camera56

I can't believe I actually wrote this, much less posted it, but here goes. A friend sent me an email asking about what helmet he should buy. He's a first timer. I wound up writing an epistle which you can read in its entirety at midliferider.com

Here's a snip or two . . .




“So, what’s the best helmet to buy?

It’s almost a trick question; a study in ontology, metaphysics, and physics all rolled together. Still, the question wouldn’t come up so often if it were a layup. I’m either brave enough, or something else enough to bite. So here goes.

It’s not that there isn’t an answer. It’s that there are too many answers.

One obvious factor contributing to the confusion is the bewildering profusion of offerings: There are no fewer than 84 different brands of helmet for sale in the US that carry a Snell sticker. There are even more when you include helmets that are DOT certified only. Staggering. While you’ll never walk into a shop and see that many brands, it’s common to see half a dozen, and Internet stores typically carry twice that. This is an example where choice, normally a good thing, probably isn’t.

It doesn’t stop there. Motorcycles, and everything related to owning and riding them, are like any hobby or enthusiasm. And enthusiasts have opinions. It’s half the fun. In the case of motorcycles, the passions run especially hot, particularly around helmets where there are still a fair number of riders who conflate the use of mandated head protection with the entire Bill of Rights. So add endless amounts of opinionating and bloviating, particularly on Internet forums, as another source of confusion. As you would expect, some of the threads are actually very helpful. Many are just painful.

Finally, there is the issue of the science. There’s a fair amount of it due to the fact that there are multiple standards helmets must meet. But beyond general principles, there is a fair amount of disagreement between standard setters about what exactly a helmet is supposed to do in a crash. If your worldview begins and ends at your own border, maybe there are one or two standards worth noticing. If you prowl the Internet, or worse, if you buy magazines from across the big water (I’m referring now to those of us in the big PX buying UK mags; the inverse never happens), then you’ve got even more conflicting data to sort out.

Sooooooo, what to do?

Okay, with that hugely roundabout disclaimer, I’m going to wade in. So you can decide right now whether to read a word further, here’s my perspective:

• I am 51 and in pretty good health and shape. I think I fully understand the risks and rewards of riding motorcycles. I live in a state that mandates helmet wearing. I value my physical well being enough that I put safety at the top of my list of values. I wear all-the-gear-all-the-time (ATGATT). I take classes every year. I read. I practice. I don’t drink and ride. I would wear a helmet regardless. So that’s my bias.
• I own a Shoei, Arai, Suomy, and ZR-1. My first helmet was a Shoei. I bought the brand name. I mostly wear the Suomy for reasons I’ll go over in a minute. I am not an economic buyer: I don’t pay a lot of attention to what a helmet costs. When it came time to buy my son, wife, and daughter helmets, I bought them the best, as I understood that concept at the time, as well.
• I have seen what happens to helmets first hand when they hit the pavement. My son destroyed a Shoei RF1000 while I was watching. The helmet did its job. He walked away. Had a bit of a concussion, but he’s fine now. And he went off at under 20 mph.
• I make a living helping people structure and make difficult decisions. I bring the process, others bring the content. That’s what I’m doing here.
• I am a research hound. So I offer no new science, but I can show you what’s out there.

To cut to the chase, here’s what you need to know . . .

1. If you know for a fact that you’re not going to crash and that no bugs, stones, or debris are going to hit you in the head or face, there is no need to wear a helmet. A doo-rag and a pair of sunglasses are probably just fine. If you also know the number for the winning lottery ticket, would you please call me?

2. The best helmet is the one on your head. If you’re still stuck in the completely pointless debate about why wearing helmets is a good idea, I have nothing that will help you. It’s your head. I have a strong libertarian streak in me, but the science is against you on this one. Wearing a helmet saves lives. Any helmet is better than no helmet.

3. Good helmets save more lives. There is a qualitative difference that shows up in comfort (which means many things) and the degree to which the helmet will protect your brain from damaging amounts of acceleration in a crash. Buy the best helmet you can.

4. The helmets that protect your head the best, meaning they transfer the least shock to your brain, are made by: AGV Ti-Tech, Fulmer AFD4, Suomy Spec 1R, Shark RSX, Schuberth S-1, Vemar VSR and ZR1. That covers the complete range of price points and styles. If you don’t like that list, buy an Arai, Shoei, Scorpion, or HJC. If you still don’t like that list, you probably shouldn’t be reading this anyway. I didn’t write it for gear geeks.

5. Contrary to popular misconception, helmets have little or no adverse impact on your ability to hear or see in traffic. See point 1.

6. The most important thing to look for in a helmet is quality (that means a lot of things). After that, it’s fit. If the helmet doesn’t fit you properly, it won’t do its job when the time comes.

7. There are many types of helmets: Flip-Up Helmets, Full Face Helmets, Off-Road Helmets,Open Face Helmets, Shorty Helmets. If your primary concern is protecting your head, there is only one choice: Full Face Helmets. Let me know the next racer you see wearing something other than a Full Face helmet.

8. If you’ve never bought a helmet before, the attributes you won’t think about are weight, ventilation, fogging, and aerodynamics. It turns out that these matter. The part you probably will think about is colors and graphics. These don’t matter except that brighter colors are more visible. Making yourself visible is good.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. The rest is just detail.

How to decide for yourself

Before we go any further, and by all means skip ahead if you want, a word or three about making YOUR OWN decision about what helmet to buy.

There isn’t a right answer. There is a right answer for you. You can make your decision any way you want. You can throw darts, pull names from a can, buy what your buddy uses, or let a sales person tell you what to buy. Up to you.

There is a way to make this decision in a high-quality way, even if you know nothing about helmets. To do that, make a grid. On one axis, put your values. On the other your choices.

Values are what you want. Make a list of no more than five. Consider these: Quality, price, fit, noise/quiet, weight, graphics. That’s six. Think about throwing one overboard or making a bigger table. Or try: shock, fit, noise, weight, and fogging.

Choices are what you can choose. In this case, that’s the actual helmets. Again, no more than five.

What you’re going to do is use a scale to grade each choice by each value. The scale can be A, B, C, D, or 1—10, or anything that pleases you. Head to the internet and do some research. Talk to people. Read some reviews. Then grade each helmet by each criteria. Do the math and pick the helmet that’s best for you.



There are lots of subtleties and wrinkles to this. For example, you can weight different values as more or less important. Do that if you need to, but for now, just make the grid. It will help a lot. (For more on decision-quality techniques, go to www.decision-quality.com)

Buy A Suomy, Shark, Shuberth, AGV, Vemar or ZR1

For those of you who don’t like to read, here’s the very short story. If you believe the considerable science that supports what follows, you should buy a helmet that transfers less shock to your head. In the US, here are your best choices (with some quick comments):

* Z1R ZRP-1 (Inexpensive, fits like a Shoei, doesn’t vent well, Made by HJC)
* Fulmer AFD4 (No personal experience with these)
* AGV Ti-Tech (Worn by Italian motorcycle gods)
* Schuberth S-1 (Very expensive, heavy, large, and quiet)
* Shark RSX (Very comfortable, vent well, noisyish, big chin bar)
* Vemar VSR (No personal experience with these)
* Suomy Spec 1R (Light weight, noisy, obnoxious graphics, vents superbly, fits tight, buy one size up)

That covers a full range of price points, features, and attributes. There may be other reasons to buy other helmets and other brands, but based solely on the single criteria of transferring the least shock to your head, those are the winners. As an aside, it’s worth noting that the AGV, Shark, Suomy, and Vemar are built with track riding in mind. In other words, the helmets built for the most extreme riding are built to a softer standard than what you’re wearing if you buy a Snell helmet.

Having said all that, not one of those helmets is among the U.S. market leaders. Although I’m not privy to actual share numbers, I have conducted polls of groups that are broadly representative of US-based, middle aged, non-cruiser riders. I’ve also talked to people who sell helmets for a living. Here’s the general consensus as to the general shape of the market:

* The market leaders at the top are Shoei and Arai.
* The market leaders for “price point” helmets are HJC and Scorpion.
* The most popular flip up helmets are Nolan, Shoei, and HJC.
* Everyone else is just everyone else.

There’s a bit of a reinforcing loop going on here. People but popular brands making them more popular. Beyond that, there is a certain undeniable logic in buying from large, well-funded companies that invest in research, design, materials, and manufacturing. This is true of any category or gear or equipment I can think of. It’s hard to argue with here.

So, if you just can’t abide my safety first argument, another strategy you could follow is “buy the market leader.” I actually don’t think that’s a bad idea. Shoei, Arai, HJC, and Scorpion are top quality companies that do their own research, development, and engineering. Bell has recently come out with a very fine looking helmet. Each of these companies take testing and certification seriously. They have good distribution and dealer relationships which means if there’s a problem, there’s someone to talk to. If you care, HJC is the largest in the world; Scorpion has a very large manufacturing facility right here in the big PX.

Stay away from “cheap” helmets completely. There are reasons why they’re cheap.

If you’re still grind your teeth because I haven’t yet mentioned your favorite brand, I apologize. If you know that much to have that strong an opinion, you’re probably not reading this anyway.

But how do I pick? Fit.

Unless you know for certain exactly what helmet you want, you’re a fool to buy sight-unseen on the Internet. The only caveat is if you can do a buy and try. Even going by the sizing charts many companies publish, the fit is still a crapshoot. You simply have to try them on.

To sort out this part of the story, I wandered over to Seattle Cycle Center and talked with Doug Micone about what to look for in a helmet. SCC ha been around 25 years and Doug has been minding things there for five years. He’s sold hundreds and hundreds of helmets, mostly to middle-aged guys. Again, if you bore easily, I’ll cut to the chase. Here’s what he says you should look for:

* Quality
* Fit
* Weight
* Graphics
* Noise
* Ventilation

Here’s a snip from our conversation.

When you’re looking to carry a helmet, what do you look for?

Market share. Quality. If they’ve had problems in the past, we stay away.

When the newbie comes in, what do they ask for?

Safety mostly. Scooter people tend to what the least possible.

When and experienced guy comes in . . .

He wants an up-brand helmet.

If he’s an Arai guy, does he buy Arai?

Sometimes they swap. But they don’t step down. They’re not going to go from a Shoei to an HJC. They may go back and forth between Arai and Shoei.

When you recommend a helmet, what are you typically saying?

The fit. The biggest thing is the fit. A lot of people think a loose fitting helment is a good fitting helmet. That’s not a good thing. So that’s the first thing . . . make sure they have the right fit.

I’ve walked out with helmets that are very tight, and some are just tight . . .

A lot depends on the brand. The Shoei helmet uses a new padding that doesn’t break down. The fitting you walk out the door with is the fit you’ll get. With the Arai, it will pack out quite a bit.

After fit . . .

Fit, and then I think it’s weight. Guys that ride a lot tend to like the lighter helmet. Less fatigue. You enjoy the ride more.

For new guys, I recommend an inexpensive helmet. They don’t know how much they’ll enjoy. For a lot of new riders, we recommend HJC or Scorpion.

I’ve bought maybe five helmets in the last couple of years. What I notice now is noise, aerodynamics, how much air flows, the ability to control fogging on the screen . . . is there a quietest helmet?

I would probably say the Shoei . . . except the flip-ups. A lot depends on the jacket you’re wearing too. If you’re wearing a loose-fitting textile jacket . . . if you just push on it you can hear a difference in noise.
That would be the quietest . . .

Arai is pretty quiet, but not as. Shoei has a better mechanism and sealing for the shield. One of the noisiest is the Scorpion. People complain about it.

You mentioned the mechanism on the Shoei. It’s quite a flush fit on the side . . .

On the Arai they use these side plates, which can cause noise. Suomys are noisy but they vent well. That’s the trade-off. If they vent well, they can be noisy. It’s must more places for air to whistle.

So what’s best for keeping clear . . .

Suomy is best for venting. Keeping the shield clear: HJC and Scorpion. They use a fog-free lens. The Shoei does have a pinlock system you can buy that works really well. It will not fog. They have it for Shoei and HJC. Arai will come out with one next month.

So there you have it. Plenty to dog pile on here I think.

__________________
Read my blog at www.midliferider.com

2006 FJR1300, 2007 Aprilia RSV1000R Factory, 2005 Suzuki SV1000S

mnewell

Wow. Lots of good info there.

Thanks for posting.

hellagrant

Good stuff.

camera56

Dunno. Here's the full link:http://midliferider.com/blog/2008/03...al-preference/

__________________
Read my blog at www.midliferider.com

2006 FJR1300, 2007 Aprilia RSV1000R Factory, 2005 Suzuki SV1000S

wanted1untamed

It depends how is your riding style? If you've never gone beyond 80 mph, KBC (around $279.99) is the best chocie. But...............everytime you hop on your bike. You dont ride. You just fly low. Arai RX7 Coair or Shoei X-eleven is the must. It is pricy (around $550 - 650 each) but think again. It protect your head. Its worth every single penny.

AT

Lynk

Fantastic information! The only thing that I would like to reinforce is fit. Arai crafts three interior shapes, which can make a HUGE difference in comfort. In my case, I can comfortably wear a Medium "long-oval," whereas I have to have a large "mid-" or "short-oval."

Try one on, and wear it around the store for 15 minutes. Heck, spend an entire afternoon at the store. Then buy the first one from the store, since they just gave you an incredible opportunity to find your fit.

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Michael T. Hall
WMRRA #12

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Ripp'n

Thank you, good write up.
Your buddy Doug M, rates graphics... over noise and ventalation????
what a joke!!!!!! I won't be shopping there!!!!!
free and clean, Ripp'n