing on long rides.

[Lefty V]

  On 6/23/2015 at 10:32 AM, Renaissance Man said:

Nope, just the ventilation. 

 

At the end of the day, apart from the newer MIPS helmets which claim to provide better impact absorption, they're all just compressed polystyrene. The reason the "better" helmets cost more is due to the amount of R&D that goes into designing a helmet that has as much ventilation and as little weight as possible without sacrificing the impact absorption and strength that a skate / pisspot helmet has.

 

A skate / bmx helmet undergoes SIGNIFICANT forces when they bail. They just don't have as much need for ventilation... 

 

Yes, lighter weight helmets do stress the neck less,  but you're not pushing multiple g's where that becomes a problem. 

 

Buy the helmet that fits you best, and provides some protection around the back of the head (no protruding sci-fi like shapes to give funny ways to land on the back of your head) End of story. That may be a R 300 pisspot, it may be a R 2,000 Bell Super. Fit is key. Not price. Not brand. 

 

In the case of a full face helmet, the chin-bar is an important area. Also, they're that much heavier than half-shell lids. 

My reason for mentioning shock was subjective opinions based on:

1. skate helmets are typically not as bulky (closer to your noggin) and therefore I thought less distance/material to deform and decelerate

2. I get the idea that skate helmets are designed to take multiple hits and survive. Breaking is one way of dissipating energy - ie. good in my opinion.

 

 

Unrelated:

After my crash (with a Bell helmet) I seriously looked at the "greater coverage" enduro helmets and I found that a great number of them were styled differently without really affording extra cover. I ended up buying an XC-style helmet that fits perfectly.

 

Interestingly enough one of the best fitting helmets for me ended up being a First Ascent at almost a third the price of some similar "reputable brand" units. Kudos to them for making what looks like a good product at a good price

[scotty]

  On 6/23/2015 at 10:58 AM, ahp005 said:

I am amused by people buying R80000 or even R50000 bikes but they buy the cheapest helmet they can find. Were talking about your head where some people's brains are situated and it must be protected. And a ballbox is not a helmet.  

Certainly the PnPay type helmets must be avoided but my bikes cost from R8000 to R16000 and my helmets are Giro and Bell none costing more than R800. They have functioned well when tested from encounters with metal monsters to having a large concrete paving stone lobbed at it. After each encounter I have replaced it out of safety even if it appears still good. 

[Wayne Potgieter]

Perhaps the "Skate" style helmets are actually Nutcase helmets?

 

I have a couple of them...they are pretty cool.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

  On 6/23/2015 at 12:25 PM, Wayne Potgieter said:

Perhaps the "Skate" style helmets are actually Nutcase helmets?

 

I have a couple of them...they are pretty cool.

Yep. This...

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MfsDYdW8L.jpg

 

I still have mine, in exactly this colour. Just replaced it with another Bell that has better ventilation for hotter days. 

[Wayne Potgieter]

I bought a few of the nutcase ones a year or so back.

 

Still have this one sealed in the box unused.

 

 

[ahp005]

  On 6/23/2015 at 11:41 AM, Joe Low said:

You must be amused by a different thread, I couldn't see where people had posted their bikes values next to their helmet's cost, nor who was using a 'ballbox'.

 

I did see a very intelligent chap ask a sensible question which got some good responses tho'.

 

I am amused that you don't get what I am saying that people can splash out on bikes but not on helmets O and the last part was just a joke. This is answer is just for your amusement!!!!!!!!

[Joe Low]

  On 6/23/2015 at 12:33 PM, ahp005 said:

I am amused that you don't get what I am saying that people can splash out on bikes but not on helmets O and the last part was just a joke. This is answer is just for your amusement!!!!!!!!

 

Ok, never seen it, never looked.

[CAAD4]

  On 6/23/2015 at 12:29 PM, Wayne Potgieter said:

I bought a few of the nutcase ones a year or so back.

 

Still have this one sealed in the box unused.

 

They are awesome. I like the watermelon one....

[Rainier]

  On 6/23/2015 at 10:29 AM, NixM said:

I like this, we need more organ donors

lol

[igg]

My helmet thus far has only been used when I forget that some trail designers are sadistic and like to make us tall guys duck quite low.

 

Many an overhanging branch has given me quite a whack; I've got a solid dent in one of my helmets from this. It's a swift reminder to get my eyes up and focus on more than just the trail. I prefer not to buy really expensive ones as a result, cheaper helmets afford the same protection really.

[sadamhussein]

cheap vs expensive is like saying a 7 series bmw is safer than a toyota yaris, when both have seatbelts and airbags and might even have the same ncap rating.

at the end of the day one helmet maybe offers 3% more protection than the other, but the bottom line is to be wearing one in the first place.

 

this topic is debated endlessly on motorbike forums. a lot of people say stupid things like "if you have a R600 head you should buy a helmet of similar price". others say that cheap helmets are actually made in the same factories alongside the expensive brands. 

 

if both have met and passed the same independent safety standard, who cares if one is cheaper or more expensive. you're paying for a name.

[Starvin' Marvin]

I bought a Rudy Windmax, Love that helmet. light comfy and loads of ventilation. Almost time to buy a new one. Not sure if its any safer than another brand, but I never leave home on my bike without it.

[Rider3000]

  On 6/23/2015 at 8:47 AM, Sniffie said:

I recently had a bad over the handlebars incident on our local trail, after one of the wooden bridges over a fence had been vandalised. The bridge is about 1,4 m above ground, and given the height at which one rides a mountain bike, I estimate the height from which I fell, almost on top of my head could easily have been 2 m. The Giro Xar helmet obviously saved me from concussion, possible broken vertebrae, and other more serious isues. Due to the fall I am suffering from a disc protrusion which are impacting on a nerve on the C6 level.

 

This incident and the remark: "Buy the best helmet you can afford.", that Andrew Mclean made recently after his heavy fall, made me think:

What is the safest helmet out there at the moment?

Does Giro in SA have a crash replacement initiative?

Is it true that Giro is now owned by Bell?

I would like some of the expert hub opinions on this subject before buying my next lid please.

To sum it up for you...IMHO is dont be "brand bothered"... any helmet thats a few hundred rands to over a thousand will work well as long as it is secure!

 

For the bump on your neck (i doubt that an expensive one will have prevented that)... if you fall on your head with your weight on it your neck will suffer regardless of what helmet (helmut...meezo...lol) you had.

 

Find one you like and that looks cool and be safer on the trails !