I was carrying around my helmet in it's baggie, and somehow it slipped out, dropped to the ground, and rolled like 10 feet. I don't think the drop was that far (maybe 3 feet at most), but there are paint chips and scratches all over from it rolling on concrete.

I've heard if a helmet is dropped it should be replaced, but this didn't seem like a drop that could render the helmet ineffective, any suggestions?

Thanks

Eh, in a perfect world, yes a  dropped helmet should be replaced, just to be safe.  But this isn't a perfect world.

Some helmets are fine, even after being dropped, but sometimes they get cracks under the paint or between the layers of glass and/or plastic that could compromise their impact resistance. In racing, the rule of thumb is that if a scratch goes thru the paint, you have to replace it.  I guess its all up to you to decide what you can "live with", literally.

I have a 4 year old Shoei RF-R that is scratched up all over and that I've fallen down on and dropped at least 4-5 times.  I haven't replaced it because most are minor, its a very comfortable helmet, and well... I'm a cheap bastard, but also don't like cheap helmets. So I am almost at the point of shelling out for a new one though...

One of the bike mags did a story last year on this very topic.  The results were pretty convincing that just dropping the helmet does not decrease it's effectiveness in a crash.  They even dropped helmets from 10+ feet and still found they worked within specs.  

Anybody got a link?

jeff

I'd bet the "drop it replace it" talk originates with the helmet makers!  I'd assume that a "small" drop from normal carrying height wouldn't damage a helmet.  I mean if they can't take such a small impact why are we wearing them?  It's the soft styrofoam lining that actually protects your head from a shock.  The outer skin merely takes the abrasion of the road.  That's what I think...

I also can't back this up with an immediate source but ...

I just read somewhere that part of the DOT spec includes a certain number of drops before the helmet is compromised.  

I also have a chip out of the chin section on my Arai, and a cracked vent cover on top and its been dropped 4 or 5 times over the last 2.5 years.  But I don't have $350 for a new helment, and the new one would just get dropped anyway.

Trev

Here's a link to mucho info from Snell.  Maybe there is something on drops in here:

http://www.smf.org/

It's fine, the helmet companies just want to sell more helmets. Now if you crash, get a new helmet.

  -Anti

Got it, thanks. now the helmet has some character