(CONTRIBUTED POST FOR NORTH AMERICAN READERS)

Riding a motorcycle is one of the most exciting things you can do in your life. Nothing can compare with the feeling of the road under your wheels and the wind gliding around your body. When you think about the acronym ATGATT, which stands for All The Gear All The Time, the first thing that you would think about is the helmet as your most important piece of motorcycle safety gear. According to statistics from 2015, 740 people would still be alive today if they were wearing a helmet. The good news is that as many as 1,772 people are still alive today because they practiced safe riding habits and wore their helmet. So, the importance of wearing a helmet should not be understated. Are all helmets safe? When buying the safest helmet, keep these things in mind. 

Different Styles of Helmets

There are three main designs of helmets. The full face, ¾ face, and the ½ face helmets. The full-face design helmet is, without a doubt, the safest choice. 

Although the full face helmet seems bulky and heavy, it gives you complete protection from debris, bugs, and inclement weather. This type of helmet is also proven to absorb 50% of severe impacts in case of an accident. The chin bar will also protect your jaw from an unfortunate accident. 

Always go for a shell-built design when you are out to buy a new helmet. It protects your head and avoids direct contact with the road as its first line of defense. The next feature to consider is the impact-absorbing liner. The inner lining of the helmet provides comfort for the head and also cushions against impact in crashes. The last feature is the helmet’s chin strap. Helmets should be firmly strapped on so they can serve their purpose.

Manufacturers follow specific standards to ensure that they only produce top quality products. 

Motorcycle Helmet Safety Standards

One of the frequently used helmet standards in the US is the Snell Foundation certification, as they do a thorough test for helmets in all sports, most notably in professional motorsports. Here are some of the criteria they follow:

• Impact Testing – This calculates the gravitational force or acceleration. The helmet is unacceptable if the maximum acceleration is more than the allowed value. 
• Chin Bar Test – With the chin bar facing upward, the test helmet is attached to a base. A maximum downward deflection of the chin bar must not go over the required distance.
• Shell Penetration Test – This test allows a striker to hit the helmet, but the helmet should withstand the impact of a sharp-pointed 3-kg object. No penetration or momentary contact should occur inside the helmet.
• Positional Stability (Roll-Off) Test – This test requires a head form, mounted with straps and buckles, to obtain the best possible fit for the wearer. During the trial, slight movements of the helmet is acceptable. It, however, must not roll off the head form.
• Dynamic Retention Test – Again, with a head form and with the chin strap securely placed under a device as a jaw. The ability to retain is measured by concurrently eliminating the 23 kg weight and replacing it with a 38 kg mass in a sudden fall. The test is considered failed if the helmet is not capable of holding up the applied mass.
• Face Shield Penetration Test – Also known as a visor, the face shield is placed on to a test helmet and is shot along the midline. The face shield must have sufficient durability that can withstand the pellets. If these pellets manage to pass through the face shield, then it is not acceptable. 

Time to Replace Your Motorcycle Helmet

Presuming you have not replaced your helmet for five years and have not had any direct impacts that would affect the integrity of the helmet, it still might be time to shop for a new one. If an unfortunate accident happens and the helmet fails, you will likely need the services of a motorcycle accident lawyer. Manufacturers who fail to produce high-quality helmets that meet standards can be liable for accidents. 

When you’re out riding your motorcycle, always keep the acronym ATGATT in mind. Make sure that all your senses are heightened, and above all, wear a trustworthy helmet.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

A new Koroyd helmet liner being used by Klim is claimed to be safer, cooler and last longer than the industry standard polystyrene or polypropylene “EPS” foam.

Koroyd is basically hundreds of tiny tubes of plastic polymer that form a honeycomb around your head, absorbing more impact and allowing cooling air to circulate.

It is also not affected by heat and sweat like EPS which limits helmet life to about five years.

And it can be reused after small crashes as the liner material “bounces back”.

The Koroyd liner has been used in bicycle helmets.

Now American company Klim features the material in their F5 adventure helmet. It adds about 40% to the price.

Australia currently only gets the Klim Krios adventure helmet ($A750-$950). There is no word yet on whether the F5 with Koroyd will be coming here, but it is being Euro approved which means it would be legal.

How Koroyd liner works

While EPS is the industry standard in helmet lining, there are other helmet inventions that also claim to be cooler and increase impact absorption.

For example, Italian manufacturer Momo has a fan in the helmet that activates at low speed and American inventor Jason Kirshon has developed his Kirsh helmet with a lightweight silicone liner that helps reduce impact by up to 60% over EPS.

By the Koroyd liner puts these two elements together as well as improving the life of your helmet.

Koroyd tubes are designed to deform on impact to absorb the energy like EPS liners, but at a higher rate of 84% compared with 60%.

Not only does it absorb more impact, but it decreases the risk of a fracture, reacts better to direct or angled impacts and reduces rotational forces.

The impact is also absorbed at a smoother rate of deceleration, reducing shock to the brain.

Once a conventional EPS-lined helmet has been in a crash, even at low speed, the helmet is usually a write-off.

However, the material in a Koroyd liner is able to bounce back from minor impacts.

Since it is made up of hollow tubes, it also allows more air to circulate around your head which is claimed to reduce heat by 30%.

Klim

The technology seems to have been bought by Ohio company Klim (pronounced “climb”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries which makes Indian motorcycles.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com