Originally Posted by CRUM
Thanks Allister. After perusing the standards, it looks like Snell is still the one to beat. I did not realize it but some of these standards are met through "self testing" and all it takes to leagally stick a sticker on the helmet is for the company to certify they did the testing or had it done for them. Hardly reassuring.
Snell gave manufacturers a choice of seeking several levels of certification, sort of like "acceptable", "good", and "excellent", but the "stickers" were not easy to decode. If Trek wants a Snell sticker in its Vapor II helmet, Trek must pay Snell to test the helmet, and Snell will also being buying Vapor II helmets randomly in stores to make sure the delivered models are as good as the proto-types.
Then, if Trek modifies the Vapor II, Trek must pay Snell to go through the whole process again. The bike industry loves to introduce slightly modified new models every year, making Snell very expensive.
The CPSC deal is more of an "honor" system. Consumers must trust Trek will make sure that each helmet delivered to the stores is within "spec" as set out by the CPSC standard. I personally have a lot of confidence in Trek, and Bell, and some other major companies. But, I would hesitate to buy an "off-brand" helmet trusting only in its CPSC sticker - that sticker by itself does not mean much.