Originally Posted by roadwarrior
The less expensive helmet will protect you, but not as much, especially if you go down at a higher speed.
Not as much protection is not necessarily true. In Oz, they all must meet the same standard. In fact, the cheaper (not cheapest) ones usually outperform the more expensive ones because there is more surface area to distribute the loads on the skull and there is more material to absorb the force.
Either way, no the expensive helmets are not $100 - 200 better than the cheaper ones imo. Buy your Mrs $200 worth of flowers over the life of your cheaper lid and see which one makes you happier...