Helmet fit and helmet information

Choosing a motorcycle helmet would be easy if it was simply matter of picking out a size and a color.  Unfortunately, different brands of helmets or even different models within the same brand can have a completely different fit and feel – and cost has nothing to do with it, because some of the least inexpensive helmets will fit and feel better than helmets costing twice as much or more.  Apparently, many motorcyclists don’t realize that in addition to size, motorcycle helmets come in a variety of different internal shapes.  Shape is one of the most important factors to understand when purchasing a motorcycle helmet.  Helmets are expensive, and if you can only own one, it should be the highest quality, best fitting helmet you can find within your budget constraints (we'll discuss head shapes in more detail below).

In fact, it's almost impossible to find the "perfect" fit, or even an acceptable fit, without trying on at least several different helmets and wearing each one for an extended period of time.  Even a helmet that feels great in the shop may feel like a medieval torture device after only a few minutes on a motorcycle.  Obviously, the problem of finding a helmet with the correct fit will be compounded when purchasing from an online vendor, because the sale is usually completed without actually seeing the helmet and without trying it on. Safety is the primary reason for wearing a motorcycle helmet, but one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a new helmet is comfort.  Any protection that a helmet can offer is of no value if it is too uncomfortable to wear. 

We have a wacky theory for why people like to ride motorcycles, and it goes like this: The act of riding is a form of meditation, because the concentration that's required to safely ride a motorcycle tends to focus the mind in a way that eliminates other mental distractions that might interfere with the mission.  This creates a single-mindedness that, in effect, displaces the continuous stream of thoughts that normally flow through our consciousness. 

Thoughts about what to eat, who to meet, and worries about the common stresses of everyday life, such as pressures from work and home, disappear from our minds during the ride, because the concentration that's necessary to focus on the ride pushes those thoughts far into the background.  The result is that the mind becomes refreshed after a ride just like it would after a session of formal meditation or a relaxing vacation. Just like some people get "hooked" on meditation, motorcyclists get hooked on riding because of the mental relief that it brings.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone discovers that endorphins or something are released during the act of riding.  I'm sure you've noticed that you can't "zone out" on a motorcycle like you can when driving a car.  Riding safe means being focused and alert at all times – which is one of the reasons why it's so important to stop and rest at frequent intervals when riding a motorcycle on a long trip.

What does this have to do with motorcycle helmets?  The high levels of concentration and focus that are necessary to pilot a motorcycle mean that any distraction, no matter how subtle, can actually become a safety hazard.  To borrow from Keith Code in his book "A Twist of the Wrist", you start out with, say, $10.00 worth of concentration.  You can't have any more, but you certainly can have a lot less.  Start taking away a few bucks here and a few bucks there, and before you know it, your subconscious stress levels are building and you're focusing more on the distractions than on the ride.  Some distractions may be barely noticeable at first, such as an uncomfortable glove, a leather motorcycle jacket arm that has a slight binding, or a wet boot.  But enough distractions can cause a 5 dollar loss of concentration just when you need all 10 bucks worth.   Since lack of concentration and focus is one of the causes of motorcycle accidents, this becomes a serious issue. This is confirmed by the famous Hurt study of the causes of motorcycle accidents.  The study found that approximately one-fourth of the motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.  Of these accidents, the majority were caused by rider error, typically a "slideout" (their words) and fall due to over-braking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.  How many of these accidents are caused due to a loss of concentration on the job at hand? Back To The Top

We're not claiming that a comfortable motorcycle helmet can prevent motorcycle accidents.  But the goal should certainly be to create an environment that minimizes unnecessary distractions by trying to gain as comfort as possible during the ride. Comfort has several factors.  For example, the material that makes up the motorcycle helmet's liner should feel comfortable against the skin.  The internal padding of the helmet should act as a comfortable cushion between the head and the helmet internals, and the liner shape should perfectly match your head shape.  The perfect helmet would be so comfortable that the rider would forget that it’s there. 

The internal helmet shell structure on poorly designed helmets can have protrusions or shapes that press through the padding and into a sensitive area on your head and cause pain, rawness and headaches, so there should be no pressure points from these areas.    The chin strap should be comfortable and have smooth padding that doesn't rub the neck.  The visor should have an opening that doesn't block the vision and which can be easily adjusted for air flow.  And the helmet shouldn't be too hot or too drafty.

In our experience, it can take at least up to an hour of actual riding to determine whether a motorcycle helmet will have an acceptable level of comfort.  Therefore, we recommend that you try before you buy.  Forget about being self-conscious, and try wearing the helmet at a local motorcycle shop for at least 30 to 45 minutes to minimally determine if it will be comfortable. 

Many helmets will feel comfortable (or not) for the first minute or so, but be aware of any "hot spots" or pressure points that develop over time.  Make sure there's enough front-to-back room so that the chin isn’t pressing up against the inside of the chin bar.  Try clenching your teeth -- the helmet should provide enough room for you to keep your mouth closed without undue discomfort.  And buckle it up, to see how the attachment system works and to make sure the chin strap is acceptable. 

Note that a comfortable fit in the motorcycle shop still can't duplicate the riding experience, because of factors like noise and wind pressure that can greatly affect helmet fit and comfort, but it's better than buying a helmet site unseen.

Know Your Head Shape
Although human heads have an infinite variety of shapes and sizes, they unfortunately can't be custom ordered or exchanged - at least not quite yet!  You're stuck with what you came with.

It's our opinion that head shapes can be grouped into five basic categories (Ed. Note: Reverse egg shape recently added), and it's important to know which category you conform to.  It’s important to match your head shape to the helmet's internal shape to find the perfect fit, and almost every helmet is different. 

This isn't to say that head shapes only match these categories.  Like many natural occurrences, head shapes fit into a normal distribution.  There are very narrow, “long oval” head shapes, and there are very wide “earth” head shapes, and every combination in between.  It's possible to have combinations of any and all of these shapes in an infinite number of variations. 

Fortunately, many motorcycle helmets are available with internal shapes that roughly match these four head categories.  Some helmets can be slightly modified with optional padding available from the manufacturer.  The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much logic to the design of motorcycle helmet internals, especially at the lower price points.  Color, graphics and cool-looking features apparently drive sales, rather than important factors like comfort, shape and perceived noise levels.  Back To The Top

Keep in mind that there is no universally recognized standard for describing head and helmet shapes, and, in fact, there are probably helmet manufacturers who will disagree with our opinions regarding the most common shapes.  For example, manufacturers might be concerned about liability problems if they sold one of their "round" helmets to someone with, for example, an "oval" shaped head.  If the rider became injured in a fall, who knows what liability issues might arise?  The bottom line is that if a manufacturer claims that their helmet is designed for a round head, there's no real way of knowing what they mean by "round".

Profit issues motivate the helmet manufacturers, especially at the lower end, to sell helmets with a generic shape that will meet the minimum fit requirements for the maximum number of potential customers.  This is an important factor, because the generic internal helmet shape may not fit your individual head.  This problem is compounded because each helmet manufacturer may have a slightly different idea of the generic shape, and each model within a brand can fit differently than its shelf mates.  That's why the chances of finding a good fit increase as the number of different brands and models of helmet are tried on prior to purchase.

Some manufacturers, like Arai, have developed helmet models that are specifically engineered to fit different head shapes, and this is used as a market differentiator.  As far as we know, Arai is the only manufacturer to capitalize on internal helmet shapes as a selling point.  It remains a mystery as to why other manufacturers don't exploit this obvious market need, or at least offer a variety of helmet liners for riders to develop their own semi-custom shapes. Anyway, back to the five categories of head shapes.  We've arbitrarily labeled the different head shape groupings and have given them the following descriptions (in no particular order):

• Oval - Sometimes known as "long oval", said to be the most common American head shape

• Earth - The Earth shaped head is somewhat wider in the middle, approx near the temples;

• Egg - Wider at the top and narrower at the bottom.

• Reverse Egg - Slightly narrower at the top than at the bottom.

These are the designations we use to define helmet shapes in webBikeWorld helmet reviews.  For example, it may be our opinion that a particular motorcycle helmet's shape is best suited for round shaped heads, like the OGK FF-3.  The FF-3 fits my round/earth shaped head just about perfectly.  But don't forget that not all heads -- or helmets -- exactly fit these arbitrary shape definitions.  Another example is the Shoei X-11.  It's our opinion that this helmet will fit a round/oval head shape best.  Here's the disclaimer: the manufacturers of these and any other helmets that we review may completely disagree with us.  Don't forget, we usually only see one example of one helmet model, so your experience may be different than ours.  But we think we have enough experience with a wide variety of helmet shapes and designs to be pretty sure about the way we call it.

Remember that in the absence of scientific proof, discussions about motorcycle helmets are simply opinion, and ours is just that.  Your experience may be completely different than ours regarding motorcycle helmet fit, perceptions of noise levels, air flow and any other factor. Back To The Top

Helmet Standards and Certifications

Here's a brief discussion of the three most common helmet safety standards and certifications: DOT, Snell and ECE 22.05. The most common certification on motorcycle helmets in the U.S.A. is the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) certification.  To obtain the right to place the "DOT" sticker on the back of a motorcycle helmet, the manufacturer must meet The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) known as FMVSS 218 (49CFR571.218).  FMVSS 218 describes in great detail the requirements for "DOT" certification of all helmets sold in the United States for use by motorcyclists.  Helmets that do not meet the minimal DOT certification standards may not be sold as "motorcycle helmets" in the U.S.A.

The Snell Memorial Foundation is an additional certification source intended to provide testing and "Snell" certification to a different standard than FMVSS 218.  The Snell certification doesn't replace the DOT certification and is in fact a voluntary standard.  As of this writing, the Snell certification is called M2000.   Snell also lists a comparison of DOT vs. Snell vs. BSI 6658:1985 vs. ECE 22.05 requirements for certification.  All motorcycle helmets sold in the U.S.A. must be DOT certified, but they are not required to be Snell certified.  A motorcycle helmet that carries both DOT and Snell certification may have gone through different testing schemes, but may not necessarily be superior to helmets that carry only the DOT certification, although many motorcyclists look for both DOT and Snell certification.  Snell publishes a listing of motorcycle helmets that are Snell certified on their website. 

There's some level of controversy regarding which standard or testing regime is the "best", and it gets more complicated if you consider the European ECE 22.05 standard.  For example, it's our understanding that Snell uses an edge anvil test that is not required for DOT certification.  You may hear different opinions about this particular test, and some manufacturers claim that a helmet designed to meet the Snell edge anvil test may end up being heavier than the same model designed to meet DOT-only or ECE 22.05.  Heavier helmets may not be as desirable as lighter helmets (see below), and may cause different types of trauma in case of an accident. 

One more certification that you may also come across is the British Standards Institute (BSI) standard BSI 6658:1985.  It's our understanding that this certification is being superseded by ECE 22.05.

Motorcycle Helmets and Perceived Noise
We get lots of email on this topic.  If a review reports that a particular helmet model is relatively quiet, we can count on getting an email from someone telling us that it's the noisiest helmet they've ever tried, and a helmet we think is noisy will surely generate an email telling us that we're wrong.  The lesson learned here is that the perception of noise and the threshold of acceptance varies greatly between riders.  It varies so much, and is so hard to quantify, that it's almost not worth the effort of describing in a helmet review, but we'll continue to offer our opinions.  Don't forget that we always wear earplugs and a separate cotton or silk helmet liner when conducting the reviews, so the noise levels we experience will probably be different than yours. Back To The Top

For the record, it's our opinion that riding a motorcycle when wearing a motorcycle helmet is a very noisy endeavor.  The perceived noise that is generated is always loud enough to be dangerous to human health.  There's no getting around it, and the discussion isn't about whether a helmet is noisy or quiet; the discussion is one of relative noise levels -- there are basically only two types of motorcycle helmets, loud and louder! 

We believe that high quality, correctly fitted earplugs are essential for motorcycle riding, and we wear them on every ride without fail.  High levels of noise are proven to be very stressful and can cause a loss of concentration, and the noise can quickly and permanently damage your hearing, and hearing loss is irreversible.

It's essential to note that every rider and every motorcycle will have a different experience and comfort level when it comes to acceptable noise levels.  We've also found that some of the most annoying noises (the low frequency, "booming" type) are usually generated from underneath the chin and neck area of the helmet.  This can be greatly exacerbated by certain types of windscreens and fairings, especially on sport bikes where the wind is dumped on the rider in a way that can cause turbulence around the lower and rear portions of the helmet. 

We've found that careful design of the neck cushioning and the the amount of space between the padding and the neck/head in this area is crucial to noise control.  Unfortunately, most manufacturers have yet to address this problem.  In the meantime, we've found the Windjammer helmet wind blocker to be a very effective and inexpensive device that can be fitted to any full-face helmet to help prevent low frequency, turbulence-induced noise that enters the helmet from the bottom of the helmet around the neck and chin.

We've also discovered that riding a "naked" bike can actually cause less turbulence and lower noise levels.  This may seem counterintuitive, and many riders don't believe it.  But helmets that are out in the "clean" air stream and not influenced by "dirty" air and turbulence caused by a windscreen can provide much lower noise levels.  Don't forget that turbulent air isn't always directly felt by the rider.  The aerodynamics of the motorcycle can cause lots of turbulence behind the rider that isn't necessarily felt as a buffeting, but can still be the cause of noise levels because of the way the turbulent air affects the back of the helmet.

Venting
Back in the old days, motorcyclists didn't have to worry about venting and air flow, because all helmets were open-face.  Bell claims to have designed the first full-face helmet in 1966, and full-face helmets started appearing on the heads of motorcyclists in the 1970's.  The first full-face helmets were heavy and they had shapes that made the rider look something like a deep-sea diver.  Venting?  Sure, open the visor!

Motorcycle helmet air vents now come in all shapes and sizes, and the flow of air through a helmet is considered to be an important comfort factor.  There isn't a standard for vent shapes and there doesn't seem to be any particular system that works better than others.  The most common air flow methods used are variations on chin bar vents, top vents and exhaust vents in the back of the helmet. 

Unfortunately, the efficacy of a helmet's venting system can only be judged during a ride, not in the motorcycle shop.  It's impossible to comment on the design or number of vents and their effectiveness without trying the helmet, either behind a fairing or windscreen or on a "naked" bike.  Some features to consider include simple opening and closing mechanisms that can be easily and smoothly operated with gloved hands and that positively shut off air flow, and direct paths for the air to flow on to the rider's face or head.

Visibility
There's a myth that's perpetrated by the anti-helmet law faction that claims that motorcycle helmets decrease peripheral vision.  The truth is that no motorcycle helmet would last very long in the marketplace if it blocked the owner's view of the road.  Every full-face helmet that any of us have ever tried had an opening wider than our peripheral vision.  This is easy enough to check when trying on a helmet. Some helmets have a greater top-to-bottom vertical visor height than others.  Sportbike owners sometimes need wide visors due to the lower handlebars and the sportbike "crouch" necessary when riding, so keep this in mind when choosing a helmet.

Helmet Attachments and Straps
The tried-and-true "D-ring" attachment system is widely used, very reliable and is used on every racing helmet that we are aware of.  Other "quick release" systems have been developed, but like trying to build a better mousetrap, none have improved on this basic attachment system, and most are more complicated, failure prone, and fussy to operate.  Our advice is to stick with the D-ring system.

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A D-ring is infinitely adjustable and there are no springs to wear out or plastic and metal latches to break.  All of the quick release mechanisms we've tried make it very hard to adjust the tightness of the helmet straps.  Accessory quick release latches that are user installed should also be avoided, because they can add too much length to the helmet's strap, making it difficult to adjust correctly.  Our opinion is that quick release latches are a solution in search of a problem. One thing to look for is a button or Velcro attachment for the extra piece of chin strap that's usually left dangling after the helmet is secured.  Sometimes, this extra piece can be tucked up under the attached chin strap, but it's usually more comfortable to have a method of securing the end of the strap.  Make sure you know how your system works and that it fits correctly before purchasing the helmet.

Liner
Motorcycle helmet liners can vary in design, comfort, materials and shape.  Since the liner is the primary interface between the rider's head and the helmet, make sure that it's compatible with your needs.  Most liners feel comfortable the first time the helmet is worn; if it doesn't, that's a sure sign of problems later on.  Make sure there are no "hot spots" or pressure points, especially against the temples, forehead and cheeks.  This is where it pays to try the helmet on in the local shop. We recommend purchasing a helmet liner "skull cap".  These are usually specially designed for wearing under a motorcycle helmet, and they're very inexpensive.  They can usually be found made from either silk or cotton; both work well, and we'd avoid anything that isn't made from 100% natural fibers.  They can help keep the helmet liner clean and can improve comfort.  Silk liners are especially comfortable and can be found in Balaclava style for cool-weather riding.

Weight
While light weight is always a plus, it isn't necessarily the only factor to consider.  The helmet's center of gravity will affect how the weight is carried, which can make a lighter weight helmet feel heavy and vice versa.  The fit of the helmet is paramount, because a proper fit will distribute the weight more evenly around the head and down through the shoulders.  Also, helmet aerodynamics are important, because a proper design will help prevent helmet lift and buffeting (which can also be exacerbated by the helmet's perceived or real weight).

When comparing helmet mass, it's important to know the size of the helmet shell used by the manufacturer.  Helmet weights may vary, depending upon size.  Full-face helmets range from approximately 1400 to 1800 grams.  Once helmet weight reaches about 1650 grams, it becomes harder to mask its weight.  Modular, or "flip-up", helmets normally weigh more than a comparable sized full-face helmet, due to the mechanism used to flip up the visor.

Helmet manufacturers claim that Snell approval can add 50 to 100 grams or more weight to a helmet, due to the differences in the composition of the shell in order to meet Snell requirements.  For the purchaser, this means that it's also important to know which helmet safety standard the helmet meets when comparing weights.

Color
Helmet colors are a personal choice, but remember that the ability to be seen in traffic is one of the most important safety issues to consider.  A rider's motorcycle helmet is usually the highest point on the motorcycle, so a bright color that is visible to traffic has the potential of going a long way towards increasing visibility.  Some motorcycle helmets were once available in a "Safety Orange" color that was helped make the rider really stand out in traffic.  Unfortunately, the trend seems to be in the opposite direction; we've even seen motorcycle helmets available in a green or gray camouflage pattern.  Our opinion is that these and other dark or matte helmet colors should definitely be avoided.

Modular or "Flip-Up" Motorcycle Helmets
Volumes could be written on the subject of flip-up helmets.  They can be especially useful for motorcyclists who wear eyeglasses, because it is sometimes easier to fit the eyeglasses under the helmet prior to closing the visor.  Unfortunately, the pace of evolution for flip-up helmets by the motorcycle helmet manufacturers seems to be much slower and more deliberate than for other helmet styles.  Some flip-up helmets are ECE 22-05 approved, and many are DOT approved in the U.S.A., but the Snell Memorial Foundation has not, as of this writing, approved any flip-up helmets. There are also no studies that we are aware of that compare the differences in potential safety between open-face, flip-up and full-face helmets.  Unfortunately, the result is that the motorcyclist is on their own when trying to make a purchasing decision relative to the efficacy of this type of helmet.  This can lead to decisions made solely on the basis of marketing hype. 

Conclusion
Know before you buy.  Learn all the facts.  Don't buy a motorcycle helmet based on perceived image or marketing hype.  It's important to try on a helmet and wear it for an extended period of time to compare fit and feel.  Wear earplugs.  And wear the helmet on every ride!

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