Helmet Recommendations?

[CycleChica28]

Happy Sunday ladies! I was wondering if some of you could give me your advice/opinions regarding helmet suggestions. I never ride without a helmet and I currently have a basic Giro one. Well, last September I was in a car accident and I suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. My neurologist is allowing me to start cycling again as long as I wear a helmet. Now that I need to be even more cautious about potential head injuries, I'd like to upgrade to a better, more sturdy helmet. Do any of you have any suggestions or recommendations? Thanks for all your help!

[indysteel]

Every helmet sold in the United States has been approved and must be approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. So, from that standpoint, they are all safe. The difference in price is generally a reflection of how many vents it has, not it's relative safety. The more important consideration is that it fits you and that you adjust the straps and wear it correctly. So, I strongly suggest that you go to one or more local shops and actually try on a variety of helmets. Giro and Bell are two of the bigger names, but they are actually the same company. They each fit slightly differently and you'll often hear people say that they either have a Giro or Bell shaped head. I have a Bell head myself, but even among Bell helmets, some fit me better than others.

[CycleChica28]

Thanks for the great info! That is extremely helpful, I'd never thought to have my head "fitted" for my helmet. Now, it makes perfect sense!

[OakLeaf]

It's not entirely true that just because all helmets meet CPSC, they're equivalent in terms of safety.

With your considerations I might think about a helmet that's dual certified (http://bhsi.org/dualcert.htm) for skateboarding and cycling. That will give you more protection to the back of the head and protection for multiple impacts. The downside is they tend to be bulkier and less well vented - but hey, all the helmets we wore in the '80s were no worse than that, and it beats the heck out of a second head injury.

But yes - a helmet that fits poorly won't just be uncomfortable, it won't protect you as well. As with most things, fit first, then features.

[indysteel]

From that summary of the Snell standards, I'm having a hard time figuring out how the B-90 standard differs from the B-95. The sentence stating that helmets that meet only the lesser standard offers no significant difference in performance (I'm paraphrasing) has me scratching my head. I guess I need to read the standards themselves. I'm not interested in wearing a full face helmet, although maybe the OP is. At least among Bell (the brand that fits my head the best), the only ones that appear to meet the B-95 standard are full face. I did see some good information on Snell's website on how to properly fit and adjust a helmet. In any event thanks for the links, Oak and Muirenn.

[Catrin]

I love the Uvex helmet that I use for the road - it fits my head much better than ether Bell or Giro AND it has a little mesh behind the front vents to keep bugs out :)

[Reesha]

I have a long and skinny head-- not a round one. I love my LAS helmet... after wearing a Giro that crushed the front of my forehead for years I just can't get over how comfortable and nice it is to have a helmet that matches the shape of my head!