Buying a Bell SC-X helmet 04,05 06 model year.

[gtoron]

Ok an online retailer has a a good price on 04 helmets. Should you buy a helmet that is slightly "old" or only stay with current year models.

Also how often does a helmet need to be replaced, barring any crashes and damage to the helmet.

[quailchaser]

BRAND NEW old stock helmets are fine. The only reasons I can think of to get the "latest and greatest" are:

1: Bling factor.
2. Some better feature/s (ie. better venting than last years)
3. Some sort of substantial weight savings over previous models
4. Safety ratings

With no crash damage helmets can last for years and years. We still have a DOT/Snell rated helmet from years ago that's in great shape. Once the straps get worn and frayed or any other portion of the helmet is deteriated to where it does not fit properly...It's time for it to go.

Later
Robb

[Colorado Mike]

This is a topic that gets pretty interesting. Everybody knows that if your helmet takes a big impact it needs replacement. What a lot of people don't realize is that the DOT and SNELL ratings on helmets are based on street conditions, and we aren't necesarily well served by that.

A friend of mine is involved in trying to get different ratings for dirt helmets. He's got a kid that got a couple concussions in racing. In dealing with that, he's hooked up with a brain doctor that is convinced that dirt bike helmets have padding that is far too hard to protect a racer from the types and frequency of impacts that they encounter. The medical dudes are learning a lot lately about how a concussion affects the brain, and how bad it is to suffer another one within a certain time period from the first. My kid has suffered concussions in hockey, and one from riding. And in fact has been diagnosed with a learning disability that they feel is almost certainly the result of a head injury. This hard lesson tells me protecting the head is pretty danged important. Unfortunately, I think in my son's case the injury that did the damage had nothing to do with sports, and happened when he was a little tiny baby and fell on his coconut while climbing around like little tiny babies do.

So, what does this mean when buying a helmet? Well, lots of stuff. From what I have learned, the "helmet health" is more important than I used to think, and it should be replaced every few years because the internal shock-absorbing material degrades over time. But, on the other hand, the helmet seems to have to be somewhat unsuitable for our use in order to acheive a rating that we are told to look for. Does a helmet sitting in a box in a climate controlled bike shop for a year or two degrade at the same rate as one sitting on a sweaty noggin and subjected to fuel and solvent fumes? I kinda doubt it.

I would say if you can get a good quality left-over helmet, go for it. Generally the more expensive helmets are lighter and can prevent some types of neck injuries, but those are generally seen in race car impacts.. err,, but hey, less weight on the noggin is bound to keep you fresher and more likely to not screw up..

Sorry if this confuses you more than helps you.

[gtoron]

Thanks for the info guys. What had me concerned was the deterioration of the helmet over time. I had read I think on KTM talk that helmets should be replaced every few years, one guy posted DOT helmets every two years snell every five. If that is the truth then the life of that brain bucket is almost a third over so that made me