Opinions?

[Micdalen]

I recently got into a heavy discussion with girlfriend over a helmet that was dropped and heavily scratched. Since I have been little always been told if it hits the ground with enough force to scratch it, trash it. She thinks that is foolish. Actually turned into a heated discussion when she saw the prices of some of the helmets I was looking at. More or less discussion was dropped, when I told her she wouldn't drive to town with defective brakes would she.

What brings this up, is tonight son's helmet got deeply scratched, and I told him he wasn't gonna be riding till a new lid went on his head. "No, son of mine is gonna be out on a bike with a scratched helmet!" , my final remark.

Does this sound unreasonable? or am I superstitous.

[Wingspan]

Depending on the helmet, you can send it back to the manufacturer and they'll tell you if it's still usable.

[md86]

Yeah , alot of times they'll x-ray it or something . Worth looking into .

[Micdalen]

The little weasel turning the house upside down looking for the paperwork that came with his helmet. That may be the route for him. Me I'm gonna stick with the route of a new helmet, even is to rub gf's nose in it.

[Anonymous]

Well, it's obvious your way is much safer. She's just being cheap....which is fine, except that it's your noggin.

[Jax]

You'd be better off getting a cheap DOT approved helmet than take your chances with one that has been dropped like you said...don't know if you looked at Dennis Kirk outlet but they have a ton of helmets on sale and you may be able to get a quality helmet for both of you cheap...just my .02..

[WildKat]

Yeah I'd be concerned atleast alittle about the structural integrity of the helmet. They are made to withstandt he initial impact and spread out the force of the blow to minimize the trauma to your head. That MAY have been compromised now depending on how hard it was dropped, etc. But if its bad enough to put some deep scratches in it, depending on the quality of the helmet to begin with..I'd check into it.

[BraadaJim]

Liners are made to sustain one impact. Shells are designed to sustain one impact. My line of thinking is the same as your yours. If it hits hard enough to damage the shell, head inside or not, then it's done.
If it was a really expensive helmet then I might send it in for testing if the damage was only minor but there are a lot of low cost helmets on the market and clearance sales going all over the place.

[Jbird2200]

Yeah, i would agree with your opinion. If your lookin for a cheap, but safe helmet, read the reviews for the Z1R, It retails for less than $100, might not be the most comforatble thing in the world, or the quietest, but it will keep the juicy parts inside your skull.