Buying helmets online - cr*p, now I can confirm it :/

[TeamMCS]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd share today's pain. I'm up against the clock to gear up and pick up a bike I get before the seller goes with another buyer so I spent the last couple of weeks trying to find the best kit within my budget.

I'd settled on two helmets the Marushin Tiger (~£70) and Caberg V2R (~£100) after finding some good safely information around the web and on MCN. I took a good look around my local dealers (London) and none had those lids and nothing comparable for a reasonable price so I decided to risk buying online.

I found a good deal on george white website (edit by vicki to remove url)had my size and delivered quickly. My justification was, they've got to have it delivered to the store - how worse can it be if it's couriered to me?

Well, it arrived today. They sent the wrong model (MX version) which was annoying (cheaper) but the complete lack of packaging was unforgivable?! Between the concrete and helmet there was 3 mil of corrugated card :S - Considering how cheap bubblewrap is I'm amazed they didn't bother to put any in the box!

I nearly had a heart-attack when the misses went to drop the box a few inches. Anyway, I'm now back to the drawing board - great. I may end up having to pick up some cheap Box BX helmet to collect the bike - bloody annoying after I went to all the effort to find a safe helmet

http://atl.mnetcs.com/Misc/Personal/Bike/GeorgeWhite/P1020129.JPG

http://atl.mnetcs.com/Misc/Personal/Bike/GeorgeWhite/P1020130.JPG

[edit]

All respect to George Whites'. Guy rang me up was very apologetic and has replaced the helmet. Good show guys, keep an eye on that packing in future.

Edited May 10, 2010 by TeamMCS

[queen bodecia]

I'm still baffled as to why anyone would buy online with no way of knowing whether it fits correctly or not. Buying 'your size' is no guarantee of fit whatsoever, every brand/model of helmet is different.

Obviously the postage/packaging aspect is a concern too.

You're not the first person to learn this valuable lesson the hard way. But of course, there is an even harder way. Just be thankful it didn't cost you that dearly.

[TeamMCS]

Re: Helmet fit. I've tried out the helmet before from a friend who bought one.

Fit is actually quite good but yes, buying online without checking first is a major gamble

[Joos118]

I took the gamble of buying online,

Reason was because I had a TIGHT Budget..£30ish and none of the shops around my area had any for that price, So I bought a BOX BX-2, All I did was measure my head size, Convert it to the size..

Buy it..

I got lucky, It fits good and it came nice packaged I beleive..!

[TeamMCS]

I took the gamble of buying online,

Reason was because I had a TIGHT Budget..£30ish and none of the shops around my area had any for that price, So I bought a BOX BX-2, All I did was measure my head size, Convert it to the size..

Buy it..

I got lucky, It fits good and it came nice packaged I beleive..!

 

That's basically the reason I'm buying online. You can get *far* better quality gear for a lower price online.

As counterintuitve as it sounds. I'd rather risk a £70 Caburg online that a 50 quid "demon" in a shop.

I hear the BX-2 is quite good. I'm lucky as my budget wasn't too tight.

[Ingah]

As counterintuitve as it sounds. I'd rather risk a £70 Caburg online that a 50 quid "demon" in a shop.

I hear the BX-2 is quite good. I'm lucky as my budget wasn't too tight.

 

I'd rather have the helmet that fits me best, as this is the single most important factor for my protection.

All helmets sold in UK shops have to meet the EU standards for protection. All of them. Yes, even the cheap no-name brand ones, that often did better in the SHARP helmet testing than the Arai's etc.

Obviously if you've tried on the model of helmet first, that would hopefully be good enough.

[asharin]

I hear the BX-2 is quite good. I'm lucky as my budget wasn't too tight.

 

Had one since Oct 2009, nice and comfy and a perfect fit for me. The only downside is wind noise, but with earplugs it's a non-issue

It's much better than the Takachi TK30 I had before, though I can't fault the old TK30, it did protect my head when I crashed (hence replacing it last oct) despite only costing £30 and having a mere 2 stars on the sharp test. The BX2 gets 4 of 5.

I have nowt against cheap helmets if they are doing the job, but still reluctant to buy online Just my personal thing though really!

[Petarded]

I checked my exact helmet in HG before I went and saved £30 by buying it online from somewhere else, admittedly the lack of packaging was bad...might not do it that way again.

[Guest]

agreed, but then the store saturday boy could drop one and you wouldn't know... as with everything, you pays your money, you takes your chance...

[TeamMCS]

agreed, but then the store saturday boy could drop one and you wouldn't know... as with everything, you pays your money, you takes your chance...

Yeah I couldn't agree more.

[NearOn]

Bought my carberg trip nearly 2 years ago online for 80 quid, maybe I got lucky but I followed the measurement method, and touch wood, has done me extremely well.

Will be getting an AGV one next and probs will try one in local store first to make sure as be over 200 quid, and need to make sure fits first.

But overall I have had the carberg from the net and got my misses a box helmet, and both fitted exactly right.

If under 100 quid id risk buying online, anything more id check fits perfectly first in a store before ordering online.

[mikey69]

Have to say I didn't really want to risk getting a helmet shipped and went to the local store.

What fun! First time in a good few years I've had to buy a helmet and really enjoyed trying the helmets on - one thing I found was that my head fitted some helmets better than others and the "same" size varied a lot between brands.

First time in years, I've enjoyed "clothes" shopping

[Jimmi_929RR]

I've said this before - from my experience, as long as you are buying a known brand from a reputable company then you shouldn't have a problem.

My last 3 helmets were bought online (demon tweeks x2 and the sports bike shop) and they came in a padded box with extra padding in the outer box. I've never ordered from gw, but it doesn't surprise me that someone that sends the wrong model also fails to use any protective packaging - must've been work experience day or something

And also as i've said before, if it doesn't fit, you just return it for another size or different brand etc. Most places do free returns if you exchange too. Obviously it's more hassle like that, but the price reflects it.

[Aaron]

i bought my ShoeiXr1000 from GW at the MCN/Carole Nash show earlier this year. The guy asked if i wanted the box or just to have it in the bag, so i just took the bag. When i got home i discovered that i was missing the pinlock insert. I remember the box said "anti-mist visor included in box". I didn't realise it was the pinlock insert that it was talking about, and my helmet had the visor fitted. So i went to my local yamaha dealer (WAY expensive) and spent about another 24 quid on an insert

[Coume]

I bought my first helmet online after trying a similar one in the shop. I had a 150GBP budget and was going to buy an entry level HJC one but by buying online, I managed to get a HQ-1 Carbon for 126GBP including pp from Lidsdirect (well packaged, etc.). I still keep my eyes open should another bargain comes up to buy a spare helmet.