Helmets are designed to save lives, plain and simple. Football players wear them, astronauts wear them, heck even construction workers wear a form of them. Helmet laws on motorcycles vary by state: only three (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire) don’t require helmets at all, while the other 47 either require helmets at all times by everyone, or have age restrictions on not wearing them. Everyone has their own opinion on whether you should be able to choose to wear them or not, but the simple fact of the matter is that it doesn’t take much of a fall to cause some serious damage to your brain.
Helmet Safety Standards
There are two main safety standard classifications of helmets out in the US market. The first is DOT, which essentially means that the helmet meets the minimum requirements set by the federal government for crash ratings. Snell rated helmets meet the federal requirements, but also undergo additional testing by the Snell Memorial Foundation (a private organization) and are generally considered to have higher impact resistance. All Snell rated helmets are DOT compliant, but not the other way around. There is also a European standard, the ECE 22.05, which is used by over 50 countries worldwide.
Styles Of Helmets
The three main styles of helmets are: Half (aka Lid or other variations), ¾ helmets (these cover the top and sides of the head and often have a face shield in some form), and the Full Face (these have the chin protection and offer the best protection from crashing). Half shells are generally the minimum requirement for riding legally in the US, whereas the ¾ and full face helmets offer substantially more protection.
Sizing
While helmet sizes are far from universal, major helmet brands try to keep their sizing uniform throughout the many different models they produce. For your own sizing, you can measure the circumference of your head and use the sizing charts provided by the manufacturers to match up, or you can just try them on. The perfect fit is one that is snug enough to stay on your head without flopping around, but loose enough that it doesn’t cause a pressure headache minutes after putting it on. While there are too many manufacturers to mention, a few that produce consistently good products are Arai, Shoei, Fulmer, Bell, Scorpion, Shark, KBC, HJC, Nolan, and SparX. Keep in mind that there are new brands being introduced all the time, too, and as technology improves, helmet materials will get stronger and lighter. Just because you’ve had a helmet for 20 years and never crashed with it, it’s never a bad idea to look at something new.
Read all of our helmet reviews below:
The world of motorcycle helmets is like an evil weed in the flower bed of life. The more you dig to find the roots and try to take out the problem plants, the more you destroy the habitat of the growing wonders you wish to enjoy. I'm relating this directly ...
Are you indecisive by nature? Are you afraid of picking out a color of helmet, or one with a designed graphic, only to fear that you will have immediate buyer's remorse and wish you had picked door number two instead? Sure, you can just stick more stickers over that hideous ...
How thin is too thin? Well, it really depends on what you're talking about. In the world of motorcycles, "thin" might be a word that's used to describe the gas tank, or perhaps tires. It is also used to describe the thickness of your helmet, too, and some ...
Have you ever heard the phrase "Oh my God, it's so cute I just want to squeeze it until it explodes its cuteness all over the place" exclaimed by a woman? I'm sure you have, especially if you have kids and walk around a grocery store once in ...
"It's not so much of a problem having to deal with helmet hair as it is trying to deal with not being able to ride my bike because of the weather." This was told to me by a seasoned woman rider who I noticed pulling off a Harley-Davidson half helmet after ...
I'm a firm believer that helmets should be worn when riding, but I can also understand that a lot of them on the market feel bulky and heavy. It's not always the thicker or heavier helmet that protects best, either. Sometimes, just having the right material can make ...
There's a lot of helmets out on the market today that have fancy graphics painted all over them, or high visibility paint to help be seen from far away, but there aren't a lot of helmets that look like they were made by hand or have nice finishing touches on ...
While the fast food industry is working on making things twice as big as the competitors by doubling up the amount of meat that they pile on their buns, there are also people in the motorcycle helmet industry who think that doubling up the number of visors is a good ...
Modular motorcycle helmets can be a really handy thing to have, especially if you're someone like me who enjoys yelling at the people who cut you off and nearly run you over. I feel like the full effect of my concern of my well being and the frustration that ...
When vanity gets in the way of having a truly safe experience, there's always a chance that you're not going to make it out just as you predicted. Take skydiving for example. What if you decided that your parachute looked a little too big, making you look too fat, especially ...
When summer is finally right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about getting some lighter-weight gear to keep from drenching your heavier stuff in sweat at every stop light. This also includes your helmet. I like my full face helmets, but sometimes it can just be too ...
Europe has a class of style all its own when it comes to motorcycles and the gear associated with riding. Some of it looks really weird compared to our U.S. sense of style, but most of it just has a feel to it that is universally accepted. Take the ...
Do you wear glasses? Do you remember how it was or when it was that you figured out that you needed glasses? My situation was a little unique. I realized that I needed glasses after jumping my ex's car over a median in the road whilst trying to make a ...
Living in Portland, you see a lot of strange and unusual sights. It's not uncommon for you to stroll down the block and witness a gentleman dressed in a suit exchanging four letter words with a squirrel, or a person wearing hardly anything at all while riding on top of ...
There are practically millions of helmets out there on the market to choose from these days. Some argue that full-face are the only ones worth wearing; others argue helmets shouldn't even be worn and that the half shells are good enough. That's where I say the open face helmets ...
When you're on a cruiser bike, you are saying a statement to the rest of the motorcycle community. You're letting them know that you're in it for the ride. Typically (and you may argue with me), the cruiser style is more comfortable, designed to give the rider a ...
For the most part, I'm not a huge fan of half-shell helmets. They offer the minimum protection required by law in most states, and to be honest, a lot of them just don't seem to fit well or look good. I do like having one around as a spare, ...
I always find it somewhat interesting how some motorcyclists really enjoy wearing full track suits with matching helmets on the open road. When you're on the track, it makes a lot of sense -- but honestly, I think that some riders feel like if their helmet is multi-colored and ...
How does one become an outlaw? Well, if you're Nolan, you just remove all your labels and stickers and any kind of branding that you have and create a helmet that is as pretty much in its birthday suit. But, you might ask, how will anyone know who made that ...
Fashion trends are a repeating cycle that is almost as dependable as the cycles of the sun. Some years it's bell bottoms, and others it's skinny jeans. The same thing happens for safety gear, though. The last few years have really been about bringing back the vintage style look with ...
There's one question in the motorcycle industry I'm sure you've already been asked: "How much is your head worth?" I've heard sales guys use this line tons of times when trying to get me into an expensive Arai or Shoei helmet. I'm not saying that those brands are a waste ...
I consider myself a safe and smart rider. I've ridden in pretty much every condition that Mother Nature has dished out on me. Well, I haven't ridden through a tornado yet, but I'm sure that when one touches down in Portland, it will find me. Anyways, there have only ...
If you've been riding for a few seasons, you've probably got a couple of different helmets sitting in your garage. You need the full face for the protection on the long trips, but in town, you've got the open face for ease and lighter weight. Well, if it's ever been annoying ...
Evolution is the one thing that all forms of life share on the planet -- well, that and being carbon-based. We've evolved our ways of thinking, building, and manufacturing safety for the human race since the coming of things that can make us travel faster than we can run. ...
When I'm on the road riding by myself, it's easy to pretend that I'm the king of the road, and everything I see is part of my domain. When I'm passing cars in the left lane I nod to them, letting them know that I'm allowing them to continue ...
With all the choices of helmets out there in this day and age, it can be a daunting task to find one that has all the features you're looking for. We've reviewed (and will continue to review) helmets that offer something a little different or have better features on Spot ...
Do you remember what it was that got you interested in riding motorcycles in the first place? I used to see them in the streets and think that they would be fun while I was growing up, but what really got me interested was watching some stock footage of Evel ...
My sense of fashion is pretty awesome, if you ask me. I'm constantly finding great things to compliment my wardrobe at Goodwill or Value Village. Which, consequently, is where you might find an old motorcycle helmet from the '60s. I know that you're not going to purchase it and ride ...
What's the first thing you do when you get a new helmet? Do you get to admire its balance and weight as well as take in that new helmet smell? Are you able to look through its perfectly clear visor and see the world the way it was meant to ...
I spend good money on my helmets. It's the only thing protecting my dashingly good looks from getting up to bad-breath range with the pavement underneath me. And, though I do appreciate having my trusty head-saving friend, I do occasionally wish that it wouldn't be so awkward to carry ...
Do you ride much without a windscreen through back country roads? If you do, I'm sure you get all your protein. I can say from experience that I've eaten just about every bug that you squish on your car windscreen. That's just the problem with half helmets. They ...
Allow me to tell you the tale of Skippy, the hipster cafe rider who swore to wear all black and ride only at night. He was cool, drinking his Pabst off the vine at parties, wearing his black skinny jeans and his black leather jacket that was too small, but was ...
My friend Angel is a beautiful blonde who rides a huge, black V-Star. One of her riding accessories is a pair of long blonde synthetic braids that she has glued to the sides of her helmet. Angel gets a lot of double-takes as she flies down the road ...
This is one of the coolest half-shells around. Ed Hardy is seen on everything nowadays, from purses to pocket mirrors to rain boots. So he’s over-played. So what? His designs are very appropriate for biker culture, and the Nomad half helmet is just plain ...
Part of the "Ed Hardy Signature Collection", the Pirate Helmet takes a full-face helmet from the realm of boring to both beautiful and cool. The manufacturer of this helmet is KBC, known for quality. And since it's a higher-end helmet pricewise, this helmet better be ...
Shark Helmets are top-of-the-line helmets that are built for speed, comfort, and safety. They are technologically superior to most other helmets in several ways. For one, they are made of composite shells manufactured from a variety of super strong elements (carbon fiber and aramid fiber) in a ...
AGV, an international supplier of helmets for racing and competition, has done it again with the Dragon Camo Army helmet. This is a bad-ass looking helmet that can transition nicely to street riding if you like the Camouflage look. Vintage styling brings to mind helicopter ...
When my daughters were little, they wanted to ride with me. They thought it was cool (they still do, although the 17-year-old dies of embarrassment if I show up at her high school on my bike). Back then, no one really made helmets for children with the ...
When I started in motorcycles in the 1970s, Bell helmets were the big deal. My first street helmet was a Bell Star. You saw Bells on motocrossers, street racers, and all over the road. Sometime in the '80s and '90s, Bell helmets lost their luster ...
Cretin: (noun) a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.
That may just say enough about the designer of the Icon Alliance SSR Speed Cretin Helmet. This helmet is (in my humble opinion) just plain ugly, gaudy, and obnoxious. I know I'm not the target market… not by about ...
Wow! Do they still make these? A traditional, no frills, no nonsense dirt helmet?
The HJC CL-X5N solid helmet is refreshing in its simplicity. This helmet doesn't pretend to be anything but a well-built off-road helmet. Rest assured, in the case of this helmet, simple does not mean low ...
I think I have seen more -- umm -- interesting helmet designs in the last year than in any year previous. The Nolan Trilogy N43 fits firmly into this "interesting" design category. Nolan claims that the N43 is a "6-in-1 crossover helmet". This basically ...
I recently reviewed the Arai Corsair V for SpotMotorcycles. As one would expect, I gave it high marks. Here is a helmet that I am even more excited about: the Arai RX-Q. Arai describes it as a "Corsair V for the street".
Simply put, Arai has ...
When you buy a new helmet, you typically get only the standard clear shield. Most riders like the look and shading features of tinted and mirrored shields, so both helmet-makers and the aftermarket offer a myriad of shield options.
The HJC HJ-09 face shields are offered in several ...
This is a strange-looking helmet. I am all for new technology, but the Vemar CKQI Bluetooth Helmet is a real departure. So what is it? Let me try to explain.
As the name suggests, this helmet incorporates a Bluetooth intercom and communications system. I will ...
I have owned an HJC "AC" series helmet, and was quite pleased with it. I only sold it because I changed motorcycle colors (lame reason, I know). According to HJC, the "FS" series is the replacement of that quality AC line.
The HJC FS-15 Carbon Helmet is ...
Many touring and cruiser riders prefer an open-face helmet over the full-face variety. The open-face design allows a less obstructed view of the road and motorcycle, and is much more convenient when off the motorcycle. The down-side is that an open-face helmet leaves the rider's face ...
Joe Rocket is a well-known and respected manufacturer of motorcycle jackets, pants, boots, and riding suits. Aside from a name that will inspire an occasional, good-natured verbal jab from riding buddies, I have found Joe Rocket gear to be well-made and functional.
On the other hand, when I think ...
For years, the Shoei Syncrotec Helmet has been a favorite of the touring and adventure-touring segments of the motorcycling world. It is a solid and functional flip-up (a.k.a. modular) helmet. There is little doubt that the helmet that has replaced the Syncrotec will become a favorite as ...
Today we're talking versatility. Dual sport motorcycles like the Kawasaki KLR 650 and adventure touring motorcycles like the BMW GS are versatile. They eat up chunks of pavement like a street bike yet have the ability to take on the dirt as well. The riders of ...
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Bell Moto 5 Motorcross Helmet Fast Boyz size 7 7 1 8 US $33.00 2 Bids  Auction Ends: 1h 21m Make it yours... |
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1SH MONSTER ENERGY SUBARU PRE DIE CUT STICKER COMPUTER HELMET CAR MOTOR BIKE US $1.04 2 Bids Auction Ends: 2h 25m Make it yours... |
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German RAF Style Ski Snowboard MX Dirt Bike Off Road Enduro Helmet Goggle Mirror US $8.99 0 Bid Auction Ends: 4h 35m Make it yours... |
