Protect Your Head Part 2: Confusion About Snell M2010

If you saw my recent review of the Arai Profile, you know part of the reason I purchased a new helmet was to get one that was compliant with the new Snell M2010 safety standard.  Snell’s own website lists the Arai Profile as M2010 certified so I was confident that’s exactly what I was getting when I ordered it.  It wasn’t as clear cut as I had hoped.

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Arai Profile Review

Arai Profile in Riptide Silver

Updated 4/23/10 (notes at bottom)

After four years with my trusty Shoei X-Eleven and the new Snell M2010 standard in full effect, I finally felt justified in buying a new helmet.  It’s a big deal for me since I’m not the gear hoarder that some of my riding buddies are.  I could have extended the life of my X-Eleven by just replacing the flattened cheek pads, but it’s a good idea to replace helmets every few years anyway and more importantly I wanted a helmet that was either Snell M2010* or ECE 22.05 compliant.  Enter the Arai Profile.

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SuperSkin Helmet Claims Reduced Head Rotation in Crashes

IDC has developed an intriguing new helmet technology designed to minimize helmet impact friction and the subsequent trauma-inducing head rotations that occur during certain types of motorcycle accidents.  Basically the helmet is designed to slide instead of grip upon impact.  You can buy one of these later this year under the Lazer brand; check the links for more info.

via Fast Company
source: IDC

Buyer’s Guide: Where to Buy Motorcycle Gear Online

If you’re new to motorcycle riding, picking out your riding gear is the most fun you’ll have apart from buying your first bike.  The only problem is figuring out the who, what and where.  I distinctly remember how clueless I felt when it came time for me to buy my first batch of gear.  Hopefully I can shed some light on the subject for you and help point you in the right direction.

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Shoei X11 Review

Shoei X11
Shoei X11

 

This is an updated post of my original Shoei X11 review back in April of 2006.  I’m reposting it because Shoei recently released the X11’s successor, the X12, and right now you can get an X11 for a pretty good price.  Well, a relatively good price anyway as this was Shoei’s top of the line helmet.  Anyway, here’s the review.

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Protect Your Head: The Snell M2010 Helmet Standard

helmet

Look at the back of most full-face helmets sold in the U.S. today and you’re likely to see a SNELL logo sticker.  It means the helmet meets or exceeds the Snell Memorial Foundation’s standards for motorcycle helmets.  Here’s a snippet from their (terribly outdated) web site, www.smf.org:

In order to continuously monitor the quality of helmets being sold to the public, Snell purchases and tests samples of currently certified helmets from the marketplace. These helmets are tested only in Snell labs by Snell technicians. Should a currently certified helmet fail, the helmet manufacturer must take corrective action to Snell’s satisfaction.

In other words, if you make a helmet and want to have that Snell logo on the back so you can tell potential buyers that your helmet is Snell certified (and presumably safer than one that isn’t), your helmet has to pass Snell’s tests.  In the American motorcycling community, seeing the Snell logo on the back of a helmet is generally accepted as a good thing.

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