I've been down hard and fast twice. Both times the helmet was trashed but my head didn't suffer even a bump. The first time in 1964 wearing a Bell helmet. The second time was in 2002 wearing an HJC. Broken arm, knee, ribs she ran over my foot, I bounced and rolled about 70 feet before she caught up to me and nailed the left foot. Leathers were not in good shape, helmet was sorely used. Other than the slight injuries to me, no problem. Scoot was in pieces all over the highway. She was talking on a cell phone and didn't see the red light. Today, after trying out a bunch of helmets, we have Nolan flip-fronts. white. $200 each. reasonably quiet, darned comfortable, slot for the Starcom earpiece and easy to change screens. The flip fronts don't have the protection of the fullface but are sure a lot easier for us since we both wear glasses and it's easy to put the helmets on, drink a cup of coffee, etc with the flipfront.

I've just been reading this blog:

There and Back Again

which covers a short trip by Tim C into Africa.
(Great pics BTW).

In there, he remakes an important point about open face/flip front helmets.
When dealing with local people, including the local police, he can interact with them far better when they can see his mouth moving and his big smile. This helps him to get through the police checkpoints with minimal recourse to bribery.

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Dave

I have saved that blog in my favourites, thanks for pointing it out....

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Nitro are cheap because they are Chinese imports. I had a f'glass Nitro and found the foam lining deteriorated quite quickly, meaning it was too slack on my head. This in itself shouldn't be a problem if you're buying with the intention of replacing your lid 2x or 3x more often and not just buying because you're too tight to buy anything else. Come on, be honest.

I found that it's biggest problem was that it fogged up far too easily, even with the vents open and was the main reason I stopped using it. The visor release mechanism is awkward and looks fragile and the vent fittings became slack quite quickly.

It's best feature was that it had a large aperture giving very good visibility but needed a strip of tape at the top of the visor when the sun was low. It was fairly quiet at speed and quite comfortable until the foam started to degrade.

I have a Nolan at the minute but I think the best helmets on a budget at present, only in my opinion of course, are HJC. I like the Nolan's but won't be buying a flip-front as most reviews state they leak badly. I'll probably replace mine with a Shoei flip-front as I also wear glasses. KBC look good value but I think the iridium visor should be last on the list of priorities in this price range.

As for the £37 lids, are these the ones that Aldi had in last year. B-Square is Aldi's own brand and while the gloves and underwear are OK, the helmets have been massively criticised by German bike mags. Motorrad said they couldn't believe they passed the minimum standards of the safety tests. Buy one by all means if you think your head is only worth £37!

I believe Arai have had a hand in developing the new safety standards that are coming which can't be a bad thing.

NO! The new UK Testing Authority is a Government Agency set up using taxpayers money. I am assured that there is no commercial involvement whatsoever. In order to remain 100% impartial this is necessary.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

The scheme will use a "star" award - Helmets that merely pass the test will be awarded 1 star. No helmets will be awarded 5 stars in order to encourage helmet manufacturers to design a better (safer) helmet.

It will interesting to see how the cheaper lids compare to the likes of the more expensive "designer" makes... The scheme is already hard at work and the first results should be ready very soon.... I suppose we should all keep a close eye on that website...

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Clearly there shouldn't be any financial involvement by the industry, but it would be rediculous if there was no consultation between the testers and the manufacturers/importers. The respected maufacturers are going to have a wealth of knowledge and experience of designing and testing helmets - in some cases more than the testers themselves.
There's little new about the actual tests being talked about here - the difference is rather than just a pass or fail the results will be graded.

There's an interesting article here about the merits of various test methods and the interpretation of their results:

Motorcycle Helmet Design, Helmet Standards and Head Protection - Gear Box - Motorcyclist Online

Hey Craig, there's a lot of truth there from what I and others I know have experienced with helmets.

My AGV: went the same way with the forehead lining - the foam gave up quite quickly (my previous post refers).

My mates Nolan: leaked, around the visor from memory because of a poor seal.

Yep, I have electricians insulation tape around the top of my visor (two layers in depth) - it does the job.

Can't see a problem with private companies assisting in developing Government testing standards - after all, politicians and other jobs-worthies know next to nothing about such things, especially technical matters.
In fact, the only way to get it right would be to consult with those who know what they are talking about, and dealing with, constantly.
If you look at the Arai technical information for the Arai Tour X helmet it sounds very much like they already do impact testing to a high standard.

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Dave

But they don't publish the results of those tests in any kind of detail and merely certify that the helmet passed.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Of course. Arai will want to protect their product. Ever heard of industrial espionage? Why would they want to give their competitors information on their products, especially how they develop what are universally recognised as the best helmets on the market?

Motorcycle News sparks new helmet safety policy - Motorcycle News - MCN

Motorcycle News have been pushing for such a scheme for a while and were the first publication to announce it was coming. Seeing as all MCN's helmet safety and advice video's feature Arai helmets and Arai's technical staff, you can bet Arai has had more than a fair amount of influence, directly or indirectly. My last post stated that I'd heard Arai had a hand in it, meaning they were consulted, not they are devising the tests. I will find the exact article if you're really that bothered about it.

It's no secret that Arai have been pushing for this for a while, probably in the knowledge that their products would do well out of it. I'd be very surprised if the first helmets to be rated weren't Arai's. I would also expect MCN and Arai to regularly pressure the testing authorities to "move the goalposts" once the testing criteria is established.

I think this is a good thing, after all, any star rating or system of testing that is devised without consultation with the industry will be about as meaningful as the ACU's current Gold sticker certification.

I just bought a new cheap helmet KBC TK8 for about $150.00 (I live in Brazil) It is Snell and DOT rated and seems to have a big success rate in the states. It is comfortable and the noise level is bearable at high speeds. I think it will do the job, of course I do not want to test it!

I chose the KBC over an HJC that looked better but was not more comfortable.

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Every where is walking distance if you have the time!

This makes interesting reading

Translated version of http://www.motorradonline.de/d/133640?template=d_mrd_gl_drucken&drucken=d_mrd_ne_ artikel_1bild&_back_url=%2Fmrd%2Fhome

It's Google's translated version of Motorrad's review of the B-Square helmet sold by Lidl. From the look of this, it only just scraped a pass in the ECE testing.

I said in a previous post that B-Square was Aldi's own brand, which is incorrect as it's Lidl's. My most sincerest apologies to anyone who has spent the last month trawling branches of Aldi's for their new £37 helmet.