Best Helmet

[mfoley]

It's time to buy a new helmet. I'm looking for a full face model and I'd appreciate any advice on brands and models. Is carbon fiber worth the money?

Thanks.

Mark
#39 944-Spec

[martinreinhardt]

Mark,

I have been very happy with the Bell Helmets over the years and I recendly bought a new one from http://www.saferacer.com/bellhelmets.html. My last Bell was a Kevlar and my new one is Fiberglass, seriously I can't tell any difference in weight. The price is very different, so I am guessing Kevlar is better.

[Jad]

If you are doing enduros or driving karts, buy the lightest you can or you may not be able to hold your head up for the entire race (really). For autocross and timetrials it doesn't really matter as long as you get a snell rated helmet. Comfortable fit is probably the most important part and then decide on protection of full face versus comfort, coolness and vision from openface.

[David J Marguglio]

It is not just the fatigue factor as Jad pointed out; it is also a question of safety. A point more germane for you as a racer, is that in event of radical decleration (i.e. shunt, wall, etc.) the weight of the head and hemet are combine and are multiplied 30-40 times (depending on the speed of the car) so every ounce of hemet weight applies X multiple of force against your neck. This can exceed 1,300 pounds of total neck load. Anyway, without delving further into the specifics, just know that when it comes to hemets, lighter is safer.

[mfoley]

Thanks guys. I have a Bell now and will probably buy another one. David - Your point should have been obvious to me but it wasn't. It makes sense to buy the lightest one I can afford. Any suggestions on models? What do you have?

Mark

[Jeff Grow]

I bought a Bieffe because it had a removable liner. Nice to wash these after a hot Willow weekend.

[martinreinhardt]

I got the Bell K1 Sport SV Snell 2000