Guide to buying a motorcycle helmet
Contrary to popular belief, buying a motorcycle helmet doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. Nor does it need to be particularly stressful. Instead, it’s simply a case of targeting your search as strategically as possible.
For example, if looking for the very best discount helmets for motorcycles, buying online comes highly recommended. Web retailers typically offer the kinds of discounts you simply won’t find elsewhere.
Aside from this, all that’s left is to ensure that the helmet is sufficiently safe and the perfect fit for your head.
Safety Regulations
Before even thinking about donning a helmet, you need to ensure that the helmet in question has been sufficiently safety tested. Regardless of how epic it may look, helmets are of zero use if they don’t comply with all required safety regulations. If you aren’t already familiar with the SHARP rating system, this is something you should be looking up first of all. Every helmet sold legally in the United Kingdom must have either a British Standard 6658: 1985 mark or an ECE Regulation 22.05. SHARP safety ratings also vary from 1 to 5 – the higher, the better. If there’s no indication as to its safety rating, it isn’t the kind of helmet you should be interesting with your health and safety.
The Perfect Fit
One of the biggest problems that accompany buying a motorcycle helmet is the way in which every head is a different shape and size. Something that makes shopping online for motorcycle helmets slightly more complex. As you cannot physically try it on, you need to ensure that the retailer in question has a fair and flexible returns policy. After all, their idea of extra-large motorcycle helmets may not be large enough to accommodate your oversized bonce! Don’t buy anything without ensuring you can send it back or exchange it, should it prove to be an imperfect fit.
The Visor
If the helmet features a visor, pay careful attention to its build quality and level of tint. Tint levels of up to 50% are available, but it’s worth factoring in how heavier tint means more difficult (or even impossible) riding outside daylight hours. If you plan on riding your bike at night, you need a visor that’s as clear and bright as can be.
Say ‘No’ To Second Hand
Last but not least, while it’s always tempting to make savings where available, jeopardizing your health and safety isn’t a good idea. Unfortunately, this is exactly what you’ll be doing if you pick up a second-hand helmet. The problem being that even when a used helmet looks the part, you have absolutely no idea as to its structural integrity beneath the surface. It may have been exposed to the kind of treatment that means a single knock could be enough for it to fall apart. Something you don’t want to find out at the worst possible time. Unless the helmet is brand new and guaranteed, it isn’t a helmet to entrust with your life.