I bought a relatively cheap helmet last year to get myself back into biking and see if that's what I wanted to do  ! It IS ! Now I find myself wondering if I should pay money out for a 'better' helmet ?
Throwing it out at you guys ..................


                                                                                                                                                                             

Hi gbc2010, remember this, you only have one head and if the unspeakable happens, do you really want to put your faith in something ''cheap''? Spending just a little bit extra on a helmet with good internals is just as important as having a hard shell. Generally if you can afford to spend between 250 and 500 on a well known branded helmet, you will have something that will keep you alive in the event of an accident.
Hope this helps a bit, ultimately the choice is yours, just make sure that when you look for one go to a shop and dont be tempted to buy from the internet. Courier services are not reknowned for their tendancy to handle anything gently, also in a shop you can try before you buy, ensuring a good fitting helmet.                                                                                                                                                                             

spent a whole £39.99p at Lidl's 3 weeks ago for a flip front full face helmet with in built separate flip down sun shield. Lovely and comfy, quite and does everything I want of it.
And before anybody criticises ,yes, I only have one head but its my head so I'll spend what I reckon its worth                                                                                                                                                                              

well I bought an AGV - in fact I have two! but you buy the best you can afford that FITS YOU! different makes fit different people better. spending 600 quid on an Arai that doesn't fit you wont save your head!

and im sorry 66 but I don't agree spending 30 quid or 600 quid on a helmet is absolutely no guarantee of survival in an accident because at anything over 30mph any impact to your head (helmet or not) will almost certainly turn your brain to soup!

Courier services also delivery to stores too! ...buying from a store is no different from buying off the net.

but the most important thing.....

MAKE SURE IT FITS PROPERLY!

Well, I guess thats me told! lmao 

Everybody has their own opinions and they were mine. I don't condemn anyone who pays the earth or wether they take their chances with a lucky bag item.
When I mention couriers, I was talking about items bought from the internet, where quality control might not be the vendors highest priority. If I was a shop owner and I received helmets delivered in anything less that perfect condition, they would not be signed for.

As for protection at high speed off's, a colleague of mine decided to have a crack at mad sunday a few years ago...... he didn't complete his circuit, he did however survive the accident without  brain injury as a result of his Arai helmet, although he was hospitalised for over 6 months, just a shame his leathers weren't made by Arai too I suppose.                                                                                                                                                                              

I agree with K/G not cus she a woman but if you land on your head hard enough to do that sort of damage If you were wearing a £600.00 lid if your unlucky your a cabbage.  Sorry but think I would rather take the other option. Sorry if this sounds harsh but thats how I feel about it.                                                                                                                                                                              

I don't go for the price tag, I go for the fit.... I think I have a strange head anyway, the only lid that will fit me properly are Shoei.. so Shoei it is for every time. I have tried over 50 different helmets on over the years and none fit me, so no matter how cheap or expensive they are, if they don't fit, I won't bother with them.

Here's a thought...     Does buying expensive gear eg helmets leathers, give you an 'invunerable' complex? a  bit like Volvo drivers.   I expect all the boy racers in their expensive helmets will not survive a high speed accident.   If you ride like a twat you will die, don't expect your 'expensive' helmet to save you.                                                                                                                                                                             

I only use cheap ones also, i have the same as Centurion made in Germany and has tuv approval. My other helmet has a gold stamp on it which is the same as you would get with an expensive one, surely the testing procedures must be the same. Lynn660 looking at your photo your helmet looks almost see through!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

lol 66 wasn't havin a go at you personally. :) just every time this subject comes up it drives me nuts - its like "what tyres do you recommend" well everyone has their own opinion....ask 100 bike riders and you'll probably get 95 different answers. there isn't a right answer.

I think you're being a little unfair to most courier companies....and as a customer you also have the right to refuse to sign for anything delivered in less than perfect condition.

Picking up on something you said about leathers though and tying it in with XK's comments....leathers do not protect you from anything other than gravel rash - they do not help you in an impact (in fact the back protectors etc can in certain circumstances cause more damage) . Leathers have never and will never save your life unless you count dying from shock having had your skin flayed by the tarmac. I think theres an incorrect assumption made by some people that having all the most expensive gear is gonna somehow save you in an accident.

So GBC now you've opened this can o worms......just make sure whatever you buy that it fits properly....oh and expect this thread to run to 10 pages by the end of the week with 30 different opinions..... at least lol

 i agree with kwakgirl doesnt matter if you spend £2 million on gear it still wont stop your neck,leg,arm,back from snapping.i have a £500 helmet BUT only cos i got it from a very good friend who i knew had worn it twice and then sold his bike and put it away for about 8mths before selling it to me for £80.and only because i know i have an arai head so i know they fit me properly and are comfortable.i once bought a simpson bandit which cost me £360 and it was the most uncomfortable helmet ive ever worn.you buy what you can afford that fits you and you know that you would still be happy to have it on your head after 300 miles thats what i think                                                                                                                                                                              

GBC - have a look at the SHARP website(link below)

http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/home

This reinforces what the others are saying - correct fit is so important!

You can also scan some of the ratings for various helmets which indicates that price does not guarantee its better/safer even when there is high profile name on the front.

When my brother decided to learn to ride many years back my mum insisred that he wore a helmet that had been fitted rather than the crappy ill fitting second hand free one.

It saved his life when the 4x over the limit school bus driver hit him one morning. He was in hospital for many weeks due to injuries sustained but the accident investigators said his helmet saved him.

When I learnt mum did the same and I had my helmet fitted and have a shoei and a schuberth.

Only reason I wouldnt buy from lidle and aldi is I saw how the boxes were handled.

End of day its a personal choice. I prefer a correctly fitted helmet myself, even if it costs a bit more

This is worse than me asking for opinions on changing tyre manufacturer...lol......all i can say gbc is to try on loads of different types before making a shortlist of those that you found fitted AND that you liked the look of....don't rush it as you've gotta live with it ...i've had my Shoei for @ 8 years now....and yes folks it is getting a bit ragged around the bottom of the neck oadding...but its still comfy and fit for purpose...

you can buy replacement inners for most high end helmets toots                                                                                                                                                                              

Simon... told you my lid was a good fit... pmsl                                                                                                                                                                             

i had a look on the Sharp website for "safetey star ratings" last night and found that most of the lids (helmets) i would buy were only a 3 rating mostly because the side impact had a very poor rating.... so i guess i need to try loads on again now and seeee...   i wanted an AGV as they were good make and were going for about £50 some of them... but it didnt fit right no matter how much i wanted an AGV it was tight in some areas   i tried every other make ....   soon as i put teh Arai on my head it was like i had put a well fitting glove on.... no pressure on any points.... sooooo comfortable... no denying i have an Arai head!!     i would never buy a cheap lid myself... might sound stupid bt i bought Aldi gloves and they were crap!!! they melted on my engine when i was trying to warm my hands... what would they do on harsh gravel travel !!   and yeah you will get loads of replies... bt aint that why you asked   one thing tho......... if Aldi lids are soo good why dont bike racers wear them? ? just a thought...                                                                                                                                                                             

because bike racers need to be able to prove the date of manufacture to get past scrutineering!  and the top guys in bsb etc get sponsorship deals on helmets! i have seen racers here wearing cheapy helmets they cant all run to Arai/Shoei money. see lots of Nitro, Lazers & HJC.

It's funny how we always bang on about buying the best helmet we can afford when it's your last line of defence. Logically we should be doing everything we can to reduce the necessity of finding out how good our helmets are. So we should all be buying the "safest" bikes we can with ABS, traction control, two extra wheels, a roof..... Oh hang on that's a car isn't it!

What I am saying is that we don't do everything to minimise the risk of coming off the bike so why do we think that it is so important to buy the "best" helmet we can. Somebody mentioned the sense of invulnerability a good helmet may give but I thinks it's more of a comfort blanket to persuade ourselves to accept the risks involved in riding a bike. I'll be alright if I come off I've got a decent helmet.......

Perhaps we should all buy cheap helmets in the hope that the fear of coming off focuses our minds on riding safely.....

Me? I always buy a mid to high range helmet from a well known and trusted manufacturer ( in my case Arai) - I'm just not fully convinced of the logic that drives me to do so.

i aint got a scoobie   looked on Sharp website, arai's not got good ratings on there bt i love em best for fit etc and air vents etc etc   nitros got 5 stars on the sharp website bt would it fit so well and are the air vents good....   what is a gal to doooooooooo