New in the box but older helmet?

[stuckinthemiddle]

Hey everyone I have a question.  I'm looking at a helmet upgrade and I saw a nice shoei still in the box but the manufacturer date was 06/2011.  If you follow the five year rule,  this helmet is at the end of its life span,  but does that include helmets that have never been worn??
I see conflicting replies on the Intraweb.

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[Big Rich]

Try contacting Shoei directly. They might say if it was stored in a temperature controlled area, free of harmful vapors, and out of direct uv light, that it should be OK to use.

But.... for liability reasons they might say it's no good.

[Janx101]

Found this.. make sure you pee before starting the read.... it's a bit big!

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/helmet-replacment-after-5-years-why.780904/

[fetor56]

Unused huh....I would buy it if i really liked it and it was at an unbeatable price.

[Erika]

Don't pay a lot for it, plastics and the foam inside age with time. On the Shoei website, there is a way to send it to them and they will test it for damage for free. I did that after I dropped my helmet a distance onto cement. They tested it and said it passed inspection. I kinda knew it would be ok, but it was nice for peace of mind.

[stuckinthemiddle]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.  So I called Shoei directly at your suggestion and talked to a helpful customer service rep who told me the 5 year life of the helmet is "USED"  helmet time - the actual time that someone uses and wears the helmet.  If its been sitting new in a box in decent conditions, then the 5 years has not started yet.  Now the question is do I trust the ebay-er that it has been stored properly.  I already sent them that question and am waiting to hear back.