Helmet Life

[PscyclePath]

The manufacturers say to replace helmets every three years, but then they're in the business of selling helmets, sort of like the car dealers who want you to trade in just about the time you get your old one paid down enough to be almost tolerable ;-)

Helmets are made from extruded polystyrene foam, pretty much the same stuff that those foam coffee cups are made from. It doesn't break down from exposure to sunlight, or oxygen, or much of anything else. You can dissolve it in an organic solvent, or melt it if you apply enough heat (~85 degrees C). The coffee cup you throw away today will likely be perfectly usable when they dig it out of a landfill 500 years from now, provided that you wash it up a bit.

So the foam in the helmets doesn't degrade. What I have found out is that some of the ancillary stuff, like the plastic coating on the foam might get scuffed up a bit, or more likely the headband/suspension system will wear out or get all ratty-looking.

Replace your helmet if you crash it, or you drop it in a situation where it might compress or crush the foam. Replace it if the parts start to get all ratty and worn out. Replace it if you get a better deal on a helmet that you like better. But there's not really a time limit on the foam degrading, other than when it gets crushed.

[OakLeaf]

The coffee cup you throw away today will likely be perfectly usable when they dig it out of a landfill 500 years from now, provided that you wash it up a bit.

You've obviously never done park or beach cleanup...

Those coffee cups do crumble. No telling how long they've been out there of course (within the past year I've found pop/beer can pull tabs, that haven't been used since the 70s), but they crumble.

And body acids and oils? Cosmetics/hair products/sun protection products based on vegetable or mineral oils? Various types of organic solvents...

[mauisher]

Thanks for all the input. The pads inside the helmet are all ratty and I know they're replacable, but I think I'll look for a helmet on sale! Thanks, again.

[Desert Tortoise]

My husband got a new Giro Ionos helmet and I love it. It has lots of vents and feels so light. So I got one one too in my size. He ordered his from Amazon and later, ordered mine too. They were each $117.

He asked what year the helmets were manufactured and they replied 2011. Sure enough his was May 2011.

Mine, size small, says manufactured May 2010. I checked the box and helmet, everything looks very new, packaging in tack, helmet not tried on, even has a slight new smell smell.

Giro says to replace every three years. This is 1 1/2 years old. Does anyone know if this too far back, even for a new helmet?

Thanks!

[OakLeaf]

Well, from what we now know about Amazon's warehouse, it may have been exposed to extreme heat. But I think it's primarily the body acids and oils that degrade helmets; IIRC even if the helmets were in those particular warehouses, the temperature topped out around probably 120°F.

Moto helmet manufacturers usually talk about the hats being good for five years from first wearing or seven from date of manufacture, whichever is earlier. I wouldn't worry about it (but I probably would consider warehouse conditions as another reason to buy a helmet from a LBS whenever possible - and I'd probably replace it after you've been wearing it for three years, rather than try and stretch it a year or two as a lot of people do who question why certain bici helmet manufacturers changed the limit from five years to three).

[Desert Tortoise]

Umm, I don't know about Amazon's warehouse. And the receipt says realcyclist.com. So when ordered from Amazon and there is a company listed below, doesn't it come from that company? But then, why is there free shipping on some items and not others? I don't get this system.

[OakLeaf]

Ah. Yeah, if it was another company just using Amazon's payment system, then it wouldn't have been in Amazon's warehouse. And if it's not sold by Amazon, then they don't control the shipping costs, either.

Anyway I wouldn't worry about it.