Is SNELL a dangerous standard?

[NP82]

I have been looking at helmets for about 2 weeks now and have tried on many different brands/models. It seems that HJC fit my head better than any other, although the Shoei XR1000 was also a good fit. I want my head to be as well protected as possible, so I was going to go for the HJC FG-15, the model that Ben Spies wears ($178US including postage to NZ from Amazon), as this is HJC's top model, and a great price!

Then I read this article...

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

It's very long, but the main point is that scientists claim that for helmets to pass the SNELL standard they need to be manufactured stiffer, which results in more force being transmitted to the brain = bad. In the tests they carried out, the helmets that performed the best tended to be the cheaper ones that didn't have the SNELL rating. These cheaper helmets were more effective in absorbing the types of impacts that motorcyclists are most likely to encounter, and transferred less impact force to the brain.

I will probably still go with the FG-15 (which has the SNELL rating), but this is very interesting reading nonetheless.

cheers,
Nick

[Motu]

I was just reading on a car forum about the concern of drivers wearing motorcycle helmets - they aren't rated for fire protection (doesn't really happen on a bike) and their inability to take hard knocks.In a major prang (eg NASCAR) the drivers head may hit roll cages etc...car helmets are designed for this.

Get a helmet with the best graphics,after all,everyone is looking at you.Personally,anything over $15 sounds expensive to me.

[Grumpy]

http://dft-1-sharp.eduserv.org.uk/

Hopefully this link will work. A bit contraversal in the UK but interesting none the less.

I like to think that most helmets sold in our shops today would do an adequate job so I think that your priority with fit and comfort is a good way to shop. Buy the best that you can afford. I reackon a bad fitting helmet can be a dangerous thing. By bad fitting I mean snug but the wrong shape for your head. If you've got a helmet that starts to feel uncomfortable after wearing it for an hour then that discomfort can take some of your focus off your riding. Your doing the right thing. Take your time and spend wisely.

[Scotty595]

I found HJC to fit me quite nicely. Definately go for the overall fit rather than looks etc. -one thing I found with the HJC though was the strap keeps coming loose so i am constantly having to redo it - which isnt good if you get lazy/forget sometimes and dont do it up resulting in a lose strap. - I found the sharks to be alot better for this - or helmets with the DD rings

I think there is only a certain point you can protect your head up till. If you hit something at force, a helmet is only going to make a slight bit of difference. I doubt the SNELL standard would make a helmet more unsafe

[Marmoot]

In normal situation, I am more worried about my neck than my head.

[p.dath]

My personal two cents.

Choosing the Helmet standard is related more to the type of accident you want protection from.

If you routinely ride on the track at 200km/h +, and are worried about a high speed impact then I'd probably be looking for a SNELL helmet. I would want a SNELL helmet because I know it can sustain a very hard impact without breaking up. If my helmet fractures or breaks apart, then my skull could well be crushed. This would be a big concern for me. Manufacturers making SNELL compliant helmets need to dedicate a lot of helmet mass to pure impact protection.

If you routinely ride on the road at sub 100km/h (probably much lower thanks to traffic lights, congestion, etc) then I know I don't need a helmet anywhere near as hard. As a result, the manufacturer can concentrate much harder on devoting helmet mass to absorbing energy so my brain doesn't have to. Sure the helmet might fail if I have an impact at 200km/h - but I know based on my riding this kind of impact would be very unlikely.

For normal road use, I'm personally a fan of the DOT standard. I am also a huge fan of the SHARP rating system, as it allows for easy helmet comparison.
http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/

[p.dath]

I think there is only a certain point you can protect your head up till. If you hit something at force, a helmet is only going to make a slight bit of difference. I doubt the SNELL standard would make a helmet more unsafe

For road based accidents, one of the most common impacts is a fall from less than 2m. This is when you fail to stay vertical, and end up sliding the motorcycle. For this type of accident the forward velocity makes no difference. The force of the impact is only affected by how fast you fall from your seated position vertically downwards to the surface you are on. Often the vertical impact speed can be quite low.

Of course, if you then slide into a curb with your head then that is a different story ...

As I said, best to identify what kind of accident/injury you are most concerned about (often a personal choice because riding styles [such as your average riding speed] vary so much) and then choosing protection to limit the effect.

EDIT:
Question for your consideration. Do you think you are more likely to have a low speed accident (50 km/h) travelling around town or at an intersection, or while travelling at 100km/h in NZ?

[Oscar]

In normal situation, I am more worried about my neck than my head.

...and you're right. I suffered a classic whiplash injury (a cracked C3) from an old helmet a few years ago.
I actually balked at updating my helmet because I thought the helmet didn't come far enough down the back of my neck.
Turns out modern helmets are deliberately designed like that to stop the rear edge from damaging the spine in a whiplash situation (mine was a face plant into a tree).

[p.dath]

I want my head to be as well protected as possible, so I was going to go for the HJC FG-15, the model that Ben Spies wears ($178US including postage to NZ from Amazon), as this is HJC's top model, and a great price!


I see the FG-14 has a SHARP 4 star rating (good!), but that the HQ-1 has received the highest rating of 5 stars.

EDIT: Just found this review on KB of the HQ-1:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/archive/index.php/t-14645.html

[ckai]

I have been looking at helmets for about 2 weeks now and have tried on many different brands/models. It seems that HJC fit my head better than any other, although the Shoei XR1000 was also a good fit. I want my head to be as well protected as possible, so I was going to go for the HJC FG-15, the model that Ben Spies wears ($178US including postage to NZ from Amazon), as this is HJC's top model, and a great price!



Is HJC one of the companies that have different shape shells like Arai and Shoei? There's been some issues with some people buying helmets from overseas, after trying them on in a store, only to find the shape is different. I've just brought a new helmet from a store all because I think it's better to try AND buy for a lid (one of the few things I won't get online overseas)/

If you know it's the same shape, cool.


I found HJC to fit me quite nicely. Definately go for the overall fit rather than looks etc. -one thing I found with the HJC though was the strap keeps coming loose so i am constantly having to redo it - which isnt good if you get lazy/forget sometimes and dont do it up resulting in a lose strap. - I found the sharks to be alot better for this - or helmets with the DD rings


I had the same problem with me old HJC. It did get annoying. Hence why I've gone with D clips with my new helmet. I've also noticed a lot (if not all) of the new HJC range has D clips instead of the button-release.


http://dft-1-sharp.eduserv.org.uk/

I like to think that most helmets sold in our shops today would do an adequate job so I think that your priority with fit and comfort is a good way to shop. Buy the best that you can afford. I reackon a bad fitting helmet can be a dangerous thing. By bad fitting I mean snug but the wrong shape for your head. If you've got a helmet that starts to feel uncomfortable after wearing it for an hour then that discomfort can take some of your focus off your riding. Your doing the right thing. Take your time and spend wisely.

Totally agree. There would be something morally wrong if shops sold products that weren't up to scratch.