Expensive = Quality?

[mowgli]

Thanks for the advice, yeah I will just need to take some time out to go round trying them on.
How would you know if they are noisy or not?

Only way to tell is to test ride them. Cheapest way to fix a noisy helmet is ear plugs. Other things you can try are hush kits, thicker pads, scarves and snoods to prevent airflow coming up under the helmet.

Sometimes it's not the helmet but the combination of your back length and the front of your bike. My Shoei Raid II was noisy on my GT250R unless I stretched up and put my head out of the disturbed flow coming off the screen. Same helmet is quiet as on my VTR even at significantly higher speeds.

Your original question was does price = quality. I would say generally yes. This is easy to apply to a single brand but much harder when comparing brands. If you meant safety then I reckon there are only two things to consider: is it NZ standards approved, and does it fit my head shape snugly?

[blueblade]

Some of the cheaper brands have rubbish visors with optical distortion and scratch easily. I've always had Shoei helmets. Started with the original Raid 1 which I think cost about $500. Now have an X spirit that cost about $1200. The X Spirit is considerably lighter and has much better venting.

[Badjelly]

Here's another consideration about helmet safety that I don't recall being mentioned on this site...

It's from this article

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ge...iew/index.html

where the authors argue that helmets meeting the Snell standard tend to be too stiff, leading to excessive head acceleration. But they also say...

If you're hit very violently on the jaw, as in a head-on impact, the force can be transmitted to the base of the skull, which can fracture and sever your spine. It's a common cause of death in helmeted motorcycle riders—and a very good reason to wear a full-face helmet and insist on thick EPS padding—not resilient foam—in the helmet's chin bar.

My helmet has resilient (bouncy, not energy absorbing) foam here.

[McJim]

Luckily I'm not bright enough to understand all of these debates so I don't actually have enough brain to protect making the whole debate academic for me. Cool.

[HornetBoy]

All i would do is reccommend certain brands to you from personal eperiences in comparison to other helmets ive owned .
Only crashed off once so couldnt say which protected my head the best really only that my KBC VR2 Legend i have now is really comfortable and tight ,and the visor system on it is pretty fool proof ,the helmet itself holds together pretty bloody well in terms of a high speed crash

When i shop for a helmet i dont really go for the higest priceing as i dont entirely believe in the whole "pay for what you get" saying that alot of people live by ,i just buy reputable brands that way you know they will be making helmets that stand up to the standards etc as how else would they have got their name established so highly if the helmets were crap


Chris

[ital916]

My 2c.

No price does not always mean better protection. As a general rule *in my eyes* though it's a good indication that the quality and such is going up. There are exceptions like momos and davidas and the such which are specialist brands and as such the price of higher models in the range are quite high. All helmets are approved to the safety standard, thus you can say an entry level helmet will protect your head as much as an expensive one.

Many people say this, their opinion, but I disagree. Even though an entry level helmet will protect your head to the same standard, I find the more expensive helmets will not only have better ventilation, looks etc but a lot of them come with added safety features which will take that safety level above and beyond the required amount. To state that a cheapie will do the same as an expensive helmet is a bit of a fallacy.

An example would be shoeis x-spirit helmet, your not only paying for a lighter helmet with better ventilation, different *not always better* decals and the such but a lot of advanced safety features, like a carbon fibre weave construction etc *other brands also have excellent safety features e.g. arai and shark*. Said features would not be found in cheaper entry level helmets.

In the end rachel, fit and comfort should be a priority, but as well as taking ventilation and looks in account, also take into account that some of the more expensive helmets do come with some extra protection features, more advanced construction etc which meet the standard but then take the safety level above just the bog standard one required. Moto gp racers don't ride in entry level helmets for a reason. Good luck finding a helmet

[Phurrball]

Try and get a test ride, but if you can't, sit in the shop and read a mag for half and hour with the helmet on...

That will give some indication of comfort, but not things such as wind noise.

I've seen some really good end-of-season deals on top helmets - can be worth waiting for if you're not in a huge hurry.

If you're a geek, you'll have a healthy scientific-method-developed bullshit detector to filter out misinformation, so get boolean on the subject's arse and hit teh interweb - read all the raging debates on DOT v Snell and shell construction etc

That'll also give you an excellent tool for avoiding actual university study, but still learning lots of "stuff"

Yay for geeks!

[JeremyW]

When you have selected a helmet, whatever it may be LOOK AFTER IT .
The number of people who treat their helmets like crap is appalling, almost disgusting. A good helmet WILL become NOT SAFE if it is dropped, the only thing it will protect you from is a ticket.

A drop from a bike seat is enough to destroy a helmet protection shell, don't hang it on handle bars or sit it on the seat, no matter what any one else does. Helmets have a reasonably tough (usually leather) base to the liner so you can put the helmet on the ground and it wont affect it much.

You only have one head, don't take any chances with it
My 2c