How to Buy a Motorcycle Helmet

4. Comfort
A helmet ranks with a motorcycle's saddle among the factors that can make a long ride enjoyable or turn it into agony. If you take the time and effort to find the most comfortable helmet for your hear, it will be paind back manifold by making long rides more enjoyable and comfortable (even more conmfortable than riding with no helmet at all). Comfort can be tricky to determine, but might make the difference between loving and hating your helmet, so we will spend some space to discuss it. The buyer should take time to assure that his new helmet is comfortable.

Some people claim that there is no such thing as a comfortable helmet. We once experimented with such a rider and were able to make a believer out of him by providing a large (40 models) selection of helmets that he could choose from and letting him try as many as he liked. Although the ones he was initially drawn to confirmed his belief, soon he found some that were comfortable. He begrudgingly admitted that a top-shelf chinbar-type helmet, which not surprisingly was an Arai, was quite comfortable. We sent him out to ride for a couple of weeks with it, and though he initially thought it felt claustrophobic, he soon became a believer. He purchased one (with a color scheme that suited his tastes) soon after and has ridden with the same brand and style since.

This rider's experiences confirmed several things. First, it shows again that virtually anybody can find a truly comfortable helmet if he or she takes the time to try more than one or two on, but that it often won't be a cheap one. It confirmed that full-face helmets are usually the most comfortable, although some riders may find better comfort in open-face helmets. (We don't know of anybody who has approached the situation with a completely open mind and the opportunity to try a lot of helmets and then said that a shorty (or half helmet is more comfortable on a long ride.) It reinforced that many riders, even experienced ones, simply have never had a chance to try enough helmets to discover one that fits. It may take trips to several dealers to find the size, make and model that works for your head. It also confirmed that the well-known brands are ones most likely to be the most comfortable.

From my experience conducting helmet comparisons at sister magazine Motorcyclist, the full-face helmet brand that best suits the most people is Arai. The company makes several models with different shapes that fit different heads. It also offers interchangeable cheek pads in many models to accommodate different cheek shapes. Almost as popular is Shoei (which tends to fit me personally better than Arai or other brands). Other brands that fit most comfortably for some of our riders are AGV, Nolan, FM, HJC, and Bieffe. However, the helmet market is not stagnant. Models are constantly being revised and upgraded. A new version of a helmet that didn't fit comfortably before may change to work perfectly it is updated form. It may also go the other way. For example, I liked the Shoei RF-200 quite well, but the RF-700 was a slight step back in comfort. The next generation, the RF-900, fits better than either of the others. Other makers, some that were once regarded as just budget helmet makers, have made strides and are building very good helmets at the tops of their lines now. The market shifts and the brands that were most comfortable last time you shopped might not be the best any more, while the brands that were not worthy of consideration five years ago have sometimes made great strides.

General factors that seem to make a comfortable helmet are plenty of comfort padding (the soft foam-rubber padding that touches your head), a good seal around the ear (but not on the ear itself), a neck roll that nestles against the back of your head and neck and an absence of protruding components (most often caused by shield mechanisms or strap attachments) inside.

A helmet that fits well might be tight as you pull it on because the foam components that seal out the wind noise should be smaller than the inside of the helmet. If a helmet pulls on too easily without resistance of such padding, it will probably be noisy and may not fit snugly enough to stay put. Slightly snug is better than too loose, since the interior will tend to settle and compress a bit, molding to your head. If it moves around when you nod your head vigorously, it's probably too loose.

When trying on a helmet, don't just pull it on and take it right back off. Pull it on and position it properly (which normally means so that you can use the top of the face or eye opening as a small sun visor). The helmet should stay in position even without the strap secured. Fasten the strap and leave the helmet on your head for a while. Fifteen or 20 minutes is a good test. Let it settle in. There should be no pressure points. These usually seem to occur around the crown or in the forehead. The helmet should provide even pressure all the way around with no hard points. Your ears shouldn't be pressed, but if your ears are sealed in a bit and sounds around you diminish, that is fine. This will help block wind noise, which will protect your hearing and actually help you to pick out other more important noises.

One of the advantages of developing a relationship with a motorcycle dealer is that he may let you ride with a helmet that you are considering buying. If you have this opportunity, take it. Alternately ask if you can bring the helmet back, say within 30 minutes or an hour for a refund. (Better do it on a day when you skipped the cologne.) A test ride can reveal many things about wind noise, pressure at speeds, how engine noise comes into the helmet, etc. Some helmets may be noisier behind your windshield or have some other issue that only arises when they are on you while you are on your bike. The Arai Renegade, one of the most popular helmets among Motorcycle Cruiser staffers, fit me very well when I tried it on, and looked like it had a shot at becoming my favorite helmet. But when I rode with it, there was some air movement and wind noise that bothered me slightly. Other staffers don't have this issue, so it is just my particular head, but the ride would have provided a critical bit of information if I'd been planning to buy.

Should weight be an issue? A heavy helmet does not seem to have any safety drawbacks (and it may have an advantage if the weight is in extra energy-absorbing EPS padding). Perhaps because I have been wearing helmets since they all were heavy, I have never noticed weight. Even the porky Simpson helmets we tried a few years ago didn't seem weighty to me (but perhaps it was all the other distractions they created). I have noticed that heavy helmets tend to be steadier on bikes where the windshield causes buffeting. For those who want a light helmet, there are some surprisingly light helmets out there, even with full coverage, but I think weight is probably less important than other factors and can actually be an asset.

You may hear someone say that heavy helmets (or even all helmets) are likely to cause neck injuries. This is not true. In fact, just the opposite is true. Helmeted riders suffer fewer neck injuries.

Before settling on one helmet, try on a lot of different brands and models. If one brand seems to be comfortable, try other models from that range for similar shapes with slightly different interiors.

5. Coverage
This is definitely a case of more being better. A full-coverage open-face helmet offers better coverage than a shorty (or half helmet) and a full-face helmet (i.e., one with a chinbar) provides more protection than an open-face style.

A recent study (January 2003 issue of "Annals of Emergency Medicine") found that motorcyclists with facial injuries are 3.5 times more likely to have a brain injury and those with facial fractures are 6.5 times more likely to have such injuries than those without facial damage. The study, conducted at the UCLA School of Public Health in Los Angeles, California with Dr. Jess Kraus as lead author looked at 5790 motorcyclists injured in crashes and reported that one in four had facial injuries with 411 sustaining facial fractures. It makes a strong case for getting the most possible coverage from your helmet.

Look for a helmet that provides not only more shell coverage but also more coverage from the EPS liner (the hard Styrofoam-type foam) inside, since it's the EPS that actually absorbs the energy of an impact. Some helmets just cover the minimum mandated area with EPS. Others line the entire shell with it. The EPS should extend to the chinbar if the helmet has one.

Somewhere between the full-coverage helmets and the open-face helmets are those with flip-up facial sections, called "modular," "system" and flip-face helmets, which offer advantages of both kinds. We tested seven modular helmets for the April 2003 issue of Motorcycle Cruiser.

Does facial coverage make any difference? Consider going jaw-first into the back of a car, and remember where your jawbone will end up if it gets pushed up into your head.