08-10-2021, 10:18 PM
(08-10-2021, 06:07 PM)j3gq_imp Wrote: I know that many a things can be googled, but since I am only aware of the SHARP tests done in the U.K., and I trust them ... could you rapidly explain what FIM and SNELL mean ?
I do firmly disagree that expensive helmets are safe, and cheap helmets aren’t worth it. A recent, trustworthy test / publication in Europe shows that a 200 $ helmet from LS (made in china) beat all competitors by a wide margin. And not only for safety, but for noise and all the rest. Now, this said, by the same test standards, other, earlier LS helmets have missed the mark completely. It’s not the brand and not the money spent, it is - and nothng else counts - that this one helmet has been tested and is good. Apparently this is nowadays possible under 200 bucks.
I'm aware of SHARP ratings and follow those too. It's a good test with a lot of great science behind it. However, I haven't mentioned it because helmets that pass FIM usually pass SHARP with the full 5 stars. It's a foregone conclusion. They aren't at cross purposes.
Briefly, because another user explained it better than I can above, FIM is a testing system developed for professional racing, and FIM homologation is mandatory for all helmets used in Moto GP. This is because their testing methods, focusing on impact dispersion and protecting the brain from concussion as well as flexibility of the helmet and the ability ot absorb multiple random rolling impacts (like real life), are superior.
Snell is a safety rating distributed by an organization in America that focuses on testing the helmets actual structural integrity, primarily by applying two hard impacts on the same spot. Recent science has strongly suggested that this is a bogus testing method and that Snell is no longer exactly on the bleeding edge of keeping people alive. Knowing what I know now i don't really putt a lot of faith in that stamp anymore.
it's funny you mentioned LS because I think you're talking about LS2. The LS2 Thunder Carbon GP helmet is one of the ones on my list of possible buys. It seems like a really legit safety-conscious helmet and it's very very light weight. Lot's of prominent racers wear them. However, it wasn't at the top of my list because They don't make a white one....I'm just tired of absorbing so much sunlight.
Anyway, I wasn't saying that cheap helmets aren't worth it. I've been wearing cheap helmets all my life too. What I was saying was Expensive helmets that do not have an FIM rating are not worth it. For example, You can pay 150 for a Bell Qualifier, and that's lovely. It's ECE rated, decently comfortable, it's just "OK." that's worth 150 bucks. You can pay 780 for a Shoei X14. That's FIM rated, superior weight and comfort, superior noise reduction, and bulletproof superior quality. Totally worth 780 bucks. You can also spend $600 on a Shoei RF1400. The quality is there. The comfort is there. But the safety isn't. So why pay $600 when it really isn't any safer than my $150 helmet? That's what I was getting at. It's the "middle ground" i find to be not worth the money.