Are expensive helmets worth it?

[turbid]

for more expensive helmets you do pay for the exotic materials, better padding and vents. normally the higher end helmets tend to be race helmets, so they fit tighter, at the beginning they might feel uncofortable, but with time they stick better to your head.

one must first and foremost go for fit as it has been stated so many times. if a cheap helmet fits you better than any arai then go for the cheap one.

in europe we have the ece 2205 standard (avery high standard of testing) and all helmets for sale must pass this standard. that said my helmets have to be 4-5star sharp rated.

i do however beleive that shoei/arai charge too much money for their products compared to the high end agvs and sharks

 

[Arthur]

If you would check the sharp testings on the helmets,some of 400£ Arai helmets where only 3 starts and some 100£ cabergs or even a 50£ Box helmets where 4 and 5 starts. However as people above said the inside material will be much cheaper and after some time in case of an accident you may get an injury just because of the inside material ( helmet not fitting as it should after some time). Personally I had a Nitro helmet for 80£ as my first helmet. I have dropped it my self from my wardrobe. Upgraded to shoei qwest. Was a massive difference. The most important one was that I could see much more because of the much wider visor. The wind noise and quality of the visor and antifog was much better as well. Now I have shoei xr1100 which is perfect as well. I had many helmets on my head before buying a current one, and found out that the shoei fits my head the best.
The most important thing when buying a helmet is that it has to fit your head. 400£ helmet will protect you less then 50£ if it won't fit as it should. And the other thing is how often do you use it. I'm commuting around 330 days a year so good quality and good inside material is must, otherwise it wouldn't last me a year.
Find the budget that you can afford on a helmet and try as many as you can within the price. Most shops selling helmets with 50% off just because the new colours coming in and they have to get rid of the old ones. I bought shoei xr1100 for 280£ which I think was a bargain because the same lid with newer colours was up to 500£.

 

[FizzySix]

Fit is first (is there an echo in here?)

I've spent most of my time riding with a Shoei, and HJC; both were reasonably comfortable and lasted for years. Your priorities beyond protection are your own (e.g. if you live somewhere hot, you may want lots of vents; somewhere cold, you may be concerned about fog-resistance). Realistically, $ has to factor into the equasion somewhere, but I think the general sentiment is that it shouldn't be the primary factor.

Also, to add to the Snell comments: unfortunately, they don't rate modular/flip-up helmets, which is what I'm thinking of going to next. Quote from their website on the matter is pasted below.

"the Foundation has not had the opportunity to test any"....how many years have these things been out???

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Why won't Snell certify some types of helmets like flip up front designs?

Snell does not dismiss out of hand any helmet design that strays from the conventional. Snell does not point out any design specifications other than general requirements in its standards. We are, however, always concerned with innovations and new designs that may effect helmet's ability to protect the wearer, or in some cases helmet's potential to cause injury. At present the Foundation has not had the opportunity to test any of the flip up front type helmets for certification. We do not find any fault with these designs as long as they are used according to the manufacturers instructions and meet all of the requirements of the standard. We will also certify any size of helmet as long as it meets the same requirements as any other Snell certified helmet.

 

[ACME_Rocket]

I am new to riding so I am no expert however I was very particular about choosing my safety equipment because my uncle was almost killed on a 2mile ride to the gas station to fill up before a long ride
I don’t know what helmet he had on however it was on the cheaper side
He almost made this short ride with no helmet but last minute put it on
It saved his life however barely
I am also an engineer so I make a living on making the best bang for your buck decisions and also know when it comes to safety a little more money can go a long way
When looking at what DOT considers a safe helmet look at cruiser helmets some are just single layer of plastic with no padding (death traps)
I also remember hearing that ECE certification require better impacts absorb than Snell
So as others stated I look more at manufactures reputation and experience making race helmets
Shoei and Arai have been saving lives on race tracks for years however price is steep
I wonder why no one has mentioned Suomy they have is good as a reputation however tend to cost a less
I don’t know if I would trust the newer race manufactures

 

[ACME_Rocket]

Fit is first (is there an echo in here?)

Also, to add to the Snell comments: unfortunately, they don't rate modular/flip-up helmets, which is what I'm thinking of going to next. Quote from their website on the matter is pasted below.

"the Foundation has not had the opportunity to test any"....how many years have these things been out???

I crashed on my snowmobile 2 years back wearing a top of the line HJC full face helmet
When I stud up with no more than a few buses I had no face shield
I will never trust a modular for the reason if the hole front of the helmet ripped off like the shield I would have busted my jaw
That being seed if the comfort is more important at least insist on all metal latches
Nolan is one manufacture that uses all metal latches

 

[dxh24]

Have to agree fit is the most important, you can buy a $500+ Shoei but if it doesn't fit snug, it's not going to do it's job correctly.

Having crashed many, many times on the dirtbike, I can say even Vega's do the job, but more expensive tends to have better fit, better interior material, and be more pleasant overall. I have the HJC IS-16 and no complaints so far, most comfortable helmet i've owned yet. While i've never crashed with it (thankfully) I am certain it will help keep my head pretty if i ever do, it fits well, and I know friend who have crashed with HJC's and come away unscathed (facially anyways).

Devil is in the details!

 

[TechnicalNonsense]

I apologize for the long post but I hope this will help others out there as well when making the purchase for a helmet that fits their melon

To an extent Yes and No.

The saying goes "You get what you pay for" is true to most things and that includes riding gears.

All helmet has to meet a certain safety standard such as DOT, ECE 22.05 and SNELL

The reasons why you see Arai, Shoei and other premium companies; charging nearly 3 times the price of say... an HJC helmet that also meets SNELL M2010 standard begins to make sense if you start breaking down the helmet piece by piece.

1. -Research and development; its quite easy for most companies to make a helmet that is really safe but.. it could be very heavy and unbalance. The more premium helmets has had more time in development to make it safe while using the least amounts of material to reduce weight.
ex. My first helmet was a Scorpion EXO-1100 which was only DOT and ECE 22.05 but weighed significantly more then my current Arai RX-Q which is SNELL M2010 and also the Arai is more balanced making it feel lightly while I'm wearing it.

2. Materials The material that is chosen to make the helmet contributes to cost such as the Shell of the helmet. Most cheaper helmet have a shell made of Polycarbonate or Fiberglass which are strong material in its own right but also cheaper and heavier then say the more premium material such as Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, Dyneema and Aramid are as such more expensive and somewhat harder to work with. Thats just the exterior, don't forget the interior material that makes up the cheek pads and liner.

3. Features and Innovation This really plays more within each of the companies line of helmets; obvious these guys are out to make money so if you were to line up all the helmets from one company in order from cheapest to most expensive you will most likely find that the cheaper helmets will have a lot less features then the more expensive one.

ex. Going back to my first helmet which was the Scorpion EXO-1100 and at the time it was the most expensive helmet that they had to offer and as such had more features that the less ones down the line did not; for the example; 1. the drop down sunvisor built into the helmets shell
2. pumped up cheek pads to give a more customize fit
3. better airflow for the type of riding I did
4. scratch and fog resistant face shield
5. antibacterial and antimicrobial quickwik liner.

4. Labor Obviously you gotta pay the guys and gal that sit there all day and build these helmets so depending on where the helmet was made will add to the cost. So if the labor cost of a certain country is higher then the helmet will cost more to make sure they see a good amount of profits return. Also; although not always true, the country of origin will determine the quality of the fit and finish.

5. Lastly Snob Value Certain companies know that people see them as a more "premium and valuable" brand over another and as such will charge a more premium price to insure that their products come out with the least amount of imperfection.

Once again, I apologize for making that post so long.

In conclusion; when picking a helmet, make sure it fits your helmet properly, meets your country standard of safety, has all the features you need in your helmet but remember, you do get what you pay for.

RIDE SAFE