Are You Waiting For An SA2010 Helmet?

The latest SA2010 certification from Snell will be the 5th certification change that OG Racing has had the "honor" of handling. Once every five years, we get the privilege of getting rid of perfectly good helmets from our shelves and ordering tens of thousands of dollars of new helmets with the freshest Snell rating. This must be what grocery stores go through on a daily basis in the produce department!

This being the fifth time we've done this, we're once again visiting the question of "Do I need the newest rating?" Beyond the need to purchase the latest and greatest helmet safety standard - a need that I can't personally argue with as we (OG Racing) understand the need for the best in safety gear - lets examine the well known facts regarding the newest certification and what it means to the customer.

In speaking with most customers, there is only one real line of reasoning in a helmet purchase - buying an SA2010 helmet most likely guarantees the ability to keep and use that helmet through 2020. This is in contrast to purchasing an SA2005 helmet that can only be used through 2015.

True, from a financial standpoint, this makes some sense. The user only needs to buy ONE helmet in the 10 year period, whereas an SA2005 purchaser would have to buy TWO helmets to get through 2020. But let's examine this a little closer, using the Bell BR1 Helmet as an example. The SA2010 BR1 (arriving any day now) will cost $439.95. Right now, the SA2005 BR1 is on sale for $269.00. We can assume that in 2015, the SA2010 BR1 will go on sale for about $279.00 when using the same markdowns. So, buying ONE SA2010 helmet to use for 10 years will cost $439.95 VS buying TWO helmets for the same 10 year period at $548.00. A savings of $108.05 by purchasing the latest rating and using it for 10 years.

(Before I go any further, I'll take a quick perspective from a business standpoint, since yes, we are here to sell helmets. From a profit standpoint, I would much rather sell you, the customer, an SA2010 helmet at full-price, then an SA2005 helmet at a steep discount. There - I said it.)

Now for the safety argument: A racing helmet is composed of a hard shell covering an interior lined with padding. Both are fiberglass/kevlar/carbon, or some composite form of it. Over time, this will deteriorate in strength - this deterioration is multiplied by dirt and the surrounding environment (extreme heat/cold, sunlight, moisture, etc.) The helmet is actually becoming weaker, a fact that cannot be avoided unless you wrap it up in a bag and never use it! This is one of the reasons for the dreaded Snell expiration - although a 10+ year old helmet may still look like a helmet, there is no way to prove it is still as strong as a helmet should be.

Beyond the safety of the helmet, my favorite argument lies in 2 of the words in the above paragraph - dirt and moisture. As we all know, a helmet is near impossible to clean. You can't throw it in the wash, and most don't come with removable lining. Even if it were easy to clean, I know first-hand most of us don't do so! We take our wet, soggy helmets and throw them into a bag in the back corner of the garage/trailer as soon as we finished with our mid-July event. You know that helmet stink? Or the greasy, dirty feeling you get from handling your helmet? Yep - that's most likely mold. And bacteria. And plain, old sweat.

I personally have an SA2000 helmet in my closet I'll be getting rid of in the near future. I would still wear it - it's an open-face Bell Mag 4 that I used maybe once or twice a year for autocross. In my opinion, it's still very clean and looks nearly new. Similarly, if you're only attending a few events a year, and keep very good care of your stuff, I would say that there is no reason NOT to buy an SA2010 this year and use it until 2020 (and save some money in the process by using the One-Helmet/10-Year plan).

BUT - if you're at the track every other weekend and after a few years your new helmet now has legs - you know who you are (I've probably had to install Hans Anchors into your helmet - we keep hand sanitizer and latex gloves around for that very purpose) think about the other option. For an additional $100 every 10 years (through the Two-Helmet/10-Year plan), you only have to breathe your own funk for HALF as long!

Do what you will - we have lots of SA2005 helmets on sale, and the sale-prices will only get lower as time goes on. We'll also be getting SA2010 helmets within the next few days beginning with the new Bell line. I'll just leave you with one last thought - I don't own a single pair of underwear that's even close to 10 years old...and I don't wear underwear on my head (do you?)

Snell SA2010 Rating?

It's that time again! The latest Snell rating is right around the corner, which means that everyone is lining up to purchase a helmet to use for the next 10 years. We've started getting many inquiries from customers regarding when these helmets will actually be for sale. Kyle Kietzmann of Bell Motorsports lays out the details, along with some advice for your future helmet purchase:

For the Snell SA or Special Applications standard, the first Snell SA 2010 certified helmets will not be available for sale from any manufacturer until October 1, 2010. This is the official release date for the latest Snell standard. Between now and October 1, 2010, Bell Racing will continue to sell Snell SA2005 certified helmets.

Retail customers may start to question the necessity of buying a Snell SA2005 helmet and decide to postpone purchasing a new helmet until the Snell SA2010 standard is released. It is important to remind customers of the necessity of having adequate head protection and the need to replace helmets that have been damaged or have exceeded their useful life expectancy regardless of the next Snell transition date.

When the next Snell SA standard is released, sanctioning bodies will require Snell SA2005 or above. In reality, a customer that buys a Snell SA2005 helmet between now and October 1, 2010 will be able to use that helmet for at least another 5 years. Bell recommends replacing helmets that have been exposed to normal wear and not subjected to an accident after a 5 year period.

Many may think that Bell is purposely attempting to persuade customers into NOT waiting for the 2010 release date in order to prevent a complete and total collapse of helmet sales for 2010. I, too, agree with Bell regarding the true lifespan of a helmet - and no, not because we stand to lose sales as well!

Example - The other day, I installed Hans Anchors in a helmet with an early SA2000 rating. I'm not kidding when I say this thing has legs! Thankfully, we have latex gloves on hand for such occasions. But in all seriousness people, when the helmet is that old and grimy, the performance benefits are very questionable. Dirt, oils (from your head) and grime slowly break down the foams/plastics that your helmet is built from. Unfortunately, there is no east test for determining the safety of your helmet.

So if you need a new helmet - just get a new helmet. There is no point in sacrificing your safety under the chance that a 10 year old helmet MIGHT do it's job when needed!

Helmet - HANS Issues

Interesting forum post regarding Hans Devices VS some Helmet styles. This can probably relate not only to the Hans, but other similarly styled devices available on the current market: Helmet - HANS Issues

Shockdoctor at the 2009 Rolex

In use at the Daytona 24 hour race!




Product Details Here!

After spending all morning chipping ice off of my car, my soggy gloves are drying on our display model as I type! Great stuff!

HJC Price Change

After much finagling with HJC, we've managed to achieve a new, lower price for all of our HJC Helmets!

HJC AR-10 - Was $299.99, Now $269.99


HJC SI-12 - Was $699.99, Now $629.99



HJC HX-10 - Was $899.99, Now $809.99