Would you buy or use a used helmet, or get a new one?

[primal]

Originally Posted by adrianinflorida

That statement is a bit misleading. Most racing helmets legal for use in Europe under FIA regulations are SNELL rated as well as being rated by the wuropean organizations. Arai, Scheuberth (The current favorite among F1 drivers, actually the "spec" helemet in F1 for a season or two, until the other Helmet manufacturers complained and were allowed to submit thier helmets for approval)Stand 21 and others have SNELL ratings as well as Euro ssafety ratings.

That may be so, but I remember reading (and of course, I can't find the article anywhere) that the big name helmet manufacturers (Shoei, Arai, etc etc) actually manufacture their European helmets to the ECE standard instead of the SNELL standard. *shrugs*

[alantf]

The only markings I can find on my European Airoh "TopOne" 3/4 are a circle with E3 inside, & under that is the code 0558925/J_ 159322

This means absolutely nothing to me.

[adrianinflorida]

Originally Posted by primal

That may be so, but I remember reading (and of course, I can't find the article anywhere) that the big name helmet manufacturers (Shoei, Arai, etc etc) actually manufacture their European helmets to the ECE standard instead of the SNELL standard. *shrugs*

That's correct, for the most part, as far as their non-racing helmets go. Anything that's going to be raced will have SNELL and FIA ratings to get the driver through tech incepction. How much safer is a Shoei that is DOT/ECE rated vs a Shoei with SNELL/FIA rating? probably a bit, but not noticeably so. The big difference cones between brands, and whether the shell is made from fiberglass, pol, carbon, kevlar, etc. The fiberglass lids seem to prect the 'least', comparatively speaking, and the composites the 'best', as long as there is a decent, sound desgin to the foam inner helmet and padded liner to back it up. The R&D that goes into the design is where the big name manufacturers pull aheadm, and why they can charge more.