The $10 helmet

[The Spin Doctor]

You're definitely getting into diminishing returns as you spend more and more.

My £500 Arai (which I didn't pay £500 for ) feels noticeably 'sturdier' than my old £250 HJC, depsite being lighter. The obvious test is putting your hands on either side of the 'hole' and trying to pull it out of shape - the Arai is way stiffer. Presumably that's down a to a better/stiffer shell material.

That's not entirely a good thing - the stiffer the shell, the more impact is transferred to the polycarbonate lining your head's sitting in.

There's research from the US about this. And not all the top helmets fare well in the SHARP test either, particularly when tested on impact on the temple area.

[dern]

If it meets safety requirements then I guess yes, I'd wear it if I had nothing else. I just can't see how that could be done for the money.

I wouldn't choose to buy one as I'd be looking for comfort too.

[Horse]

When I started biking it was the beginning of the end for my affro

Around the back of the helmet and the eye-hole, it was a bit like those fur-lined parka hoods

[Bigyin]

Do we honestly believe that a high-end Shoei / Arai etc costs more than $10 to make anyway????

I have both Shoei and Arai helmets and regularly remove the interior parts for cleaning and maintaining the comfort of the helmets. I also have a cheapo 60 quid Box flip up lid. The difference in quality of components and comfort is enormous. I wore it probably a dozen times when i started instructing and got so pissed off with how bad it was put together its now in a helmet bag at work for emergency use only and i use my lovely, comfortable more expensive Shoei

No way could the production costs be anywhere close just by the component quality despite the fact all 3 comply with ECE-22-05 certification

[Tricky]

In answer to the OP, although I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one on price, yes I probably do wear one already sometimes as I'm guessing thats not far off the manufacturing cost of the multitude of low-cost MX ones (Wulf, Thor, Fly THH, Box, etc) that sell for £30-£60ish - I've got a couple, and they both have the ECE and ACU Gold approvals (well, hopefully they do, as they have those stickers on! )

[The Spin Doctor]

I have both Shoei and Arai helmets and regularly remove the interior parts for cleaning and maintaining the comfort of the helmets. I also have a cheapo 60 quid Box flip up lid. The difference in quality of components and comfort is enormous. I wore it probably a dozen times when i started instructing and got so pissed off with how bad it was put together its now in a helmet bag at work for emergency use only and i use my lovely, comfortable more expensive Shoei

No way could the production costs be anywhere close just by the component quality despite the fact all 3 comply with ECE-22-05 certification

I needed a full-face with ACU gold for trackdays and since my Arai was well past its best, I ended up with a Nitro. It was about 1/3 of the price of the Arai and pretty well matched it on quality of lining, visor and vents. And it was far quieter and better-finished than my Shoei Synchrotec too - that was silver and it turned out the paint wasn't lacquered, so scratched really badly.

So... there ARE decent and not-so-pricey lids out there.

[Bigyin]

I needed a full-face with ACU gold for trackdays and since my Arai was well past its best, I ended up with a Nitro. It was about 1/3 of the price of the Arai and pretty well matched it on quality of lining, visor and vents. And it was far quieter and better-finished than my Shoei Synchrotec too - that was silver and it turned out the paint wasn't lacquered, so scratched really badly.

So... there ARE decent and not-so-pricey lids out there.

I didnt say there weren't any decent ones, but there are some very poor quality finish ones but pass ECE 22 05 so legal for UK road use. A Tuzo which is fully compliant can be had for £29.99. We used them as basic helmets for CBT students before Covid and i have worn them myself and was surprised how comfortable it was. The Tuzo was a lot better and more comfortable than the Box one i have.

[The Spin Doctor]

I didnt say there weren't any decent ones...

...but you didn't say there were, either.

There are very grim basic helmets... there are surprisingly well put together inexpensive helmets... and there are some fairly expensive ones that aren't great.

I had a Suomi - just a bit cheaper and the same fit as a very similar Arai (I did wonder if they'd cloned the shell). Outwardly, the finish looked good, but it was awful. In a couple of days of wear as a trainer, the paint was scratched and the visor was damaged. Amazingly, I got my money back on it. I produced my five year old Arai as a comparison, and even the dealer took one look at the Suomi and agreed to send it back to the distributer.

[Horse]

There's research from the US about this. And not all the top helmets fare well in the SHARP test either, particularly when tested on impact on the temple area.

IIRC helmets have to be stiffer to pass the [US-based] Snell tests.

I had a Suomi - just a bit cheaper and the same fit as a very similar Arai. Outwardly, the finish looked good, but it was awful. In a couple of days of wear as a trainer, the paint was scratched

Didn't you have an expensive Shoei with poor paint?

[The Spin Doctor]

IIRC helmets have to be stiffer to pass the [US-based] Snell tests.

That's the issue - the Snell test involves dropping a spike on the helmet, not just an anvil. That means the outer shell has to be tough to prevent penetration. That FIA-designed lid looks like it would fail on that count straight away

Didn't you have an expensive Shoei with poor paint?

Yes, also mentioned above. It seemed to be just the silver ones - the plain colours had the colour in the gel coat. But for some reason, the silver were sprayed and not lacquered. I won't even mention the racket inside the helmet. For a lid costing almost £300 it was bloody poor. I've still got it, never could use it for training, the slightest breeze and the trainees couldn't hear the radio.