SHARP scores for helmets

[Guest]

hi, im a newbie to the forum and to riding. i havent yet bought a bike but have purchased a helmet and jacket. the helmet is a Nankai SA 10 and i paid 30 quid for it (brand new), it occured to me after that a helmet costing just 30 pounds couldnt possibly have the same protective qualities as that of a more expensive one. i then checked out the SHARP scores and researched nankai helmets, the only one they tested is the SA 07 and it received 4/5 and retails at about 60-70 pounds. i then compared this with the shoei and arai brands and was very surprised to see that very few of them actually received 5/5 even though they seem to be the wanted and leading brands, not to mention the impressive price tag! im thinking about getting a Lazer L6 next as it received 5/5 and costs around 70 pounds. what are your thoughts on this, do you really only get what you pay for? are these cheaper helmets lacking in some other way? would appreciate any opinions. thanks! rachel

[Guest philgale]

dont think many people trust the sharp testing. i would trust my head in my 500 quid arai than i would in a 70 quid job...

i believe you get what you pay for, the amount arai nd shoei and other top brands they can pile more into R&D and hopefully produce safer helmets.

after all if you get an arai it says on it something along the lines of "this helmet exceeds the EU testing regs" or something similar.

[Korben]

Their testing is improving but I will always go for the same helmet.... The one that fits my head properly. That's the important bit and SHARP can't test that.

Saying that though, I have looked up what rating SHARP has given the helmet I will be buying at the end of the year... It's got 5 stars and I am happy about that.

TBH though their testing and scores are being looked at by us, the consumers and the helmet manufacturers know that. Because of this there helmets probably are getting safer so it's not a bad thing...

[urbanmark]

If it has five stars and no chin bar..............leave it

If it has five stars and you can deform the shape of the helmet just by pressing the temple regions together with your hands........Leave it

If it has five stars but its second hand..........Leave it

If it has five stars but is £8.50.........Leave it.

If it has five stars but its too tight........Leave it

If it has five stars but its too loose..........Leave it

If it has five stars but they are in chrome and pinned to the front...............Leave it.

If its Pink...............Leave it.

[Ingah]

+1 to both what Korben and urbanmark have said.

The upshot is basically fit first (i then personally like to check with SHARP before buying because i don't want a 1* or 2* helmet - but at the same time i will not treat SHARP as the be-all-and-end-all factor and happily use a 3* HJC CL-ST for everything).

As an aside, i've seen the difference in price for an AGV helmet with the standard paintjob (~£120) and with the Rossi paintjob (~£230), in the same shop. This was exactly the same helmet, you were purely paying for the paintjob!

Higher end helmets often have fancy features. Whether they're any good or not depends on whether you want and/or need them!

[Korben]

As an aside, i've seen the difference in price for an AGV helmet with the standard paintjob (~£120) and with the Rossi paintjob (~£230), in the same shop. This was exactly the same helmet, you were purely paying for the paintjob!

 

Very true mate... One I am getting at the end of the year is £380 with a paint job, £300, plain colours... Annoying, especially as I am dumb enough to pay it!!

Edited April 20, 2010 by Korben

[2fast2soon]

I tried on a 5 star Caberg V2R - it was terrible, pinched my forehead, lining was as rough as a badger's backside, all in all I'm glad I settled for the 3 star Arai Chaser I've got.

The Arai fit is perfect, lining is plush, its just so nice to ride in and I'm pretty sure it'll look after me in a crash. Its a dutch import but has the gold GB sticker on (an ECE cert), and to save almost £100 off retail, I'll happily have an E4 rather than E11 orange label in my helmet. If anyone is after an Arai and doesn't mind about the E11 label, PM me and I'll direct you to a site that might save you some cash!

The SHARP test is very specific and their is talk (rumours and mumbles) of manufacturer's now adding bits into their helmets at the exact point of impact to get better ratings. Unless SHARP do the tests on random locations, its not going to give us better helmets, its just going to give us a false sense of security.