EXUP Worldwide

An interesting site... http://sharp.direct.gov.uk

It is a UK based helmet rating scheme. While certain countries have defined standards (e.g. ANSI in the states, DOT in Canada, AS/NZ in Australia) to evaluate helmet quality these are simply a pass / fail type scheme and don't let you see the details of the results (i.e. was it 'just' a pass, or did it pass by miles). This UK scheme is trying to change that. It is similar to crash ratings for cars (NCAP ratings) which gives a star rating for the various vehicles. 5 stars = best protection, 1 star = questionable...

Of interest to me is that this site demonstrates that cost of helmet does not necessarily equate to protection of helmet. For example, a 5-star helmet is the Lazer LZ6 (60 pounds - UK prices...). Yet the ARAI RX7 (450 pounds) only gets 3 stars.

There are of course other factors to helmet protection which no test can accurately measure. For example - fit. We all know that the fit of helmet is crucial to protection, and if the Lazer helmet fits you poorly then it probably is not worth the 5-star rating for you personnaly (just for the dummy head shape used). And there are other factors too - comfort, wind noise protection, ease of use (I use a flip-face for this purpose - easier to put on / off with glasses).

So while there are still many factors to consider in the purchase of a helmet, this is certainly better than a simple pass / fail criteria set down by standards people. The site isn't comprehensive yet in terms of helmet types, but it's growing! It will certainly be something I look at when purchasing my next helmet.

There is a bit of controversy over this new testing standards, here in the UK, as the likes of arai etc claim that it doesnt take into account the ability of the helmet to cussion the brain and/or prevent it rotating on its brain stem.

I suppose you can't test every variable and the likes of arai are bound to try and question these findings.

John

Of interest to me is that this site demonstrates that cost of helmet does not necessarily equate to protection of helmet.

IMO this is one of the biggest myths in the industry. If I had a nickel for every time I heard somebody say "your brain is worth more than a cheap helmet so spend tons of $$$..." I'd have a shitload of nickels.

One of the main reasons why Arai, Shoei, etc. cost so much is the money they spend that goes into comfort factors such as decreased wind noise, ventilation, graphics and so forth. People for some reason automatically assume that if you spend $600 on a helmet it's going to protect you ten-fold compared to a $100 helmet. But as Boz said, you can have the "safest" helmet on the market and it won't do you crap if it doesn't fit you right.

I had to do a presentation last year for one of my engineering classes and did it on helmets. Found an interesting company that was working on creating a water bladder system for a helmet so that during an impact the water would move around to give more even coverage over the head compared to the typical foam liners. Another company was working on an air pocket system similar to what you'd find in the heal of a Nike running shoe. Would like to see these companies get something going to see what sort of difference it would make in impact ratings.

both sounds like good avenues to explore, i assume there would have to be a baffle system for the water idea to prevent it moving around when you move your head, or when you crash it could cause extra weight when the water moves. I think there needs to be more companies like this that get backing.

john