Helmets!

[Cholewa]

Decent article on whether or not Snell ratings are all they're cracked up to be.

$79.95 helmet certified to Transportation Department standards performed the best of the 32 tested, withstanding the most violent hits while transmitting as much as 67 g’s less impact force to the headform than a $400 Snell-certified helmet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=1

[TouringBubble]

I noticed one big thing ... they talk about motorcycle riders rarely hitting their head in the same place twice, which I get. But, in a car with a roll cage where you're strapped in place, I think that scenario is very likely.

Basically, I'm not certain that article has enough consideration for auto racing to be applied, as a whole, to our pastimes.

[chuck schultz]

I vaguely remember hearing that the M2010 standard makes the helmets "softer" than the M2005 standard, with the thinking that the very hard shells were transmitting shock rather than absorbing/dissipating it.

Since the article is from 2009, the 2005 standard was probably in play. Newer helmets might give better results, by allowing the head to decelerate rather than bounce. Think of a golf ball vs. a bean bag.

[Cholewa]

Just posting it to express my thoughts that you don't need some uber expensive helmet to do this, the cheapos do the trick just as well, if not better. Obviously they don't have the fit/finish/accessories that the fancy helmets do, but meh.

[TouringBubble]

Yeah. That's why I run an M2005 and not an SA. Didn't have a need and the cost was much better. My next helmet is going to be an SA though as I'll need if for the Chump Car stuff.

[chuck schultz]

I noticed that there is a little feature about helmets in the Car and Driver mag I got yesterday - http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ow_sa-gear_box

[Kevin McMahon]

There was a big article on Jalopnik about this, mainly because the write also worked for Motorcycle magazine and got fired because of it. The main thing that was expressed about the difference in the helmets is that the old snell rating helmets didnt really take into account the weight of the riders head. So while being better for the average head that they tested with, it posed a higher risk to those with smaller heads. Also he pointed out that the snell 2010 sticker is nearly identical, and the old standard can still be used untill 2014 or something like that. He took a lot of heat because he recommended not getting a snell helmet because of all of the confusion between the standards.

http://jalopnik.com/5582380/how-the-truth-about-motorcycle-helmets-got-a-journalist-fired