budget helmet recommendations? Options

[chunger]

Hello,

Christmas is around the corner, and I was wondering if you guys could point me to a good entry level helmet I could ask for for Christmas and possibly a good vendor to buy from.

-'Chung

[Dave_Darling]

A few points from my perspective:

First, Chung's local PCA does allow M-rated helmets for both Driver's Ed and Time Trial. (As well as for autocross.) Things may very well be different if you go outside of Zone 7 PCA, Chung, but as long as you just play here you're fine with M.

Second, as of a few years ago there were precisely two different tests that the helmets went through to get an SA-rating over an M rating. One was testing that the liner was fire-resistant. The other was a drop test onto a cylinder--a simulated roll-bar hit. This is in addition to the "ledge" hits, the point-impact hits, and so on and so forth. I believe it would be very difficult to design a helmet that would pass the other impact tests, and also fail the roll-bar hit test... And I know that some manufacturers have used a single shell design, with different liners for M- and SA-rating. And if it ever gets to the point where it matters if my helmet liner is fireproof or not, I am probably not surviving anyway.

Third, any hard hit on the helmet turns it into a paperweight. The foam inside is a one-time-use kind of thing, and the shell is a one-time-stressed kind of thing. Bounce your head off the pavement while wearing the helmet, get a new helmet. Ditto for the roll bar or what have you--if you hit hard, new helmet time.

Fourth, someone posted on the Pelican BBS (either Racing or 914) that the new -05 helmets are slated to start coming out in October of 2005. They said they got that from the Snell Foundation website.

Fifth, fit is vital. Try on a whole bunch of different helmets--that's why it is important to go shopping in person. Hopefully there is a good salesperson there to help you out. My GF and I went to Wine Country Motorsports (I told her she'd pay a 25% premium for that, but she wanted to go there!) and the guys there were very knowledgeable and just great to work with.

...I personally have a head that ain't worth that much. I have a <$100 open-face M-rated helmet. It is nice and lightweight, and I can wear my glasses with it very easily. I have found that I have real difficulty putting on my glasses when wearing a full-face helmet. (Damn round face of mine...) There is a pretty good chance that I will get a full-face helmet anyway if and when I get back on the Big Track for real, but for a while I will be quite happy to use my heap-a cheap-a helmet.

--DD