New helmet cost

[HRTV]

FYI

[Jeff Lytle]

It's your melon...................That's the way I look at it.

[Jeff Lytle]

I keep giggling, but can't post what's on my mind.

Dan's refrence to 9 year old J drivers is keeping me in line

I'll try it without being obvious...........in point form of course.


-Head
-$99.00 ????

SORRY !!! I'M A BAD MAN !!! A Moderator too.........such a BAD example !

[HRTV]

Steady Jeff remember what I said on Scream and Fly buddy

[Jeff Lytle]

I know, I know, it slipped----HONEST !!!

[HRTV]

No one talk to Jeff right now he is in time out

[Brian10s]

Good topic

This is a good topic. I have always thought that you did not skimp on the price of a helmet. You only have one melon and you paid the money to protect it.

However, with the increasing cost of helmets, I have been doing some thinking.

Look inside your helmets. Most have a snell number, a size and what else? Throw out the size sticker (as we all should know what that means) and look at the other stickers. Some of those stickers are the same as you will find in any cycle shop in their helmets.

Besides looks etc, does anyone know what goes into a $400 shoei or bell or simpson that doesn't go into the $125 whatever that is at the cycle shop. If they both are snell approved, what else is there? Is there $275 more plastic or whatever in the racing helmet?

Now, I would like to think that the racing helmet is more special than just being orange but I do not know. Has anyone done the research? Anyone in the business or have an "in" that can explain this (in simple boat racer terms).

I would just like to be sure that the extra $ spent mean extra protection.

Any thoughts?

Brian 10s

[Kevin Martin]

brian, a couple of us on this board have done research in this area, a few years ago, and asked the same questions you are. we ended up purchasing $149 helets snell 2000 at a local cycle shop, and painting them ourselves. nobody could show use the $250 difference in safety, some of the more expensive helmets fit real nice, and were real light, but after looking for a bit we found really nice fitting, and and fairly light helmets for less than half the cost. when it comes to my kids i'm a safety nut, i wouldn't have a problem putting any of them in a 100-150 helmet, if it were snell approved. if anyone here could give me some figures we missed a few years i'd be wide open to listening!!!

after the much talked about accident of mike bartlett out here last year, and the success of his helmet's performance in the accident, i was convinced, he was wearing the helmet i purchased in the above paragraph. kevin martin

[David_L6]

There are good deals out there

I just bought a Shoei off of eBay for $165 delivered that normally retails for $350+ (thanks to Mike Beegle for posting). I bought the yellow one because they didn't have orange in any size other than small.

I paid $400+ for my last helmet (a Bell). The shield and most of the stuff to mount a shield got ripped off at the last race I went to. I may still be able to buy all the parts to put the shield back on, but just in case I can't I now have a usuable helmet.


edit: ripped off as in the water did it when I went in head first at 70+mph, not stolen.

[Tomtall]

Skull buckets / Saftey collars

I'm going to buy a helmet this spring for my son for "J" class. I've look at many on the net. I see the less exspensive ones are molded plastic and lighter, virses fiberglass composite and slightly heavier. My concern is neck injury. I would think more weight is not good and are the neck collars working in this sport. I would think a collar would have issues with head mobility and saftey as far as looking around during racing. Give your thoughts please!

[Dan M]

If memory serves me, Snell approved helmets are required by most racing sanctioning bodies. DOT approved helmets are approved based on a single impact test. Snell approval requires mutiple impacts and is a much more stringent test. Any helmet that has Snell approval should be acceptable for our racing application. The MOST important thing is to get a correct fit of your helmet. Make sure that fits snugly but comfortably. Too loose can be just as bad as not wearing one. My $.02

Dan

[Tomtall]

Snell rating

I've found both materials used in the makeup of these helmets to be Snell rated.

[Gordie Miller]

I love this thread

you could make the same comparison between automobiles. A new Ferrari F50 is approximately $600,000 dollars, a new Chevrolet Corvette is about $60,000. Is the Ferrari 10 times as good? NO, is it better, ABSOLUTELY. Same principal goes for helmets, luckily for us the difference between Snell approved and THE BEST is usually about $300.00. I'm sure most mothers would feel better knowing we put our children in the best available helmet regardless of cost. Ask yourself this, a NEW Dewald propeller is $350.00-$2000.00 depending on class, but they are available used for every class at roughly 1/4 - 1/2 that, yet we continue to buy new because they are usually better than last years technology. Isn't it worth it to spend the extra $300.00 dollars rather than say to your wife "remember the $300.00 I saved $300.00 on juniors helmet, we can put that towards the rehab". That is a very strong statement, but one you guys need to really look at. I've worn $500.00 helmet for 15 years now and have NEVER said to myself, you know I'll bet that $150.00 helmet would have done just as good of a job. These are just one racer's opinion but you DON'T get a second chance where this is concerned, if you can't put the best safety equipment on your children should you be putting them out there at all? Regards, Gordie Miller

[18W]

Gordie- I agree with you 100%. I was wearing my racing helmet a few years back on a snomobile trip. I impacted a tree head on. First impact was taken by the chin of the helmet. That's why I guarantee I am here today! Spend the money, you don't get a second chance!!! That helmet was a couple hundred bucks, the hospital bills were a couple thousand, lesson learned.
Davey

[Tomtall]

Helmet cost ?

Gordie - I do agree with you on your cost verses quility argument. I also now you have been in the buisness of selling saftey gear for several years now. You have raced stock to OPC classes. In your opinon, is a brand name helmet (say "Shoe" or Simpson") advertised on a web site at a 50% savings, less safe, as opposed to paying full pop from the saftey equipment supplier such as Lifeline or Security product? Should there be a concern that the bargain price for the name brand, in the same model, on the web could be a reject that somehow made it out of the factory to be sold to some unsuspecting buyer? Also what are your thoughts on saftey collars being worn in the knell down class's?