Life of a helmet??

 > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
 > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
 > how long do they last?

One bounce off a concrete road ...

Lynn<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Frank wrote:
 > Up until I "retired" in '95 we taught 5 years as a rule of thumb in our
 > MSF classes. I don't know if that's changed, but I still replace mine
 > at 5 year intervals.
 >
What is it that wears out in a hat according to the MSF?<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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 >> Stay informed about: Life of a helmet?? 

Paul Cassel wrote in

 > What is it that wears out in a hat according to the MSF?


I don't know about what the MSF says, but wear and UV light take
their toll on the components of a helmet, especially one that is
used a lot.

Also, even in crash helmets there are advances in technology, so
up-dating a well-used helmet every five years is a good move.


--
Allan Kirk,
Megarider Organisation,
(Saving motorcyclists' lives since 1971 )
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.megarider.com" target="_blank">www.megarider.com</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Paul Cassel" <pcasselplustwo.DeleteThis@comcast.net> wrote

 > What is it that wears out in a hat according to the MSF?

Dunno about the MSF, but when I dug out an old 1970s Bell that I'd forgotten
I owned, the inner (soft) lining foam had hardened and become very brittle.
You could crush it to powder with the pressure of your fingers. (That hat
had been in my garage for over 20 years, so it's an extreme example, but
there's no doubt that time and environmental conditions *do* have a
degrading effect.)
Exactly when your hat has lost enough of it's impact protection to become
dangerous is an open question, but I'd suggest erring on the side of safety
and replacing it when the manufacturer suggests that you do so... How much
is your head worth?

Pete<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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<Jwats612.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1113250206.621628.158070@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
 > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
 > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
 > how long do they last?
 > thanks
 > John
 >
My 3/4 face helmet was manufactured in 1968. Works great. Of course, I
ain't bounced off no curbs either.

Joe<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On 11 Apr 2005 13:10:06 -0700, Jwats612 RemoveThis @hotmail.com wrote:

 >My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
 >it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
 >how long do they last?
 >thanks
 >John

You can go to the Shoei website and select contact. You can then either email
or phone them with your question.
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.shoei.com" target="_blank">www.shoei.com</a>

You might want to specify which foam are you talking about; the stuff in the
soft padding or the EPS (hard foam that lines the helmet shell).

Ben<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Joe727" <nospam RemoveThis @nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:AOF6e.38888$Pc.8263@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
 > <Jwats612 RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:1113250206.621628.158070@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
  > > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
  > > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
  > > how long do they last?
  > > thanks
  > > John
  > >
 > My 3/4 face helmet was manufactured in 1968. Works great. Of course, I
 > ain't bounced off no curbs either.

Yeah Joe.. but.. you ain't stylin'... <grin>
 >
 > Joe
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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In article <1113250206.621628.158070 RemoveThis @g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
Jwats612 RemoveThis @hotmail.com wrote:

 > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
 > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
 > how long do they last?
 > thanks
 > John

Read the chin strap. 5 years is about time to replace it.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Life of a helmet?? 

In article <YuqdnaC1-YCRZ8ffRVn-sg DeleteThis @comcast.com>,
Paul Cassel <pcasselplustwo DeleteThis @comcast.net> wrote:

 > Frank wrote:
  > > Up until I "retired" in '95 we taught 5 years as a rule of thumb in our
  > > MSF classes. I don't know if that's changed, but I still replace mine
  > > at 5 year intervals.
  > >
 > What is it that wears out in a hat according to the MSF?

Chemical action of sweat can degrade the EPS layer on the inside; UV can degrade
the hard outer shell. Mechanical action of your head pressing on the EPS layer
can crush it slowly over the years.

I don't know if Snell has done testing of old helmets to see how they stand up.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Life of a helmet?? 

In article <AOF6e.38888$Pc.8263@tornado.tampabay.rr.com>,
"Joe727" <nospam RemoveThis @nospam.nospam> wrote:

 > <Jwats612 RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
 > news:1113250206.621628.158070@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
  > > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
  > > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
  > > how long do they last?
  > > thanks
  > > John
  > >
 > My 3/4 face helmet was manufactured in 1968. Works great. Of course, I
 > ain't bounced off no curbs either.

Uh ... 37 years of progress in helmet technology is an excellent reason to
replace it.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Life of a helmet?? 

Not much to add to the answers already given. Both the shell and the
EPS liner begin to degrade from day one, but I'd replace mine every few
years just for the new technology. Joe, you say your 37 year old
helmet "works great", but you never really know until you put it to the
test.

I won't even sell my used helmets; I destroy them and throw them away.
 >> Stay informed about: Life of a helmet?? 

<Jwats612 DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1113250206.621628.158070@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
 > My Shoei helmet is about 5 yrs old and foam does not have the firmness
 > it did earlier. Should it be replaced for safety reasons?
 > how long do they last?
 > thanks
 > John
 >

The people who sell helmets tell you to get a new one every two years, so I
expect they're good for twice that, but five is too long for me. The sun attacks
helmet shells the same as everything else, so I'd go by how much time you spend
in the saddle. My KBC has a lot of chips out of it, so I'm thinking of a new one
after about 18 months.

Reassembler<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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