maybe a silly question -- replacement helmet straps?

[VeloVT]

Thanks for the ideas ladies. Oakleaf, I don't know why it didn't occur to me to just run down to the fabric store and get strapping -- I bet that'll do the trick. Knot, also a great suggestion I wouldn't have thought of -- our local climbing store made me a sternum strap for one of my camelbaks that didn't come with one and it's great.

The helmet is a Giro Eclipse (I think they've discontinued this model, it was around $80-$90, so kind of at the low end of midrange). I think the problems with the buckles are really my fault. The helmet came with WAY too much strap, and adjusted correctly, there was a bulky, irritating bunch of excess strap (prob 6-8") that got rubber banded to the functional part of the strap. I trimmed this to maybe 3", and I think what happens is that the excess strap end is too short to stay rubberbanded to the rest of the strap, and when it slips out of the keeper it falls sort of horizontal such that it's really easy for the buckle to slip off if there is any tension applied to the buckle. (I hope that made a modicum of sense ).

On several occasions I have clipped the helmet to my backpack using the helmet straps, and been surprised when the helmet fell -- because the buckle just slipped right off the strap. As you can imagine this does not give me great confidence that the helmet would stay on in a crash. It actually makes me a teeny bit nervous every time I put it on and fiddle with the straps, because just pulling the buckles to get the straps straightened and to buckle the helmet on threatens to pull the buckles out. So yes, a safety issue.

Can I also take this time to whine about the fact that helmets just don't fit me? I have a head that's way too big for women's helmets. Regular helmets are too tight in a size small. But they are a hair too loose even tightened all the way down in a size medium. Grrrr. I've tried on Bell, Giro, Specialized (the Specialized helmets have a nicer retention mechanism, but the helmet is still not sized right for me). Whine...

[OakLeaf]

I've tried on Bell, Giro, Specialized (the Specialized helmets have a nicer retention mechanism, but the helmet is still not sized right for me). Whine...

Have you tried LG? A lot of people I know wear LG and Uvex helmets.

[Fredwina]

The hard part may be finding some place that stocks Garneau or Uvex to try on. Most LBS will usually only carry Bell/Giro and if they're a dealer, specialized. Although I noticed my LBS is now Stocking LAS helmets

[HillSlugger]

I'd like to point out that the straps on a helmet are designed to some spec based on the force that they need to be able to survive; while I have no idea what that spec might be I don't know if the stuff you'd find at a fabric store would be up to the task. On the other hand, the webbing you can buy for climbing applications would be more than up to the task. REI, Hudson Trail, and similar stores carry the stuff in multiple widths and colors.