The features and functional capabilities of motorcycle helmets have come a long way in recent years. At one time, helmets tended to be hot, heavy, inconvenient, and minimally protective at best. These days, those shortcomings have been addressed by a variety of technically advanced design and material innovations. Here are our Top 11 Motorcycle Helmet Innovations to look for in your next lid.
Multiple safety certifications
There are several helmet safety performance standards out there, and we’ve provided a detailed look at what they measure and how they measure it. We have also revealed the stark failure of the regulatory scheme under the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 (DOT FMVSS 218).
With a post-market test failure rate on helmets claiming only DOT certification exceeding 43 percent, the DOT certification may not be enough.
Fortunately, several helmet manufacturers offer products that also meet standards that are more rigorous than the DOT FMVSS 218 certified designation. These helmets have been tested and earned Snell Memorial Foundation, UN ECE 22.05 or 22.06, or FIM certification (aka “homologation”).
So, looking for dual certification (DOT/Snell, DOT/ECE, or DOT/FIM) is your best bet to get a helmet that has actually been tested and proven to perform to the highest standards currently available.
Usually, the certifications the helmet has achieved are labeled on the back of the helmet shell along with the DOT label. However, the official labeling for ECE- and FIM-compliant helmets is on the chinstrap. For Snell-approved helmets, it is inside the helmet on the EPS impact layer under the comfort liner.
Anti-rotation force protection
According to research done on the forces acting on a helmet in a crash, direct straight-line impact forces are not the only type that can cause traumatic brain injury. Instead, rotational forces have also been found to be present in nearly all crash scenarios.
Fortunately, independently developed countermeasure systems have become available in recent years. Two examples are Mips and Rheon technologies.
Each system includes a low friction layer inside the helmet’s impact-absorbing layer, allowing limited slip rotation. This also absorbs some of the rotational energy that otherwise could be passed to the skull/brain tissue.
Arai has an alternative approach the Japanese company calls “glancing off,” which focuses on the helmet’s shape to reduce head rotation in a fall.
Post-crash helmet removal
In any crash, there are many causes of serious injuries. There is the potential for multiple impacts that the helmet must provide protection for during the crash itself. Then, there is the critical time after the crash when it may be necessary for first responders, paramedics, or emergency room workers to remove the helmet to provide care, particularly airway management or resuscitation.
The removal process can present the possibility of making some injuries, such as cervical spine (neck) injuries worse. Removing a tight-fitting full-face helmet can cause pulling or turning forces to be applied to the neck by rescuers.
Red pull straps or loops indicate the presence of quick-release cheek pads to make emergency helmet removal safer.Half-helmets and 3/4 coverage or “open face” helmets don’t present quite the same problems in this regard. Modular helmets, helmets with a removable chinbar, and rear-entry helmet designs reduce the problem, as long as those needing to access the person’s airway can readily identify how to open or remove the helmet chin bar.
The potentially most challenging situation arises with full-face helmets where the chinbar is fixed. To make helmet removal easier and safer in that situation, many helmet manufacturers have designed quick-removal cheek pad systems. These systems are usually easily identified by the bright red loops or straps on the bottom of the cheek pads.
The Simpson Shock Doctor Eject Helmet Removal System is another product that can make helmet removal safer. It involves placing an inflation device inside the crown of the helmet, which rescuers can inflate to push the helmet off the head from the inside.
Lightweight, high-strength helmet shell materials
Perhaps one of the most notable achievements in modern helmet design is the use of high-tech shell materials to reduce helmet weight.
One of the most frequently speced wonder materials in helmet designs these days is carbon fiber. It is very lightweight, while offering exceptional tensile and compressive strength. Carbon fiber also enjoys excellent thermal and chemical stability. It is more expensive and difficult to work with in terms of manufacturing than some other materials. However, when used alone or in combination with other materials, carbon fiber can lead to a lighter helmet.
Other modern materials used in helmet shell designs include Kevlar, newer high-performance types of fiberglass, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer thermoplastic, and others. Some helmet manufacturers use multiple materials to create high-strength, lightweight composites.
High-performance ventilation designs
One of the most common complaints about older helmets was that they were too hot to wear when temperatures climb. Many older helmets had no ventilation system at all.
Today, most helmets include closable shell vents, and that includes even some half-helmets, as well as modulars and full-face designs.
As with any other technical feature, the mere presence of vents is only a first step. The system’s effectiveness depends on the size and location of the intake openings, internal ventilation channels to allow the air to move through the helmet’s interior, and direct the warmed air to fixed open exhaust vents out the back.
Communications devices
There are also more options for communications systems and heads-up displays that may be part of the helmet’s original equipment (Sena is one of many), as optional add-ons (Schuberth, for example), or aftermarket additions (many choices, including Cardo).
The ability to communicate with other riders when riding as a group is not just fun. The intercom can also be used by riders to alert other group members to be aware of upcoming road hazards.
Newer, easy-to-use chin strap buckles—or no chin strap at all
Having fumbled with the old double D-ring chinstrap buckles for about four decades, it never occurred to me that this was something we could all do without. Lo and behold, these days, somebody (in a plural sense) finally developed easier-to-use-with-your-gloves-on alternatives.
One is the ratchet-style or “micrometric” chin strap buckle. This style has a serrated blade that you insert into a ratchet-style keeper until it becomes snuggly comfortable. Pull a tab on the ratchet down, and it releases instantly.
Another is the magnetic Fidlock buckle. To close the buckle, a rectangular metal ring must drop into position behind a keeper. Then, the magnetic locking tab swings into position on the keeper to close the buckle and lock it. It is tricky at first, but once you get used to the system, the buckle practically locks itself.
The rear-entry helmet design dispenses with the chin strap altogether, instead using an adjustable chin cup.
If your present helmet is fine as-is, but you would like to ditch the double D-ring buckle, there is a low-cost option for retrofitting a quick-on, quick-release system—the Echo Quick Release buckle.
An integral sunshield lets you leave your sunglasses at home
Many full-face, modular, and even some half and 3/4 coverage helmets come with an internal drop-down tinted sunshield.
Other approaches include the provision of an external drop-down sunshield that is part of the faceshield itself (the Arai Pro Shade), quick-change shield options that are tinted, and high-tech, photochromic shields that darken in bright light and lighten in lower light. Keep in mind that there are no Snell-approved helmets with an internal drop-down sunshield.
Fog-resistant faceshield options
The bane of helmets with an integral faceshield is internal fogging with every breath in cold weather riding. Recent years have brought a variety of interventions to counter that problem—some are basic, others high-tech.
Simpler solutions include breath deflectors or breath boxes intended to keep exhaled air from reaching the faceshield. Other interventions include a chinbar vent that directs incoming air up into the eyeport to act as a defogger and faceshield detent positions on the shield hinge to hold the shield slightly open in a “demist” position.
Anti-fog coatings applied to the inside of the shield are another approach, as is the use of a dual-pane Pinlock anti-fog internal shield lens and heated dual-pane faceshields.
Let there be light
The advent of ultra-light, ultra-bright LED lights and compact, long-lasting, rechargeable battery packs have facilitated the creation of safety and illumination options that can be built in or added to a helmet.
Rear-facing LEDs that can be set to light continuously or for flash mode can make a rider more conspicuous to traffic approaching from behind. One such device that we have tested is the Brake Free Light.
A white-light LED mounted at the edge of the eyeport projecting light out the front can be helpful for low-light map reading, repair work on the roadside, or handling emergency situations.
High-viz colors and reflective materials really help get you seen
High visibility colors make it easier for drivers to see you, which helps prevent close encounters of the dangerous kind.
Fluorescent colors seem to glow in low light because they absorb short wavelength light the human eye cannot see and re-radiate it as visible long wavelength light. Several fluorescent color options exist, with the most common being shades of yellow, orange, or red.
Reflective (or retro-reflective) material, the finish on the helmet’s shell, or reflective textile material on the lower edge of the comfort liner also increase your presence in the field of view of drivers in low light.
If your helmet doesn’t have any of these high-viz features, you can repaint the shell, or add reflective tape or stickers. Before you do, check the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website to determine if doing so will void your helmet’s warranty. The adhesives used by stickers or tape can compromise shell strength or performance.
As you shop for a helmet upgrade, you may well find helmets that have more than one of these features, or others we didn’t include here. Regardless, deciding which ones are the best for the kind of riding you do is half the fun!
