Five-year helmet lifespan?

[Brasco]

Curious to know what others think about the general recommendation to replace your helmet every five years. Can understand that helmet manufacturers recommend this for obvious $$$$ reasons but you'll see this advice from motorcycle safety foundations too, and they wouldn't have any direct financial interest in seeing more helmets sold. There's so many variables involved -- seems like the key thing here is miles ridden versus age of helmet sitting on a shelf. In fact, who knows how long a helmet has been in a store before you buy it, which makes the five-year rule of thumb kind of a crap shoot. Any thoughts out there on this?

[Steve 0080]

I call BS on this one.... others may disagree .... unless you drop it or store it in the sun not sure what can go wrong with it...JMHO

[Ixol Phaane]

I call BS on this one.... others may disagree .... unless you drop it or store it in the sun not sure what can go wrong with it...JMHO

+1

Maybe I'm just ignorant of the facts here, but I agree w Steve... BS... unless the helmet has been stressed (dropped, crashed or otherwise).
Having said that, we do know that some materials will deteriorate in UV and heat... glues, plastics and laminates, for example. So maybe that's the rub.

[Phantom]

Just curious …. How do Body Oils from your scalp over time effect the styrofoam material in the helmet?

[SimonTemplar]

Just curious …. How do Body Oils from your scalp over time effect the styrofoam material in the helmet?

Might cause a breakdown of the softer foam padding of the liner (in extreme cases)......but the actual styrofoam impact absorption filler, naaah.




....sT

[shooter]

I agree with Simon. They put that Styrofoam under a boat dock in a nasty lake and its still there 20 years later. What's my scalp gonna do to it. I could see Stro. He only takes a bath on the even number Saturdays.

[53driver]

MSF recommends every 5 years because the "average" rider (no one on this forum of course ) stores their helmets in a non-climate controlled environment and the "frequent" rider has theirs out in the sun a lot, riding and on the bike in-between stops.

But the big reason cited: advances in technology and comfort should be employed to keep the head as safe & comfortable (i.e. you'll wear the dang thing) as possible.

Cheers,
Steve

[Steve 0080]

Cannot remember the source but I read somewhere that any impact over about 18 MPH and your pumpkin will not fair well. This is one of the reasons for soft barriers on tracks. I believe it is the sudden stop that is the issue. Of course a helmet is better than no helmet but...

Funny to me story, I'm riding with one of our members and I remark that his brain is far better than mine, ( DR. ) and I have a $700 helmet ... while he only has a $180 because it has a cute light on the back.... he thought about for a while and bought a Shoei 1100..

[ff73148]

Even if the helmet companies are full of crap I'm not taking any chances with my head. I've have high sided a bike with no head damage. Broken collar bone and ribs though.

[shooter]

I've got a lot of people that love me and depend on me. Ditto on that $700 Shoei. My grandkids need me.