Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Just curious about this Snell certification and if any of you have read this stuff before- seems interesting!

http://www.smf.org/

*EDIT* Here is a site about helmets any thoughts on this?
http://www.obairlann.net/~reaper/motorc ... lmets.html

Any helmets used for road riding (as opposed to scooters, I guess?) in Michigan have to be approved by the Department of Transportation. If you're looking at two similar helmets at a similar price, and one's got the extra Snell cert, why not just go for the Snell one?

I wouldn't go out and pay another $100 just for a Snell certified helmet though.

I'd always get a helmet with the proper certification - I know over there you have Snell and DOT, over here it's the BSI (British Safety institute) You just have to look for the Kite mark on the back of any tested lid. To be truthful, I dont remember ever seeing a lid that didnt have it...

I'd personally shell out the cash for a snell helmet. They put those through some harder impact tests than DOT, especially the fronts of full faced helmets.
For most (car) races that I participate in all you need is DOT and SNELL, the only thing some other places require is fire-resistance which makes it SA approved.

From what I read in an article posted on here, Snell helms will protect you better in a serious high impact crash, but have harder foam, which makes normal impacts not take so well.

viewtopic.php?t=3815
There's the thread.

It made me rethink the Snell thing completely. Snell helms actually did the WORST in the tests they did.

AmericanWeiner wrote:From what I read in an article posted on here, Snell helms will protect you better in a serious high impact crash, but have harder foam, which makes normal impacts not take so well.

viewtopic.php?t=3815
There's the thread.

It made me rethink the Snell thing completely. Snell helms actually did the WORST in the tests they did.

Snell helmets are not all they are hyped up to be. Because they are so hard (in order to survive the ridiculous double impact test), they may keep your skull from getting broken, but they transfer a much higher g-force load to your brain, turning it into a pachinko ball inside your skull.

WhyteGryphon wrote:

AmericanWeiner wrote:From what I read in an article posted on here, Snell helms will protect you better in a serious high impact crash, but have harder foam, which makes normal impacts not take so well.

viewtopic.php?t=3815
There's the thread.

It made me rethink the Snell thing completely. Snell helms actually did the WORST in the tests they did.

Snell helmets are not all they are hyped up to be. Because they are so hard (in order to survive the ridiculous double impact test), they may keep your skull from getting broken, but they transfer a much higher g-force load to your brain, turning it into a pachinko ball inside your skull.

I'm sure you've heard of fall or crash victims (usually in cars) that die "without a mark on them." Many of these are for this very reason. Something to think about. In that article they talk about the big foam helmet that would be the best, but wouldn't look so great. I used to wear something like that on my mountain bike, and I tested that theory. I did protect me from all injury to my head when my front wheel when into a deep, overgrown perpendicular rut at 25 mph. I went over the bars, onto my back onto the road I was riding next to. My head hit the pavement. I was fine...didn't even pass out at all. Lost some skin, though. Spandex isn't leather!

Aaaarrrgghhh!!

Ron in Spandex!

My eyes! My eyes!

Sorry, Ron... you left yerself wide open... I couldn't help it!

Ahem...

Anyway, if I had a Snell certified helmet (which I do, I just bought a nice KBC that I like a lot), I wouldn't throw it in the trash bin and make a mad dash to get a DOT-only Z1R or whatever. But it is an interesting debate going on now between Motorcyclist magazine and the Snell Foundation. I'm gonna follow this one very closely.

That article convinced me, i had a HJC, but bought the $80 Z1R. it fits good, but they really skimped on the padding.