It is hard to put in numbers. But essentially awareness about brain injuries (concussion etc) wasn’t there before.
E.g. 5 years ago, snell was regarded the gold standard. Today I would advise against a snell rated helmet. They focus on structural integrity in a point-force impact. An unlikely scenario. No regards to what happens to your brain inside the helmet.
In the last 5 years, some manufacturers have started developing methods to also manage low speed and rotational forces that won’t break your skull but damage your brain.
6D was a pioneer in the area, and I still think their tech seems most trustworthy. Watch few of their videos on YouTube, highly recommend!
MIPS is the most marketing/sales successful tech that has made it into most helmets today. It is however one of the least effective ones out there. It may be better than nothing, but I think it’s best suited for sub $100 pedal-bike helmets (like the Troy Lee Designs A1 that I use on my pedal-bike). If you are ready to spend a bit more for your brain, get something advanced, like 6D’s ODS.
But in the end, you have to make up your own mind. Issue is that there are yet no standards that actually benefit the consumer more than the big manufacturers. Each manufacturer has their own incentives of selling their old helmets, or selling their own new tech. So, you have to take everything with a grain of salt.
A positive outlook is the FIM cert. it’s the first certification that serves is users more than the manufacturers - in fact existing certifiers hate it, because they actually provide transparency. It only exists for Moto race for now, but will come to MX soon. It is a model that we could copy for Esk8 races, too. That would push manufacturers to develop helmets that would suit our purpose.
A topic which I have not found an answer to yet is, whether Downhill bike or Motocross helmets are best suited for our application. If anyone has some insight, please comment!
MIPS has a 2.0 also, but only in some helmets. For as many arguments for it, there are against it (read: manufacturers have agendas and bias). The MIPS guys do have research to prove it works though, but then what did you expect of the Swedes?
Example of a Helmet with MIPS 2.0 (called MIPS Spherical), I didn’t get this helmet because I have trust issues with removable chin-bars, but @drone001 can provide some feedback as he has one.
so far so good. thx to God I have not had the opportunity to test MIPS fully. I to had concerns about the removable chin bar but this helmet feels solid. a wall caught the lower part of the helmet one day…not hard I wasn’t going very fast but the helmet felt real solid along the chin bar portion. when I was hit and thrown to the ground I must admit I didn’t’ feel that brain jarring feeling with this helmet…felt weird almost like a solid water bed if that makes sense.
I’ve got a small collection of helmets for various conditions that I’m very happy with.
Bern Watts
Demon Podium
TSG Pass
Ruroc RG1DX (never used)
And recently scored two new “Bell MX-9 MIPS Twitch Replica” helmets on eBay for me and my son for $70 and $35 respectively (MSRP $190), so I’m quite stoked on that! This is the only motorcycle helmet in my collection and the helmet foam is literally twice as thick as my other helmets, so this will probably be my new choice for speed runs.
Sweet. Got excited seeing that discount from your post. Exactly the price bracket I am looking for. Xmoto exists in Sweden also, but the pricing is different here. And I could not find my size on any of the designs I like.
Oops, when I said Xmoto I actually meant XL Moto. I think the white one you picked looks sick, but the discount is not as steep in the SE Store, it is 135 eur here (still a decent price) but for me at 115 eur it is a no brainer. At 135 perhaps your review could sway me one way or another
Went browsing on the XL Moto website though, and I might still be able to find something worthy of smashing buy quickly, lots of options there for good prices.
Oh damn it’s my turn to miss your message
So my head is 56.4 and small fits! It’s a tad tight but the pads will soften over time. Go out there and buy one if they are still available!
I have not seen any on sale since sadly that’s okay. I will keep looking for local deals until something nice pops up around ~150 or less. Motorcycle season is right around the corner, and Covid will surely give a lot of sales.
Currently trying on these three helmet for fitting and comfort. So far the Troy Lee Designs (left) helmet has been my favorite for comfort, but it’s the most expensive of the 3. I really like that it’s got such a open design for good air flow and that your ears are accesible with the helmet on. I can have an earbud in one ear and take it out/pause the music without removing the helmet.
The MIPS system is present in all 3, but the Bell Super DH (middle) has the MIPS Spherical in it, which is basically a low friction layer that’s beefier than the standard MIPS E2.
I was really hoping that I would like the Bell Super DH more, but the shallow chinbar makes it feel a bit too constricting for my liking. Also, the Bell Super DH was the only helmet to come with messed up pads that were out of place and the only one that uses rubber stickers to keep its pads in place, so it definitely didn’t give me a good first impression. The TLD Stage has a button system for its pads and the 661 Reset doesn’t have removeable pads at all.
The 661 Reset MIPS (right) is definitely a solid helmet, and the most reasonably priced of the 3, but it definitely is lacking in overall comfort and breathability. That’s the main reason I started looking at these other two helmets. It’s summertime and I’d like a helmet that’s not gonna make me sweat uncontrollably every time I use it.
I have also ordered a Fox Rampage Pro Carbon which is on its way. It was on sale for 31% off and I couldn’t resist getting it to at least try it on. I’ll probably be sending back the Bell Super DH soon which is a bummer since it was honestly a pretty good deal for Norway (approx $230 including shipping).
Oh yea, all these helmets are the largest variant possible for each. My head is pretty big (61.5 - 62cm) so that also played a part in my decision since the Bell Super DH is a little on the small side even with the smaller cheek pads.
that’s okay. I will keep looking for local deals until something nice pops up around ~150 or less. Motorcycle season is right around the corner, and Covid will surely give a lot of sales.
