In order to end up with the motorcycle helmet best suited to your needs, you have to clearly understand what you are looking for and what options are available to you. This is done by researching in two areas.
Firstly, you research the market to find out what kinds of motorcycle helmets are available, familiarizing yourself with the different features, styles and price ranges etc. Secondly, you examine your own unique requirements in a motorcycle helmet.
Research the market: Helmet essentials
The first part of the research step is to investigate just what's available in the motorcycle helmet market. The range of options can seem daunting, but you can make a good start by understanding the following major features:
Full Coverage or Full-Face: Full coverage (or full-face, as they are often called) helmets completely cover your head and face. Usually they have a flip-up shield that offers protection against the wind and elements. Ventilation is also a must on this design, and each manufacturer tackles that challenge in a different way. Contrary to popular belief, full coverage helmets do not interfere with peripheral vision.
Open-Faced: Open-faced helmets are just what they sound like - helmets that do not cover your face in any way. For riders that enjoy a more classical look or want to feel the rush of the wind, an open-faced helmet might be ideal. These helmets generally do not have additional ventilation devices - they aren't necessary on this design.
Half-Helmet: Looking a great deal like the above open-faced helmet, the half-helmet offers less coverage and a lighter weight. It shares all other attributes with the open-faced helmet.
Shorty Helmet: Especially popular with the long-distance touring and cruising riders, this helmet comes in a vast variety of styles and colours. Shorty helmets offer even less head coverage than the half-helmet design.
Motocross Helmet: If you've ever seen dirt-bike or BMX bike racing, you've probably seen a lot of these. They provide a large amount of head coverage, but not all of them include a face-shield. Motocross helmets tend to have an elongated design allowing plenty of room in front of your chin and forehead.
Novelty Helmets: While not always appropriate or even legal, there are a wide assortment of novelty helmets available. Some of them are simply decorative and offer little to no protection, while others are fully endorsed by major safety associations. Most novelty helmets follow the shorty helmet design philosophy, but may not include chin straps, and will favour zany color configurations. If you're looking for something unique and unusual, you can probably find it in the novelty section.
Research your needs: Questions to ask yourself
Now it's time to determine what your requirements are in a motorcycle helmet. For example, will you use the motorcycle helmet only for occasional trail riding or do you use your bike to commute to work?
You can start this process by considering the following questions - as well as any others you think of yourself - and recording your answers.
| Have I used a motorcycle helmet before? |
| | If you have used a motorcycle helmet, work out what you did or didn't like about the motorcycle helmet. You may be looking for one exactly like it, hoping to upgrade, or even trying to avoid any particular features that you found inconvenient. |
| What kind of riding do I do? |
| | If you use your bike on the road you will have to consider legal requirements as well as personal comfort and taste. If you compete in bike trials or motocross your helmet may have to conform to association rules. |
| What shape is my head? |
| | It sounds like a strange question, but the shape of your head is important when you're helmet shopping. Helmets have different sizes, but they also have different shapes. |
| Will this helmet meet legal requirements in my area? |
| | Some regions have laws demanding a certain level of certification in order to deem a helmet legal for motorcycle use. |
| How much can I afford? |
| | Your perfect helmet might not be cheap. Get an idea of what you are willing to spend and hold onto that figure. |
| Do I know my head size? |
| | Every manufacturer sizes helmets using the same measurement systems, but each size is slightly different from one manufacturer to another. The best way to determine if a helmet fits is to try it on - you can't tell by trying on a helmet from a different manufacturer. |
Understanding your needs is the key to a successful purchase and you can revisit your list of needs at any time during the buying process.
Once you complete this Research step, having informed yourself about the essentials of motorcycle helmets and identified your needs, you are ready to move on to the next step: Evaluation.
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