So I had my helmet sitting on a shelf/bookcase from a very well known Swedish furniture manufacturer.   Said bookcase collapsed, dropping my helmet to the floor from about 3 feet up.  To make matters worse, the bookcase, and everything on it, fell onto my helmet. 

This led me to wonder, what would you say is a tolerable fall for a helmet, if any?  and, does anyone know if there are any companies that test the helmet and see if it has lost it's structural integrity?

The helmet doesn't look damaged...but i don't really trust that, since its really what's inside that counts when it comes to this sort of thing...

i'm not sure about this, but i think that some helmet manufacturers have a free service where you can ship it back to them and they'll inspect it to see whether not it's ok to be used.

maybe since it's the riding offseason you can ship it to them and have them check it out?

I vaguely recall hearing something about that, but I wasnt sure....I need to look into it I guess. 

I am hoping someone has had experience doing it.

Quote from: seinovesei on February 07, 2011, 02:31:48 PM
I vaguely recall hearing something about that, but I wasnt sure....I need to look into it I guess. 

I am hoping someone has had experience doing it.

Arai does it for the cost of shipping, I think, on their helmets.

Just a thought...but without something inside the helmet to crush the foam, what kind of damage could there be from 3 feet?  What was the surface it landed on?  Carpet? Concrete?  Is the shell plastic or fiberglass?  With no visible damage to the shell....I would not sweat it at all!

Quote from: Dietrich on February 07, 2011, 03:28:32 PM
Just a thought...but without something inside the helmet to crush the foam, what kind of damage could there be from 3 feet?  What was the surface it landed on?  Carpet? Concrete?  Is the shell plastic or fiberglass?  With no visible damage to the shell....I would not sweat it at all!

the issue is more that all helmets are designed to crush themselves to dissipate the amount of force transferred to your head... this means that they are all designed to break in a certain manner from the start.  a 3 foot fall could have already started some stress fractures/damage into the shell that would then fail disastrously in the event you actually need it's protection.

to get an idea of that kind of damage might have been done... imagine a 5 lb weight dropped from around 3 feet... the amount of kinetic energy that it would have developed isnt inconsequential.

I'm well aware of the purpose of a helmet and how it's supposed to work.  Just not sure a 3 ft fall would be anything to worry about for a piece of empty protective gear that's supposed to help out your head at 60+ MPH.  really depends on the surface it landed and how it landed I guess.  No sweat though, I also understand how being unsure of something can drive you nuts until you are satisfied it's ok or right.  Just offering my view on it.

On Jay Leno's Garage, a senior rep of Arai US, answered this question with a smile and said - no!
That's from a man/company who makes his living selling helmets  

Quote from: stopintime on February 07, 2011, 06:38:04 PM
On Jay Leno's Garage, a senior rep of Arai US, answered this question with a smile and said - no!
<snip> 

Link:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/arai-helmets/283819/

Quote from: thought on February 07, 2011, 06:07:49 PM
the issue is more that all helmets are designed to crush themselves to dissipate the amount of force transferred to your head... this means that they are all designed to break in a certain manner from the start.  a 3 foot fall could have already started some stress fractures/damage into the shell that would then fail disastrously in the event you actually need it's protection.

to get an idea of that kind of damage might have been done... imagine a 5 lb weight dropped from around 3 feet... the amount of kinetic energy that it would have developed isnt inconsequential.

Helmets are made of a plastic/fiberglass/carbon fiber shell around an EPS foam form with a fabric lining.

That's it.

If the helmet was empty and fell from that height, I wouldn't worry. Even if it landed on concrete. It would not have developed enough momentum to bruise the shock-absorbing styrofoam enough to warrant concern.

REQUIRED READING: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

Of more concern to me would be the random crap that fell from the poorly-crafted shelves the helmet was sitting on. Landing on the floor might not have damaged the helmet, but the cast bronze bust of Shakespeare falling from 6+ ft landing on TOP of the helmet would give me pause.

Side note: if you have a friend who happens to be an x-ray tech, or know someone who works airport security, you should lean hard on them to take a look at your helmet. Worst case, play the "aren't you concerned about my safety?" card.

The helmet fell on a wood floor.  But as was mentioned by others, I am also concerned about the crap that fell on to it.

Quotebeing unsure of something can drive you nuts until you are satisfied it's ok or right

- my feeling exactly here, I just don't know if I ever will be able to know for sure and trust it.

Thanks for the video! it pretty much answers my question...taking into consideration what the Arai rep said about falls, I think that the fall couldn't have been enough to damage it - but the fear of it still remains. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear the rep say anything about whether or not they will test helmets that people sent in.  Since I have an Arai helmet, Ill be calling them this week to express my concerns and see what can be done.

At this point, I guess it comes down to how much hassle is your piece of mind worth. I'd wager that your helmet is fine, unless that bronze bust of Shakespeare did fall on it.... But if sending it in will let you sleep at night, then send it off

Maybe you should just take the helmet outside and bust it up reall good with the car or something.  Buy a new one for riding and hang the old one on the wall as a rite of passage... "There I was, just riding along, when this bookshelf came out of nowhere!".  

just googled and found this for you:

http://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47358

"Like many of you I worry whether or not my helmet has maintained it's integrity after any kind of an impact.

My first ARAI dropped out of my hand in a concrete parking lot and fell about 4 feet to the ground. I went to my dealership and they told me the helmet was toast, cut the straps of it and sold me a new one.

Well that always sort of bugged me and I the more I read the more I wondered if that was a fair assessment of my helmet (was it in fact toast)

The post on here last fall about problems with ARAI gave me the phone number in the US to call. I wanted to see what I could do with 2 other Arai's helmets that were peprhaps damaged or getting worn out. I just hated to throw them out and yet I was unsure whther or not to use them

Helmet One was a Quatum F with 2 years of riding and had had a few garage drops etc. Mileage on helmet maybe 20,000 km

Helmet 2 was a newer Quatum F Okado with about 5000 km on it. This helmet was on my head when I was hit and low sided at Laguna Seca totalling my bike and knocking me out for a second and cracking my front tooth. The helmet was not marked at all but had that "throw me out feeling" lingering over it.

I contacted ARAI and was given shipping instructions to send the helmets back for testing and review along with $10.00 US per helmet for the cost of inspection.

This process took about 3 weeks ( Daytona Race Week was in the middle of this) and all the tech people were at the races.

The result, both my helmets came back certified safe to use and that there was no damage to either of them.

They also cleaned them up, replaced worn parts and did a full warranty inspection.

That was $20.00 well spent."

seems that you'll prob have no issues at all with them checking it out and it'll probably be fine.

Quote from: Sad Panda on February 08, 2011, 12:04:59 PM
At this point, I guess it comes down to how much hassle is your piece of mind worth. I'd wager that your helmet is fine, unless that bronze bust of Shakespeare did fall on it.... But if sending it in will let you sleep at night, then send it off

That Shakespeare bust will be the end of me...

Thanks for the thought...Thought!  I will definately be doing this now bc I really can't afford another helmet...let alone another bookshelf....

Ill post the results...

All,

Thanks for the great info and video link...you saved me $500 bones!  My helmet recently slid off the tank and hit the floor (stupid me for placing it there)!  The dealer tried talking me into purchasing another new helmet, "mis"informing me that once it's dropped from any height, it's safety and structure are compromised.  I don't believe he was intentionally misleading me, but shows how much bad information is out there...even from trusted sources.  Thanks again!