After I broke my neck/back almost 5 years ago, and since I had plenty of time to read up
, I did a lot of research on the different helmet standards.
I came away with the belief that the ECE standard was the best for me. SNELL was great for street bikes but those exact same testing standards were applied to dirt bike helmets which our crashes tend to be considerably different. This made helmets with the SNELL rating transfer too much energy to the head/brain in our typical crashes at much slower speeds.
About DOT, it's kind of funny but I came away with a much better appreciation of the DOT standard. It seemed to be way better than SNELL with our types of crashes. IMO, DOT would be considerably better than SNELL for most dirt bikers and I will choose it over SNELL any day. Matter of fact, the helmet that I credit with protecting my head from a more serious TBI when I broke my neck/back was a DOT rated Kali Shiva 2.0. Yes, I still ended up with a concussion but I have no permanent brain damage and I'm still able to ride dirt bikes! It was a very nasty crash, a head on with another rider, with an impact speed estimated above 45mph. I would have bought another one if the ventilation was better.
That all said, the ECE rated helmets, and I do mean ECE only and not the combo DOT/ECE rated ones, seemed to fall somewhere in the middle with a more real world testing regimen that required lower energy to be transferred to the user in the event of a crash. Plus, they tend to be way lighter than any of the DOT or DOT/ECE rated helmets which is important when you think about energy transfer in a crash. Another plus is that most ECE only rated helmets tend to have a smaller shell size than SNELL rated ones which helps reduce rotational energy transfer and, when combined with something like MIPS, can make a real difference in reducing your chance of serious injury.
Cheap versus expensive helmet makes no difference to me. I go purely by safety features, some comfort/use features, and the helmet's rating.
On the 5 year rule, I agree with it and follow it. I know it's different where I live than most places but the UV here destroys anything and everything it seems. Plastics become brittle and crumble rather quickly here. Plus, lots of adhesives are not UV stable so they begin to breakdown when exposed to it. Just as an example, this past Monday we saw a plastic clothes pin we missed collecting after our race last March. When trying to un-clip it from the tree it just crumbled away and it was brand new when put there. Plus, the foam liners start sacking out/showing significant wear about 5 years in so another good reason to replace as now the fitment of the helmet isn't what it should be and thereby reducing safety. I also ride a lot, as evidenced by my ride video topic, so I put a lot of hours on my helmets each year contributing to their wear and tear but I know that's not the case with all riders. The last good reason to replace your helmet at 5 years is... it's just cool to get new gear!
Ok, I'll shut up now. I can talk helmets and their ratings for hours!