Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Been out of the game for a while, eeking out a mere 200km per year these last few. The upshot is I'm out of touch, not just with bikes, bikes prices but also kit.

I'll be looking to help my girlfriend choose a lid and I don't want her to be herded toward the €500 Arai's but nor do I want her to buy something that will crack like an egg if she doesn't duck through a low door frame.

There was a UK initiative a while back that gave lids a 5-star rating based on tests but cant' remember the details. So are there any brands to aim for or resources to review that you'd recommend?

Thanks.

I'm having a think about one of these....it"s a Klim Krious ....that they rebadge apparently for their helmet sales.



https://www.louis-moto.co.uk/artikel/ni ... 1cae77ed0b





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Take a look at https://billyscrashhelmets.co.uk
I think you are referring to the sharp star rating of helmets.The site reviews helmets

Hi, there is such a wide variety of styles and shapes of helmets out there it is a bit of a minefield. I would recommend Nolan as a quality mid price brand. Currently I have a Nolan, a Schuberth and a Duchinni. All are good and the Duchinni is exceptional value.
I would pay a visit to a big stockists. I went to the Sportsbike shop in Lincolnshire recently where I got the Duchinni. They were excellent, I selected four helmets on screen which they brought out for me to try on. They then went back and got a different size for one of them.
I think that all helmets have to pass a minimum standard, but the fit is the main priority, you could pay 500 quid for a lid and if it does not fit properly you might as well stick a bucket on your head. Better quality helmets may have a nicer finish, last a bit longer and have extra features. It always amazes me when I see riders with top quality lids, riding in T shirts and trainers. A biker I knew, who was a heart surgeon, used to call them donors.
Cheers Jak

bill_qaz wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2019 12:05 pm Take a look at https://billyscrashhelmets.co.uk
I think you are referring to the sharp star rating of helmets.The site reviews helmets

sharp star rating:

YES!! That's the one!

Unfortunately like the variety of helmet shapes there's a variety of head shapes to go with them, what suits one won't suit the other, I bit the bullet & bought a Schubert C3 pro, not cheap, but the best helmet I've had, even better than my previous Shoei Multitec, if cheapish helmets fit & are comfy you are lucky, it all depends on head shape I'm afraid.

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

is the site.

Their advice is sound...choose the helmets you like for fit and comfort, then select one with a high SHARP rating. There seems to be little or no relationship between SHARP rating and price.

The only bad thing about SHARP is they seem not to test helmets with open-face or motocross shells.

I'm not a fan of buying mail order helmets...I did buy my Bell by mail order, and frankly it wasn't the best choice. Not a mistake I'll make again.

Personally I would steer clear of the cheaper end of the market which tend to be polycarbonate.

Tom

My personal advice would be buy the best you can afford fit wise/and rating you only get 1 head in 1 life is it worth scrimping on

Sanqhar wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:00 pm Personally I would steer clear of the cheaper end of the market which tend to be polycarbonate.

Tom

Each to their own, of course, but I don't think the SHARP ratings show polycarbonate is necessarily worse than other materials. There used to be issues over polycarbonate deteriorating after contact with petrol and other solvents, but I don't think that's the case any more.

It's cheap, because it's easy to manufacture using automated techniques to a consistent standard compared to fibreglass, which is still laid by hand.

Some helmets which are claimed to be carbon or suchlike, actually only contain a small amount of the miracle material.

But, each to their own. For trail riding I prefer the polycarbonate helmets because they are cheap and light: they are going to get bashed into trees, sweated into etc so its good to have one you can afford to replace often.

On the road...yeah, there's a certain sense of security that comes from a heavier, more expensive helmet.