[carl6157]

Couple of questions here. What is the lifespan of a helmet? Who makes a good quality helmet that will let me keep some of my money for gas??

 

[OleKennyRoy]

The useful life of a helmet is five years, or an impact with a hard surface. Whichever comes first.

I don't know what standards helmets have to meet in Canada, but here is a good place to start.

Snell M2010 Certified Helmets

 

[jthspace]

Agree, one drop onto a hard surface, even if you are not wearing it, and it needs replacing. Helmets can be cracking and flaking under the top surface completely unseen and you dont want to find out it delaminates just when you need it most. Always buy the best you can afford, not the $39 special on eBay or Walmart. NEVER second-hand. It's YOUR life, YOUR head, take care of it.

 

[Bagger]

Couple of questions here. What is the lifespan of a helmet? Who makes a good quality helmet that will let me keep some of my money for gas??

Look into Scorpion helmets they are much higher quality than their prices suggest. I've been using their EXO700 models for years both on and off the track and have personally crash tested them.. They are high quality lids for little money. you can usually find good closeout prices from sportbiketrackgear

<------The one I'm wearing in my avatar was my first exo700 I'm now on my 3rd one.

 

[J-Mo]

My first helmet was a KBC VR1X that I bought when I purchased my first motorcycle. It held up pretty good but started to come apart after a couple years. The matte finish started to flake off and the rubber trim underneath the chin bar became unglued.

I've been using a Bell Arrow for the past few years and I've been real happy with it.

Fit is super important, so make sure you try on a helmet before you buy. A poor fitting helmet won't be as effective, plus you're gonna want to be comfortable when you're riding. Also get something that is at least DOT certified.

 

[leick]

The useful life of a helmet is five years, or an impact with a hard surface. Whichever comes first.

I don't know what standards helmets have to meet in Canada, but here is a good place to start.

Snell M2010 Certified Helmets

Yeap, five or so years or any impact.

There is some debate as to whether Snell helmets are too hard vs DOT regulation helmets.

It's sort of a debate between either higher likelihood of brain damage for 99% of accidents or kurtosis: 1% of being dead for getting hit in the same place twice. (those numbers are just made-up) I'm just pointing out there are lots of people who are good at physics/dealing with head trauma that have had this debate.

Go do your research and make the best choice for yourself.

 

[mad8vskillz]

shoei, suomi, arai or don't bother
it's only your brain you're trying to protect, no big deal...

otherwise, if on a very tight budger, scorpion exos are pretty good with bot dot and snell, and can be had CHEAP in closeout sections of almost every online retailer.

 

[Bama Dave]

Five years or any hit or drop will be all she wrote. You can put a price on your head. Well.. somebody can but lets not get in to that. I would get some well known brands with proper certifications. For every brand there is a different line from budget to best. Get whatever you can afford. A couple of brands are scorpion, suomy, bell, shoei, agv, arai. check those out and see which one you find that suits you.

 

[Lozonic]

Any of those brands you guys mentioned should be good enough. Just stay away from the overseas or ebay ones for less than $180.

I would step in to a store and try them on and be sure to ask the clerk to check the fitting to ensure you have the helmet that fits your head specifically. I noticed with some brands the helmets in each line fits differently.

 

[CrispyTaco]

Couple of questions here. What is the lifespan of a helmet? Who makes a good quality helmet that will let me keep some of my money for gas??

What is you budget that you have in mind for your helmet? Maybe we can give you a hand. Let us know which brand and specific helmet you consider.

 

[wlorton]

Rule number 1. Do not skimp on safety gear!