Five-year helmet lifespan?

[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.

[53driver]

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

+2 on the Shoei.

[tinkerman]

I have cheaped out on helmets all my life and used the old things till they looked like crap. Just recently have been thinking about investing in a good helmet. Will likely make it last more than five years. As long as it doesn't receive any bad knocks I would use it indifinietly.

[jmohme]

This originates from when quality helmets were all constructed of fiberglass.
The hardening of fiberglass resin is a chemical reaction that never really stops. So with time, the fiberglass does weaken and become brittle.

Many of todays helmets are different types of plastics and I don't think that the 5 year rule applies to them.
Now if the foam gets compressed, then the deceleration effect of it is reduced, so that may still be a reason to replace periodically.

[Winston]

sun has a lot of impact. After 5 years my schuberth sounded hollow when knocked on it and I don't mean my head with this

[Pap]

I don't know about you guys, but after 5 years, my helmet has an odor that makes me want to get rid of it. Even if I wash the liner, after 5 yrs of sweating in the summer, it is time to get a new one.

[willtill]

I don't know about you guys, but after 5 years, my helmet has an odor that makes me want to get rid of it. Even if I wash the liner, after 5 yrs of sweating in the summer, it is time to get a new one.

Then it is time. Your nose "knows".....

[Brewdog]

I just washed the liner on my harley half helmet from a years worth of sweating. It's three years old now. I don't get the dreaded "helmet head itch" with it, so it will make the cut for another year or so.