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SirFuego
05-07-2009, 10:21 AM
So the local raceway has some land they have set aside for a very small offroad park (40ish acres). They currently have mud pits set up for mud races, but they got sponsorship from Aussie Locker to put in a big rock garden and will start holding some crawling competitions using WERock and RCRocs as a basis for the rules.

Anyways, I plan to compete along with a bunch of my friends this summer -- so I need to get a helmet. From my understanding, any DOT helmet is sufficient.

I'm looking at 3/4 open face helmets. I like the side protection of the 3/4 helmet, but it shouldn't hinder visibility at all -- so that's why I'm leaning towards that.

For those that have competed, what do you recommend? Do brand names tend to greatly exceed DOT standards?

JordanA
05-07-2009, 02:20 PM
Exceed DOT Standards? I don't know about that. Most companies just say DOT, not DOT and then some.

HOwever, like in the motorcycle world, there are other ratings, such as SNELL. The SNELL rating basically means it's race approved, and most helmets for street bikes fall into this category.

I would just get a 3/4 helmet, or a full face dirt helmet. If you want, you can get a full face modular street bike helmet, which allows you to raise then entire front of the helmet for visibility and ease of access.

Good modular motorcycle helmet. you can get them for under $100.00 on ebay and such.

frumpy
05-07-2009, 02:42 PM
Some of the full face motocross helmets have the chin piece that can be removed along with the visor.

ATL ZJ
05-07-2009, 02:43 PM
Weird, I was just doing a little lunchtime research on this subject today. I'm way overdue for a brain bucket.

Here are a couple good discussions:
http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=694029&highlight=helmet
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=601249&highlight=helmet

If your competitions are sanctioned by WEROCK or another organization, check their rules to make sure your helmet complies. For me, the structure of "coned" competitions sucks the fun of out wheeling, so I don't really care about having a compliant helmet, although for some reason about a year back, I started building everything new on my rig within WEROCK guidelines.

I think I might go try on some skate and paddling helmets this afternoon.. At 6' 4", I'm looking for a low profile helmet because my cage does not offer much headroom. Also looking for lightweight and breathable to encourage me to actually wear it. also, I want my ears exposed so I can hear people talking to me.

SirFuego
05-07-2009, 02:59 PM
They haven't yet released specifics, but I think the only requirement they are imposing on helmets is DOT.

The rocks are just getting delivered and the first "test and tune" will be at the end of the month. I talked to the owner last week at the mud race they had and he said helmets would be required in the rocks. The events aren't governed by WE Rock or any other organization, but they are basing their rules on WE Rock. Maybe if it gets large enough, that may change, but for right now, it's just going to really only attract folks from western NY.

This place is literally 10 minutes from where I live, so I can deal with the cone-dodging aspect if it means I'm beating on the robot. It should be a lot of fun, honestly. Most of the probable competitors already know each other and are good friends. Hell, it'll be likely that drivers will be spotting for other drivers. Many of my friends, including myself, just wanna "put on a good show" and have fun doing it.

canadian_driver
05-07-2009, 04:48 PM
i have two ckx helmets, one motorcross and one street bike. both are fairly cheap/light. bot have DOT on the back

indy242003
05-08-2009, 02:00 PM
Get this one!

SirFuego
05-28-2009, 08:40 PM
Just to document this thread, I picked up a HJC C21-M. I still have a couple inches between the top of the helmet to the roof. The neck curtain thingy is removable so I don't sweat my gonads off.

http://www.hjchelmets.com/images/products/product_images/cl21/solid/flatk.jpg

comanchefreak
05-28-2009, 09:08 PM
DOT is a decent standards, snell standards are generally higher, they have different tiers of ratings.
Dont waste your time w/ skateboard/ski helmets. They arent up to any meaningful standard, its just snake oil sold to gullible skaters and skiers.
I have found that Zeus helmets give good bang for the buck as well as Thor.

ATL ZJ
05-28-2009, 11:18 PM
DOT is a decent standards, snell standards are generally higher, they have different tiers of ratings.
Dont waste your time w/ skateboard/ski helmets. They arent up to any meaningful standard, its just snake oil sold to gullible skaters and skiers.
I have found that Zeus helmets give good bang for the buck as well as Thor.

Are you a biker or a motocross guy? Sounds like that is where your bias might be coming from. For wheeling, a helmet might hit your cage 10 times in a multiple rollover. After that, you should be happy enough to be alive to replace it. It's not like I'm going over the handlebars at 140mph. My skate helmet should be plenty to take some dings off roll cage tubing. And I'm probably twice as likely to actually wear it than a heavy, hot, bulky motorcycle helmet.

Kraqa
05-29-2009, 12:23 AM
alot of guys aroudn here use moto cross style.

i use a BMX its not DOT but its 3/4 face and is SUPER light. i find the motor cross ones a tad heavy, I've tried a car racing syle one and it is not meant for the bumps of offroading.

the long and the short. go for the lighted one you can get....and buy a good neck brace.

comanchefreak
05-29-2009, 01:38 AM
Are you a biker or a motocross guy? Sounds like that is where your bias might be coming from. For wheeling, a helmet might hit your cage 10 times in a multiple rollover. After that, you should be happy enough to be alive to replace it. It's not like I'm going over the handlebars at 140mph. My skate helmet should be plenty to take some dings off roll cage tubing. And I'm probably twice as likely to actually wear it than a heavy, hot, bulky motorcycle helmet.

Its not an issue of how long it lasts, its whether the helmet absorbs the imact vs transmitting it to your brain.
for the record, im a snowboarder/skier/snowmachiner w/ a little dirt moto. the skate helmets protect you from cuts on your scalp and dings in your skull, but do very little to protect your grey matter. this is why they are able to be used repeatedly, they dont sacrifice themselves to absorb the impact the way real helmets do. I'll leave it up to others to debate whether saving some minor pain is worth wearing a plastic hat.
Your post brings up an interesting point: the possibility of multiple impacts from different directions. while this is possible in my other sports, its seems much less likely except when falling over a rocky slope or being hit by multiple vehicles (but plenty of problems there, right?:))
Anyone know if the standard for auto racing helmets takes this into account?

ATL ZJ
05-29-2009, 09:13 AM
We must be talking about different things. The skate helmet I have does have a couple thick layers of impact-absorbing material. Maybe there are others that are just shells or something.

My point still is that the more likely I am to wear the helmet, the better. It's obvious that no one makes helmets specific to rock crawling/rock racing, so any helmet is going to be a compromise in some way.

SirFuego
05-29-2009, 09:40 AM
It's obvious that no one makes helmets specific to rock crawling/rock racing, so any helmet is going to be a compromise in some way.
Yeah it seems that a lot of guys on Pirate used skater style helmets because they protect the back of the head better than others. I was told the helmet I needed was to be DOT, so I didn't have much choice.

I have a feeling in the next couple years, there will be helmets optimized for rock crawling/racing. I wonder what the WE-Rock/KOH folks don't like about their helmets...

ATL ZJ
05-29-2009, 10:11 AM
I wonder what the WE-Rock/KOH folks don't like about their helmets...

I would guess weight. Most of the helmets that connect to pumpers look pretty large.

BigClay
05-29-2009, 10:17 AM
You guys bring up a good point about multiple impacts on a helmet. If I am not mistaken, aren't most motorcycle helmets only good for one impact? I could see us hitting a helmet multiple times on one roll, just like Cam said. There has got to be enough offroaders for someone to design a helmet for us that can withstand mulitple impacts, at low speeds. Anyone want to pitch the idea to the major helmet manufacturers?? :D

comanchefreak
05-29-2009, 11:20 AM
We must be talking about different things. The skate helmet I have does have a couple thick layers of impact-absorbing material. Maybe there are others that are just shells or something.

My point still is that the more likely I am to wear the helmet, the better. It's obvious that no one makes helmets specific to rock crawling/rock racing, so any helmet is going to be a compromise in some way.

No, we are talking about the same thing, you simply are assuming that the small amount of padding in those helmets is effective. Its true that any helmet is a compromise, but those skater helmets are so much of a compromise they dont offer any real protection. Sorry if we are getting into this more than you would like, its a pet peeve of mine. I've been involved in the snowboard/ski/skate industry since helmets arrived on the scene and I've been surprised that the industry has managed to sell these helmets for so many years. If you think that helmet is so effective, what is the manufacturrers claim of protection? None. If you look at every ad from every skate/snowboard almost none make any claims of safety or protection at all. Doesnt that seem odd when selling a safety product? the few that did make a safety claim were meeting a very minimal standard (CE or slighlty higher, snell ski). Those are hard to find because they didnt sell well- too bulky and hot. Also, an effective helmet sacrifices itself on impact, so it must be replaced after a hard fall, drop or crash. Can you imagine replacing that skate helmet every time you hit the ramp/pipe? So the industry decided to sell false peice of mind instead and they are making good money at it. I expect to see a lawsuit about this eventually, but the facts are that head injuries in these sports are very uncommon compared to motosports, even without helmets, so there prob arent many good test cases.
If you are wondering why i am so worked up about this, its because there has been much talk about making helmets mandatory for ski mountains and i dont believe there is any rational basis for this and i dont want to be forced to wear a useless peice of plastic on my head due to hysteria. I would prefer that the helmet industry focus their r&d budgets on making a real helmet more practical for snow/skate sports.
And maybe I'll save you from being a veg in the meantime.