So, through the grapevine I guess this kid got into an accident on his bike and his helmet apparently failed and the doc said that wearing a helmet that's too big for you hugely decreases the helmets effectiveness. This kid split his head wide open and was wearing a helmet that was a large while he shoulda been wearing a small. Anyone ever hear anything like this before? My helmet is a size or two too big for me too. When I bought it, it felt great because it was brand new but now that it's worn in a little bit it's starting to feel looser. (despite tightening the strap until I'm damn near choked!)

Yeah, to big is bad.  If you are in an accident your head is going to impact the inside of the helmet as hard as you impact whatever and thus not insulate your noggin from the impact.  I would get a new helmat that fits ASAP or maybe drive a car till you can get a helmat with the propper fit.

Put helmet on.  Wear for ~20min.

Grab and try to move around on head.  Grab the back and pull forward.  If it moves any more than a token amount, repeat with the next size down.

If it loosens up too much over time, get new padding.

It's a quirk of personal comfort that gets in the way of a safe helmet size.  As is usually the case, Roadstergal is correct in selecting the helmet size -- better that the helmet feel too tight than to be too loose from the start and you suffer the consequences whe you need it most.

It's too late in the season to catch Speed channel interviewing the AMA racers before an event, but to a man you would notice their cheeks pushed up a tad.  There is a reason for this, and they know they'll likely walk away from an 'off with the gear they wear.  

Take a page from their book and pick a size that's a bit of an effort to get on.  It'll loosen up with use, and if you need its protection, you'll be thankful you got the right size.  

All of you raise very good points. I think I'm gonna try to sell my practically brand new helmet (1 months use) for a 1/3 of the price and use that $ to go find a new one. I appreciate the input guys (and gals.)  

Quote from: phireAll of you raise very good points. I think I'm gonna try to sell my practically brand new helmet (1 months use) for a 1/3 of the price and use that $ to go find a new one. I appreciate the input guys (and gals.)  

What helmet is it ... I wear large ... In fact I wear a large in summer and a X large in winter - baclava and mask and stuff take up the extra space ... but OK in NC we dont have winter ... so I went through 3 larges while the XL is still sitting there collecting dust ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: seshadri_srinath

Quote from: phireAll of you raise very good points. I think I'm gonna try to sell my practically brand new helmet (1 months use) for a 1/3 of the price and use that $ to go find a new one. I appreciate the input guys (and gals.)  

What helmet is it ... I wear large ... In fact I wear a large in summer and a X large in winter - baclava and mask and stuff take up the extra space ... but OK in NC we dont have winter ... so I went through 3 larges while the XL is still sitting there collecting dust ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Well, it's an XL... My wife's small fits me pretty good and it isn't "too tight." It feels very snug. My XL on the other hand has about 1600 miles under its belt (or over?) and it's safe to say that it's pretty "worn in" on the padding. It now slightly droops over my forehead which gets very annoying. Always having to shove it back up there.

Quote from: phireWell, it's an XL... My wife's small fits me pretty good and it isn't "too tight." It feels very snug.

Right...it should be snug.

Quote from: phireIt now slightly droops over my forehead which gets very annoying. Always having to shove it back up there.

That's definitely way too big if it's moving around on its own.  When you try on a helmet, strap it up and try to take it off...pull up from the underside of the back and try to "roll" it off your head.  It shouldn't move that much, and definitely shouldn't start to come off your head.  It's not going to do you any good if it comes off in a crash.  Ideally, you want it to be as tight as possible without giving you a headache or causing pain.

Older posts illustrate that all helmets fit slightly differently.  Try on all of them.  Find one that feels right and keep it on for at least 20 minutes...walk around the store, try on jackets, gloves, sit on a bike and make 'vroom vroom' noises...whatever.  If it's not comfortable, start again with a different helmet.

Next helmet I buy... gonna have to find quality in childrens sizes all the XS and XXS I've tried on are waaay too big...stupid pin head

Also, helmets should be replaced every so often. The manufacturer's suggest every 5 years, and that's pretty accurate. I've had a helmet (my old race helmet, a Snell 85 Shoei Task Five) for 15 years, and had begun to notice little black bits of debris being left on the shelf each time I moved the helmet a few years ago. That was the helmet deteriorating. Good thing I had already bought a RF800 and a TZ-1 between now and then, because I crashed last year with the Tz-1. I didn't feel a thing, and I would hate to know what it would have felt like if I had been wearing my Task5.

Quote from: Onlypastrana199Next helmet I buy... gonna have to find quality in childrens sizes all the XS and XXS I've tried on are waaay too big...stupid pin head

only thing that would fit my head is an xxs shoei tz-1.  haven't checked out the kids stuff yet  

Well, the sucky thing is that when I did try it on it felt great. Even hurt my ears trying to yank it off. Practically had to fight it off my head. It's a Fulmer Shaman so I don't know if they're known for that or if that's common amongst all helmets but while we're on the topic... I'm open to reccomendations on other helmets since I'm now shopping for one again...