About my helmet?

[ixolas]

Ok so as I was getting ready to put it on today it slipped out of my hands and hit the floor  , about a 3-4 ft drop.  Its thin carpet with only a little padding then hardwood under that.  Now I know that helmets are only good for one fall but its a 3 mo old shoei RF-1000, and I hate to toss it out just from that.  Do you guys (and girls) think its ok? 

My mind is pretty much made up that I'm going to keep using it, because I can't afford to replace it soon.  I guess I just need to know, when I do get the money, if it needs to be replaced or just wait till the wear life runs out.

[ledfingers]

i wouldn't toss it for that... helmets will generally hold up for more than one big fall, but it's safer to just toss them. but thats big fall. 3-4 ft onto carpet won't hurt a helmet. 6+ feet onto concrete, yeah, toss it.

[GeeP]

Time to replace it.  Helmets are designed for one impact, regardless of whether your head is in it at the time or not.

[scottpA_GS]

In another thread someone mentioned that you can send it to Shoei and they will check it out for free 

Might be worth $12 in postage to have it checked out by them 

[ixolas]

In another thread someone mentioned that you can send it to Shoei and they will check it out for free 

Might be worth $12 in postage to have it checked out by them 

I'll have to look into that.. thx

[Susuki_Jah]

I have had a helmate that has been dropped many times on the pavement because of the wind or me bumping the bike while its laying on it. then one day I layed down the bike and I slid across the road in an emergency situation. the helmate still has no cracks or visible stress and I still use it.  I also own a brand new helmate that I use mainly. but I really think that in a everyday situation that the one impact rule is a little over exagurated.  I can see if you were in a race situation but its going to take one hell of a hit to actually cause that helmate not to fuction for what it was designed for.  its like OSHA ... some safety things are just going to far.  then people go nuts over it.

it all boiles down to how comfortable you are using it. if you feel safe, continue to use it. if you dont feel safe then buy a new one.

some over react and others neglect, its good to find a happy medium between safety and practicality.

[Onlypastrana199]

It not necessarily how hard you hit, it can also be how you hit. I dropped my z1r from 2ft. It was fine...

Now I was wearing my scorpion when I wrecked back in August. I don't remember hitting my head, but I guess I did. Look over your helmet for visible damage. Exterior damage doesn't mean a thing, I had no visible exterior damage. Look over your entire helmet. Take the liner out and look at the foam on the inside. If there are any cracks, odd looking bumps, or anything out of the ordinary...get a new one.

The interior foam lining on a helmet (the part that absorbs the impact) can separate from the exterior shell. In which case, the helmet would be worthless.


Now my helmet, which was seeming fine, revealed this when I took it apart:


Clearly if you see anything like that, you're not going to want to keep wearing it.

[trumpetguy]

I don't see how you could damage a helmet dropping it empty (unless you drop it from a tall height).  The compressible material on the inside is not going to be damaged dropping it empty.

However, even a small hit with your head in it warrants replacement of the helmet.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I don't see how you could damage a helmet dropping it empty (unless you drop it from a tall height).  The compressible material on the inside is not going to be damaged dropping it empty.

You've never read any of the articles that have been posted here/various places on the internet, have you? Every one I've ever read (including independent evaluations, not just sponsored articles) has endorsed replacing the helmet even if it was dropped empty.

[Susuki_Jah]

I don't see how you could damage a helmet dropping it empty (unless you drop it from a tall height).  The compressible material on the inside is not going to be damaged dropping it empty.

You've never read any of the articles that have been posted here/various places on the internet, have you? Every one I've ever read (including independent evaluations, not just sponsored articles) has endorsed replacing the helmet even if it was dropped empty.

thats so they don't get sued. its a disclaimer to cover there ass.

[ixolas]

just to stop the fight right now.. everything falls at the same rate of speed (full or empty), it just depends on if it had enough time to reach enough speed/velocity to "disrupt" the foam.  If I new the amount of speed/velocity needed to "disrupt" the foam I could probably calculate if it reached that..

Thank you physics "with a cheezy grin and two sarcastic thumbs up"

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Everything accelerates at the same rate, 9.8m/s^2. Does that mean I think my head is worth less than a $160 helmet? Right now, yes, because I'm broke. But I'll be replacing my helmet ASAP.

[Susuki_Jah]

just to stop the fight right now.. everything falls at the same rate of speed (full or empty), it just depends on if it had enough time to reach enough speed/velocity to "disrupt" the foam.  If I new the amount of speed/velocity needed to "disrupt" the foam I could probably calculate if it reached that..

Thank you physics "with a cheezy grin and two sarcastic thumbs up"

so I guess to figure out it all we would need to know at what point of impact or what amount of force is needed to create a great amount of stress on the foam that is being used in the helmates. there has to be a standard foam they use and there has to be test that they have done on how much force is needed to damage.

and by the amount of distance from the drop to the floor we could figure out how much force that would be on the helmate and weather or not it is in the hotzone or the safe zone.

maybe we should start wearing helmates in cars too lol. 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I imagine the force required to damage the EPS liner varies with impact location. I imagine the SNELL foundation or the DOT would know, since that's part of their tests. Whether or not they'd release that info to the public is another matter. I don't know why they'd safeguard it.. but then, large corporations/government agencies are rarely logical.

Yes, if we knew the threshold, we could perform basic mathematical calculations to determine the severity of the damage from a drop. We'd need to know the exact height of the drop though.

Also, it's "helmet". C'mon. It's in the title of the thread.

[Susuki_Jah]

I imagine the force required to damage the EPS liner varies with impact location. I imagine the SNELL foundation or the DOT would know, since that's part of their tests. Whether or not they'd release that info to the public is another matter. I don't know why they'd safeguard it.. but then, large corporations/government agencies are rarely logical.

Yes, if we knew the threshold, we could perform basic mathematical calculations to determine the severity of the damage from a drop. We'd need to know the exact height of the drop though.

Also, it's "helmet". C'mon. It's in the title of the thread.

yea yea yea I'm tired, I was'nt paying attention, and I never proofread because its an internet forum .

well we could always estimate the hieght. and estimate the point of impact. but I do know a big part of the replace your helmate after any impact is to save the company from being responsable for any accidents. because everyone is right they do "design" the helmate for "one" major impact, but thats not to say it can't take many.

I have faith in my helmet my son lol.  (see I spelled it right this time).

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I have faith in my helmet too. I've been down twice in it. Now there are scuffs and scrapes on it. I don't trust it anymore. But I have to until I can afford to replace it.

[Susuki_Jah]

I have faith in my helmet too. I've been down twice in it. Now there are scuffs and scrapes on it. I don't trust it anymore. But I have to until I can afford to replace it.

yea I can see that.  have you checked inside it like Lisa did?   you could always get one of the cheep helmates with a spike out the top. lol

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Yeah, I checked out the inside, nothing visible.. I'll still replace it when I can afford it.. like I said, it's only $160...

No spikes for me.. but I AM gonna get one of those mohawks, once I have a job..

[ixolas]

I've emailed shoei asking if it is ok to use and what is the minimum amount of force to disrupt/damage the inner liner..

I'm still waiting for their reply.   

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Chances are good that without knowing the specifics, they'll just tell you to replace it. But like I said, you can ship it back to them and have it checked out.