Helmet Differences

[Desmostro]

Price can = design refinement. Just got the new $600. AGV GP Tech and so far I'm really glad   
I originally didn't want to spend anywhere near this much but bit the bullet after really looking hard.


What the $$$ get’s you in AGV

A helmet that fits you perfectly with less give in the material is the ideal. Not a soft squishy helmet liner. Those are cheap “comfort” helmets. You don’t want any gaps because that’s traveling distance between your head and the pads. If your head is traveling inside your helmet, your helmet will “hit” you and bounce repeatedly, instead of just absorbing a blow.

Some higher end helmets tend to fit fewer types of heads. Lower end helmets tend to be more “comfortable” - soft and squishy inside to fit many more types of heads which is a compromise in safety. But they get to sell way more of them because they're more generic. So they cost less.

Carbon Kevlar shell = Super light super strong no skimping shell.
Weighs 1/4 less than my high end Shoei, Bell, or my low end Scorpion.
Lot of Vents:  Because the material is so strong they could many more many vents. Cheap helmets make me suffer from heat.
10 vents in back
6 in front
1mm Visor lifter to open visor a crack â€" my favorite thing
Nose protector vents inside to de-fog
It feels like an open face helmet there's so much air moving through it.

Plus all the vents in front have really nice secure sliders to open them. My Scorpion helmet vents are falling apart and don’t work anymore after 2 years.
Design details inside with hypo allergenic materials, all removable, washable, replaceable

I counted 6 different types of materials doing specific jobs inside verses 1 uniform material in my other helmets. More expensive materials inside that will last longer and are better at dispersing heat, moisture wicking etc.

Lastly, design details are a big deal to me because I’m a designer-geek, but maybe that’s just me.

After doing a lot of studying of the different tests, I trusted the ECE and the new British SHARP tests the most. They seem to be way more stringent and actually go to the factory and do random test, where DOT and SNELL do not. This helmet is SHAPR, ECE, & DOT approved.

[Desmostro]

PS. I just lived the famous example of the ECE rating system argument. I had a 20MPH get-off when a dumb-ass turned left in front of me in heavy traffic.
I low-sided instead of embedding into her door/grill.

I smacked my head good on the pavement with my SNELL/DOT helmet and saw stars. I had a headache for a week.

I kind of got extremely interested in this topic afterward.
My advise, you DO NOT want an open faced helmet.

[erkishhorde]

Open face should never really be an option IMO. I don't think you'll really care how your head feels if you don't have a nose anymore and the rest of your face is unrecognizeable.

Privateer has it right on. I woulda written more like what he wrote but I was feeling lazy. The different helmet ratings are designed for different things. I don't think you can get a SNELL helmet that isn't DOT approved though. Also, most of the higher end helmets from the main namebrands are SNELL rated and you can't get them any other way so the choice kinda goes out the window there if you want all the comfort features from those helmets.

I remember reading that the flip-face helmets aren't safe though. They're rated as open-face helmets so most big accidents where you hit face first leave the flip portion destroyed. I've heard of people getting serious head injury due to the flip mechanism transferring too much force to their temples.

Good to see you're happy with your choice of lid. Mind if I ask why you were riding w/o the cheek pads in though? That doesn't make sense to me. You need the snug fit of the helmet to make it work the way it's supposed to.

[Bun-bun]

Excellent thread, folks, taught me a lot.
I have an Icon Mainframe with the rubber coating on the exterior. I've had it for a year now, and it still looks new and fits tightly.
Two things come to mind on this topic:
1) My local autocross group mandates SNELL approval for anyone on track (including passengers).
2) My first motorcycle wreck involved my helmeted head hitting a mailbox at about 20mph, and resulted in a small cut to my chin from the helmet strap (and the purchase of a new helmet). There may not be any bumpers or mailboxes at the track, but the street has more than enough of both.

[Raux]

i think the one thing the thing manufactueres need to look at is the chin strap. the military went to a new strap system that really works.