Fit, Fit, Fit.
The most important consideration BY FAR is fit. If your helmet doesn’t fit you properly, it won’t protect you properly.
Forget measuring your head with a tape measure and ordering online. A helmet needs to fit you all over your head, not just where you measured; and as helmets are shaped differently to match the different head shapes humans come with, the chances of getting a good fit without actually trying the helmet on are pretty slim.
So, go to a shop that sells helmets and try a few on. What you are looking for is a snug fit – like someone has got hold of your head and is giving it a gentle squeeze all over, at the front, top, back and sides. Not trying to crush your head, but snug. Your cheeks are likely to feel compressed a little, which is normal. With the helmet fastened so you can fit 2 ungloved fingers between your chin and the strap (less and you won’t be able to breathe, more and it may come off!) you should not be able to move the helmet more than a little side to side or up and down. You should definitely not be able to roll it off your head by grabbing it at the rear and lifting.
Now you’ve chosen a helmet that fits you, you can choose where to buy it. Just make sure you get exactly the same make and size if ordering online. When it arrives, check it fits again and if not, send it back.
Do not compromise on fit!
Right, now we’ve got the most important thing out of the way, let’s look at other considerations: Safety and Style.
Safety
All helmets sold for motorcycle use in the UK must meet European standard ECE-R22.05 (or the older British Standards which have been largely phased out). That’s a minimum standard, which means that the £30 helmet you can by in Aldi will have passed it too, just like the £2,500 Arai Rx-7 GP Carbon helmet. The more expensive helmets may offer greater protection, but only if they fit you properly! What they are likely to do is last longer, be better made, have better ventilation, removable washable linings and cooler graphics.
The UK government introduced a star-rating system for helmet safety called SHARP in 2001, which independently tests helmets bought in shops (so no cheating by the manufacturers) and publishes the results on its website. Aim for a helmet that has scored at least 4 stars.
Style
Helmets seem to come in an endless range of styles, but there are 3 basic styles you could consider, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. These are:
- Open Face. These helmets have no protection to your face, but offer a greater field of vision and are cooler on hot summer days. They also feel less claustrophobic and generally weigh less. Just make sure you also use eye protection as an insect hitting you in the eye at 30mph is not pleasant! Eye protection should have lenses capable of resisting an impact from a stone, so no glass lenses!
- Full Face. These helmets have a solid chin-bar and visor and offer the greatest protection. They do feel a little claustrophobic until you get used to them and can restrict you vision, so lots of life-saver glances are required! They tend to weigh a little more than open-face helmets but come in lots of different sizes and shell shapes, as well as cool graphics!
- Flip-Front. Beloved of the Police and Motorcycle Instructors, because we can move the chin-bar out of the way to talk to you, this style has the protection of a full-face helmet (when the chin-bar is down and locked in position) and the convenience of an open-face helmet. It tends to be slightly heavier, though, and some are physically larger too, making them more cumbersome to wear. Note that most are only tested and approved with the chin-bar down and locked, so riding with it is not a good idea. It’s not a good idea for another, less obvious reason, too. If you perform a rapid stop, the chin-bar can come down partially, obscuring your vision just when you need it most – I know of a serious accident that happened as a direct consequence of this happening.