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Dropped my helmet...

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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Jeff
Howdy folks,

I've been told (by the guy at one of the friendly motorcycle retailers here in town) that helmets are made to endure a single impact, and that even dropping a helmet on a hard surface is sufficient to be considered an "impact". He specifically said that a helmet that falls off handlebars onto the pavement should not be considered trust-worthy any longer.

Now, that sounds like plain jibberish to me, partly because I dropped mine from waist-height onto just such a surface :) (though it left no mark at all, I still can't tell where the point of impact was).

So, what do ya'll think, in your sage opinions? How high would YOUR helmet need to fall from before you replaced it?

Cheers, Jeff
 
Mine fell from the handlebars and I replaced it but only because it was a modular helmet and it busted the hinge for the chin bar.

If you have a second helmet, depending on who the manufacturer is for the one you dropped, you could send it back for evaluation. Personally, I'm not sure how far mine would have to fall for me to feel it's unreliable. I guess even one that's fallen from waist high would be better than none at all. :shrug:
 
An empty helmet does not have to slow and cushion the weight of your head, so no compression of the foam would occur. If the shell is not damaged and no parts came off I would bet on it being alright. I have in fact dropped a modular helmet off of a bike and made that bet good for two more years of use before a part of the chin bar system failed.

Sending it in to the manufacturer for a check would give you a more scientific reason to trust the helmet.
 
ed29 said:
An empty helmet does not have to slow and cushion the weight of your head, so no compression of the foam would occur. If the shell is not damaged and no parts came off I would bet on it being alright. I have in fact dropped a modular helmet off of a bike and made that bet good for two more years of use before a part of the chin bar system failed.

Sending it in to the manufacturer for a check would give you a more scientific reason to trust the helmet.
Click to expand...

This. A helmet is good for only one impact with a head in it. If there was no head in it when it fell and there is no visible damage (like a crack in the shell), it's fine.
 
Ed, and Pedro nailed it. Saying that a helmet is ruined is the same amount of hogwash as saying if you have a $100 head but a $100 helmet. Personally I think the guys with the $100 head are the ones that wasted the $1000 on a helmet that isn't any safer than the $100 helmet.
 
I'm with Ed Pedro and Bill. I've heard the opinion that they expressed straight from the Arai Rep.
 
I'm inclined to agree that a simple drop is probably not the death nail for a helmet. Those horrible bounces across the parking lot really make me cringe, but it is really just a composite shell, and should be able to handle the impact. If I see that the shell has been compromised or hardware damage to where the visor connects, it gets retired; but I can't afford to replace a helmet every time it gets a bobble and makes it's way to the ground.

ECE is my prefered safety rating above DOT, and the best helmet is the one you wear. More $$$ usually delivers a helmet that has nicer finishes and comfort. A prime example is that my Icon Alliance and Arai XD have a similar "long oval" fit, but the Aria feels lighter. Neither however is ECE and I like them both.
 
My helmet fell off the pillion onto a concrete floor and took a nice loud bounce. It had some scratches on the outer shell, but I decided to keep wearing it anyways. Several months later I had an 80mph+ off, including a significant knock to my head. What do you know, the helmet still did it's job perfectly. Glad I didn't replace it the first time (I definitely replaced it the 2nd time...)
 
If it is a simple drop and you didn't have a bowling ball or something heavy in it, wear it. If you see damage, then toss it. Go to SNELL memorial foundation and check out the guidelines.
P.S. you don't have to agree with SNELL, but still plenty of good info there.
 
really good info here, and that Arai / Leno video was also encouraging. I'm confidently keeping it...
 
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