Quote:
Originally Posted by
Keithblade
My only bit of advise is that yes we all have a budget BUT go over your budget, spend as much as you can on getting a top quality helmet.
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As long as the helmet is approved (Snell/DOT in the US and ECE 22-05 in Europe) you can assume that it is "safe enough" but you can also look at
http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/ for a comparison of safety on ECE aproved helmets. The problem here is that they test like the ECE 22-05 so the strength is only tested in 5 well known spots and helmet manufacturer can optimize their helmets for the test. So in a real world accident a good rating here may not mean that much more then another average helmet.
Paying more is no guarantee for a safer helmet. You can easily assume that you will pay extra for major brands for the same safety.
Differences between moderately priced helmet and an expensive one is more in features noiselevel and fancy graphics
Most important is that that shape of the helmet fits. If is does not fit then it does not protect
I prefer to buy a major brand on sale :-)
My favorite is an UVEX ENDURO SLT (~200€) but the visor mechanism is not the best and it does'nt fit in my top box. So for commuting i use an UVEX BOSS 520 CLASSIC (~130€) that has a double visor so it does not fog easily (imho better than Pinlock) but for sunny days out (and bmx racing) I've just gotten a Fox Racing V4 Machina (~160€).
I also have two older Nolan and a Caberg that is still ok but now only occasional used by a passenger. I've also binned a few helmets a long the way. i.e a Kiwi i could'nt get a replacement visor for and worn out Louis.de/Madheat cross helmet.