Whats your preference?

[NAK3D696]

 

[D8]

You forgot about Shark.

[Popeye the Sailor]

SNELL and DOT.


As far as brands, whatever fits your head best is safest.

[DarkStaR]

1st Arai.
2nd AGV.  This should be added to the poll.
3rd Suomy.
4th Shoei.

[Count Desmo]

I've always been a Nolan guy because they fit my head perfectly.

[taun]

I've only owned Shoei and Arai, but I don't really have a preference.  As long as they're DOT and Snell approved, I'm happy.  I've been told that Snell has standards that are more strict than DOT, but I've never confirmed this.

[Slide Panda]

I've only owned Shoei and Arai, but I don't really have a preference.  As long as they're DOT and Snell approved, I'm happy.  I've been told that Snell has standards that are more strict than DOT, but I've never confirmed this.

A few minutes on google and you can get confirmation that Snell standards exceed DOTs.   

I'm in the best fitting DOT + Snell camp too. 

From a few studies you're better off with an inferior (within reason) helmet that fits well than you are with a poor fitting top of the line one.

[DoubleEagle]

Seems to me I read somewhere that the current Snell standard was flawed. Something about it only took into account a blow either from a certain drop height which was found to be not high enough to really simulate a higher speed collision or something like that. I believe Snell is in the process of reevaluating their standard for certification.

[DesmoDiva]

I currently own two Arais.  I love them.  Fit my melon the best. 

I paid more for my first Arai than I paid for my first  [moto]. 

I value my life more than my bikes. 

[teddy037.2]

arai stuff fits me best, and has shown to be the easiest for me to get my glasses on out of all the brands I tried.

[NAKID]

Whatever fits well....

[Spider]

I always wanted an Arai...but they didn't fit, so it's Shoei for me!

I'm going to try a Schuburth next time I'm at a BMW dealer - they look good too, the German's know engineering and have great safety standards.

[triangleforge]

There's another set of standards worth considering -- the ECE-2205, which a lot of folks in the industry think is superior to the Snell standard (at least for now; apparently the Snell update in 2010 will move closer to ECE-2205 and the Snell Foundation itself says that only about 20% of its currently certified helmets will pass the new standard). There's a discussion of the two standards on the owner of Helmet Harbor's Blog here:

http://toddmhelmetharbor.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html

The gist of it is that the Snell tests push designers toward a "harder" helmet, while the ECE-2205 encourages/allows a softer shell and softer helmet all around. While a tad counterintuitive, a softer shell can produce some radical gains in deceleration, which is what protects your brain from smacking hard enough against your skull to cause a severe concussion.  Basically, a soft shell allows the styrofoam to crush from both sides, while a rigid one only crushes from the inside, with your head doing all the crushing. 

Bicycle helmets (which are also Snell certified) went through the same evolution. Old men like me remember the old Bell Biker helmets -- hard shells with styrofoam inside (and cheese-grater vents). Then Giro came along with a helmet that deleted the hardshell entirely and used just a spandex cover. It was much cooler, much lighter, and was a quantum leap in protection from concussion. Because the exposed styrofoam tended to stick instead of sliding on pavement, there were reports of neck injuries with the new lids, so Giro went to a flexible microshell over foam design that is now the standard for all bike helmets.

[flanman]

How are dainese helmets?

[Big Troubled Bear]

Arai