Dirt cheap helmets are everywhere you can buy helmets for 100$ or even lower but there are consequences those helmets are usually labeled as they have an ESP which is great and not great as well.
A helmet that says Esp means they are one-time use you got hit the helmet is cracked you need to change the helmet because the next it will not be the helmet that may crack. so I strongly advise you not to cheap out on helmets, they are responsible for protecting the most important and vulnerable part of your body aka your head.
Here’s why I say what I say if you buy a cheap helmet and you get it there can be an unnoticeable crack in the helmet which can be a sure ticket to a hospital bill of 3000$ if you are lucky, you may wanna pin it on the manufacturer but they say in advance that its one-time use only but we tend to not remember that in excitement or sheer laziness.
Here is a case scenario on buying a dirt-cheap helmet.
You bought a dirt-cheap hamlet that has good looks and looks sturdy too but it is one-time use so if by an unseen accident you would lose your investment and your holiday to ride because most of us are weekend worriers.
There are many parameters that I usually check before buying a helmet I will add an extra few so you can have ease choosing what you are looking for.
- Balance in price and quality
- ventilation
- easily removable face mask
- visibility
- warranty
- weight
- Go pro mount able
- security
- easily available parts on markets
- style
These are the major things for me almost all of the helmet manufacturers provide extra padding and almost all of them are size adjustable.
POC- Coron Air Spin (MY Favorite):
I like POC Coron air spin because of its unique features here’s what I like the most this helmet has great ventilation which is a crucial yes or no for my next thing if they are detachable, they easy to mount go pro on, next is the visibility I think the biggest I like to be aware of surroundings while the full-face helmets are not great at that but I am thankful for the extra safety features so I compromise on some aspects.
But all of them aside there are two main features that distinguish it from all of the others the first one is the
FPP :
Unlike the traditional Fsp lined which means after you are involved in an accident, the manufacturer says to replace the helmet which we should do no matter if it’s cheap or expensive, but it has FPP lining meaning it can take a beating but that doesn’t mean you need not to worry no matter how big of an accident it is, even if this helmet is cracked I suggest that change it immediately but as I said it can handle a beating since it has FPP lining which just puts my mind at ease.
The other thing is the price for value and this helmet is just at that I love the price for the value for so many features the price is on the spot it can’t go lower than that.
But there are cons and the biggest one for me is the weight. the helmet weighs around 1.24kg or 2.7 pounds I had loved it if it was a little light but considering all the specs that it compensates for.
Moving on we have BELL Super 3R MIPS the reason for choosing this helmet is mainly because of the manufacturer.
BELL Super 3R MIPS :
Bell has been a leading brand in constructing top-quality helmets for motocross and mountain biking and they have been in business for decades just goes to show how much trust they have built-in those years in their products and still today they are one of the best brands out there.
The helmet itself is a very good product by them its MIPs cleared that is very ensuring and has all the good qualities that a normal and a professional mountain biker seeks in a good helmet.
It has a removable face mask, good ventilation, and Mips and it comes in multiple sizes S/M/L
Cons :
A bit overpriced for the value
bad for multiple impacts
weighs around 2.95 Pounds
But for the reason, I listed it here this thing is perfect for aggressive riders unlike the POC air con which is good for the lighter riders but if you go all out on DH then this helmet will serve you the best. It’s bad for multiple impacts that sort of turns me down but if you are all about rocking it hard this is your kind of thing.
Fox PROFRAME :
This list would be incomplete without this beauty proframe is an exceptionally good helmet, unlike other helmets it has 24 vents meaning exceptionally good ventilation the has Mips that provides extra security and is very lightweight weighing only about 750g only is a very big factor for the full face helmets and its the lightest helmet of the above too.
Just like bell Fox is a very good brand its products are highly reliable and the quality is well appreciated as well. and this helmet is just the right value for the money.
Cons :
Esp lined meaning not good for multiple impacts
Fixed visor
Cautions to save money and time :
all of the qualities that I mentioned above are very necessary but there are some that are just neglected in the beginning and later you just wish for more.
Style: a good style for a helmet is as necessary as the ventilation you see you can buy an ugly helmet saying the security matters but later on when you have actually worn it for quite some time you just start wishing there could be a way to dump it and the most of the time the reason is a style rather than anything else, so my best advice for you would choose a good style so you grow to love it not avoid it.
Camera mount: a lot of the riders do not read the camera compatibility with the helmet only to realize later how important it was there are helmets you can get for the same amount of money but some of them offer the feature and some don’t so when buying a helmet check if it is compatible with a camera another reason is if you wanted to make videos of yourself to improve your riding style this is the most efficient way to do it and maybe along the road you may think you needed it but you forgot to check it supports the camera or not.
Ease of taking the helmet on and off: this is a very important thing to remember always make sure you buy the exact size for yourself do not make random guesses because the helmet could be smaller or bigger and you would round up very irritated by it, it takes just a few seconds to measure your head and always make sure to take measurements before buying a helmet.
Taking measurements: you can easily take measurements of your head by wrapping a tape around your head and always remember to take and record measurements in cm because it is the scale most manufacturers use.
Checking standard sizes S/M/L: another good point to remember is to check the size measurements when you are buying a helmet for the second time you could have bought your first helmet in a small size which is around 52-56 cm but that value is not the same for all manufacturers so always make sure you check that value and then proceed to your purchase.