Bike helmet
- Thread starter Guv
- Start date
As's been said, the best helmet is the one that fits. But there's a wee bit more to it than that... I've owned cheap helmets and expensive helmets, and when I've done the maths sometimes the expensive ones make more sense...
My first helmet was a fairly nice HJC ZF8, £80 from Infinity. It lasted about a year of daily use, maybe 10000 miles, but the foam degraded and compressed over time so first it became very uncomfortable, then too loose for safety. I had a Suomy after that, which was very good, comfier and lighter than the HJC but again, it didn't last. Loved it while it did though. Maybe 15000 miles at a guess. Then I had an AGV, which I had a bit of a crash in and decided to write off as it was a wee bit damaged and I didn't know if it was safe. Another good helmet.
So then, I got an Arai Condor- one of their cheaper models. It was reasonably light, very comfy, but also I wore it for 25000 miles before retiring it after a trackday crash, and getting an Astro R. The Arai cost £180, so just over twice as much as the HJC and maybe 50% more than the Suomy, but it lasted longer and was still comfy when I decided it might be a good idea to retire it because of damage. The cloth linings had come a bit loose too.
But after that, I discovered that you can get Arais checked for damage after a crash- so I sent the helmet back (free of charge, through Hein Gericke) and Arai checked it over, replaced the strap, repaired the linings, safety checked it, touched up the paint damage, they even cleaned it- and then sent it back, still free of charge. I wish I'd known they do that or I'd not have got the Astro R!
But the point is, the Arai got worn more and still is perfectly usable- the safety testing means I can keep on wearing it with confidence where most brands would have been for the bin. Maybe it's no safer than the £80 HJC but there's a lot more to good value than price and initial performance.
My first helmet was a fairly nice HJC ZF8, £80 from Infinity. It lasted about a year of daily use, maybe 10000 miles, but the foam degraded and compressed over time so first it became very uncomfortable, then too loose for safety. I had a Suomy after that, which was very good, comfier and lighter than the HJC but again, it didn't last. Loved it while it did though. Maybe 15000 miles at a guess. Then I had an AGV, which I had a bit of a crash in and decided to write off as it was a wee bit damaged and I didn't know if it was safe. Another good helmet.
So then, I got an Arai Condor- one of their cheaper models. It was reasonably light, very comfy, but also I wore it for 25000 miles before retiring it after a trackday crash, and getting an Astro R. The Arai cost £180, so just over twice as much as the HJC and maybe 50% more than the Suomy, but it lasted longer and was still comfy when I decided it might be a good idea to retire it because of damage. The cloth linings had come a bit loose too.
But after that, I discovered that you can get Arais checked for damage after a crash- so I sent the helmet back (free of charge, through Hein Gericke) and Arai checked it over, replaced the strap, repaired the linings, safety checked it, touched up the paint damage, they even cleaned it- and then sent it back, still free of charge. I wish I'd known they do that or I'd not have got the Astro R!
But the point is, the Arai got worn more and still is perfectly usable- the safety testing means I can keep on wearing it with confidence where most brands would have been for the bin. Maybe it's no safer than the £80 HJC but there's a lot more to good value than price and initial performance.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Jan 2004
- Posts
- 12,773
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- Leicestershire
i have a £300 Arai upstairs.
i race in £100 OGKs and £60 HJCs.
All my helmets have been down the track a few times but still ok apart from scrapes. Until they're totally destroyed i'll use them. the HJC has hit the deck 3 times this year lol!
as long as it fits you'll be ok.
i race in £100 OGKs and £60 HJCs.
All my helmets have been down the track a few times but still ok apart from scrapes. Until they're totally destroyed i'll use them. the HJC has hit the deck 3 times this year lol!
as long as it fits you'll be ok.
Back in 1990, the local Honda dealer I used a lot ( Two Wheels in Edinburgh, when they were in their old premises ) got a batch of the first Arai Giga "Doohan" Reggae replicas in.
It was of that seasons "Must have" skid lids and as soon as I spotted it on the shelf, I just "had to have" one.
Missus went daft at me for spending a few hundred quid on a lid but she got her own back when we went back the next month and she got a Shoei GRV Kocinski replica which cost about as much.
The Giga was worn by me for a good few years and the missus was glad I had spent so much money on it when at one point I had a big "get-off" after an OAP pulled out at point blank range in front of me and sent me up the road, causing a shattered femur, burst spleen, broken ribs and collar bone. Was off work for almost a year after that with various metal being pinned into my leg over the time of the recuperation.
I too sent mine back to Arai after the crash and they replaced pretty much everything in it apart from the shell which they x-rayed and tested as safe to use again. All free of charge and they even sent me a wee note saying they hoped I got well soon!!.
As I said, using an OGK FF4 at the moment after having had an FF3 for a while and I find them absolutely stonking value for money. The quality of the lid is easily on a par with the top bunch like Arai's and Shoei's.
The only thing I've found ( and maybe its the shape of my bonce ) is that the OGK's fit in a similar fashion to Shoei's, in the respect that your face and chin feels a bit closer to the visor and chin part of the helmet?.
Arai's I have always felt feel that little bit further back as far as where you feel your face and chin are sitting, in this respect.
My lid is now looking at retiring, so I will either go for another OGK either FF4 or one of the new FF5's or may splash out and grab an Arai this time.
I still have the Giga in the attic in storage for sentimental reasons and the wife's Shoei GRV still looks as if it is brand new and out the box. In its present condition it might be worth some money in years to come, who knows???!!!.
It was of that seasons "Must have" skid lids and as soon as I spotted it on the shelf, I just "had to have" one.
Missus went daft at me for spending a few hundred quid on a lid but she got her own back when we went back the next month and she got a Shoei GRV Kocinski replica which cost about as much.
The Giga was worn by me for a good few years and the missus was glad I had spent so much money on it when at one point I had a big "get-off" after an OAP pulled out at point blank range in front of me and sent me up the road, causing a shattered femur, burst spleen, broken ribs and collar bone. Was off work for almost a year after that with various metal being pinned into my leg over the time of the recuperation.
I too sent mine back to Arai after the crash and they replaced pretty much everything in it apart from the shell which they x-rayed and tested as safe to use again. All free of charge and they even sent me a wee note saying they hoped I got well soon!!.
As I said, using an OGK FF4 at the moment after having had an FF3 for a while and I find them absolutely stonking value for money. The quality of the lid is easily on a par with the top bunch like Arai's and Shoei's.
The only thing I've found ( and maybe its the shape of my bonce ) is that the OGK's fit in a similar fashion to Shoei's, in the respect that your face and chin feels a bit closer to the visor and chin part of the helmet?.
Arai's I have always felt feel that little bit further back as far as where you feel your face and chin are sitting, in this respect.
My lid is now looking at retiring, so I will either go for another OGK either FF4 or one of the new FF5's or may splash out and grab an Arai this time.
I still have the Giga in the attic in storage for sentimental reasons and the wife's Shoei GRV still looks as if it is brand new and out the box. In its present condition it might be worth some money in years to come, who knows???!!!.
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