budget helmet recommendations? Options

[ArtechnikA]

the Snell Website

the standards are here; check 'em out for yourself...

[Trekkor]

I picked up a nice Pyrotect ( Bell ) open face SA2000 helmet at Wine Country Motorsports at Infineon Raceway early this year. Very comfortable and reasonably priced.
They even gave me a 10% 914club discount. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

I don't remember the exact price (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

Seems like around $150?

KT

[PatW]

I like helmets from Arai. knocked my noggin a few times good enough.. Had a 5$ helmet once, then and had a big get-off on my motorcycle. I had a headache for a week.. Never again.. This is what I usually wear whenever I'm doing autocross or karts.

[Dr Evil]

I use a HJC $60 helpmet when I ride my motorcycle and have been hit twice with it on. Worked like a charm. I do need to get e new one. You are supposed to replace them when they are "used" in their intended manner. Make sure not to use a plastic alloy helmet. They are cheapert, but what you want is polycarbonate (bullet proof).
HTH

[scooter311]

Dave your killin' me!

" ...I personally have a head that ain't worth that much. "



Thumbs up on Arai as well


I like a lot of the HJC stuff lately

Full face helmets are best in all cases - hard to eat a cheeseburger with a straw

[larryp]

Everyone has told you the facts; you simply cannot pick a helmet online or by recommendation, you have to try it on. You will see that they all have slightly different shapes, since our heads do. When you try them on in the store, once you find one you think you like, you should wear it for a LONG while to make sure it has no pressure points. The last thing you need is a headache that pops up from wearing it too long. There are lots of great helmets out there: AGV, Shuberth, Bell, Simpson, Arai, Shoei, etc. I have owned several dozen and go through the process each time.

Head shape pretty much is consistent within brands (to a degree a few manufacturers change shape, slightly, from model to model but even that is very little). Determine the brand that fits your head the best and then buy the lightest helmet that brand offers you are willing to pay for.

IMO

[GaroldShaffer]

Just one more. I like my Bieffe, fits well for my melon plus the nice big opening makes it easy to get my glasses on.
Cost about $275, if I remember correctly.

[ArtechnikA]

Full face helmets are best in all cases - hard to eat a cheeseburger with a straw

exactly why they're -not- best in ALL cases. this is the current firestorm in SCCA and i expect it will flow down and out to everyone else in time, hopefuly in time to influence buying decisions for the coming season...

SCCA Airbag Advisory Document

the salient portion is: " In a crash with airbag deployment, contact with the chin area of a full-face helmet can be so powerful ‘that the risk of fractures to the jaw cannot be ruled out. "

i don't expect to be tracking the Subarus, even in an AX but ya never know - there's not a lot of competition in the 3000-lb AWD station wagon classes ...

this issue probably doesn't affect most of us with "vintage" competition cars but i know we have many instructors among us who are called upon to drive and right-seat airbag cars, and for those times, an open-face helmet may prove to be the best thing.

once again, we see that stuff put in our cars to save us from ourselves is actually more dangerous than the conditions we are to be saved from ...

[Part Pricer]

Full face helmets are best in all cases - hard to eat a cheeseburger with a straw

exactly why they're -not- best in ALL cases. this is the current firestorm in SCCA and i expect it will flow down and out to everyone else in time, hopefuly in time to influence buying decisions for the coming season...

SCCA Airbag Advisory Document

the salient portion is: " In a crash with airbag deployment, contact with the chin area of a full-face helmet can be so powerful ‘that the risk of fractures to the jaw cannot be ruled out. "

i don't expect to be tracking the Subarus, even in an AX but ya never know - there's not a lot of competition in the 3000-lb AWD station wagon classes ...

this issue probably doesn't affect most of us with "vintage" competition cars but i know we have many instructors among us who are called upon to drive and right-seat airbag cars, and for those times, an open-face helmet may prove to be the best thing.

once again, we see that stuff put in our cars to save us from ourselves is actually more dangerous than the conditions we are to be saved from ...

Thanks. I pointed that out in my earlier post in this thread, but no one seemed to notice.

Of course my 914 doesn't have airbags. But, I'm also an instructor and I'm often in the passenger seat of new vehicles. I have an open-face helmet primarily so the people I'm instructing can hear me. Now, it looks like it was also a smart decision based upon the SCCA advisory.

I just received this today. It originated from Ford.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE CEASE USE OF FULL FACED HELMETS IN VEHICLES WITH LIVE STEERING WHEEL AIRBAGS.

It was brought up at the recent International Committee for Proving Ground Safety that several companies do not allow use of full face helmets in vehicles with (driver-side) airbags, due to the risk of severe neck injury for the airbag impacting the bottom of the full-faced helmet. Full-faced helmets are, of course, allowed in vehicles without airbags or in vehicles with de-activated airbags.

[ArtechnikA]

Thanks. I pointed that out in my earlier post in this thread, but no one seemed to notice.

i knew i read it somewhere - sorry about the duplicate post ...

and yet - moments ago on the RennList Racing list, was posted this:

"
We've been watching this item for about a week now, and it apears that the SCCA jumped the gun on this info... the safety concern originated from a test of an F1 airbag system, not a street car system. Our sources close to the SCCA say to basically disregard this warning. Street car airbags are aimed at the chest area, whereas an F1 or similar lay-back positioned racer it would be aimed at the chin
"

so now - who knows... i'm keeping the notice in my newsletter, because it fits so well into an odd shaped hole on my page, and i'm way beyond deadline ;-) ...

[scotty914]

hay slits maybe you need to contact the scca and pca and get em to approve the helmet you wear on the short bus, why buy another