It gets hella hot in Sac so I will pay top dollar for ventilation. YMMV.

Like others, A few years ago, I went to my LBS and tried on a bunch of helmets. Some were $35, $80, $50, $100, etc... I just had to figure out what fit and what was really comfortable for my head.

I found the Giro Trinity helmet just felt "right" after trying on a bunch of different flavors of bike helmets.... I quickly grabbed a black, white & red, tri-colored model for $49.95 if I remember right.

I read reviews and usually buy year old models. You save a ton of money that way. My current helmet(s) are both Kask Vertigo 2. I bought them on Amazon at about 70% off retail (at the time), so I grabbed two. One for indoor short track skating and the other for outdoor cycling and distance skating.

One thing about Amazon is that prices on the same items change, even by the hour. I use Honey and WIkibuy extensions for Chrome and they work with Amazon, telling you that you have the best deal on a specific item and let you do watch lists to watch prices on items to see if they fall.

Well, the lip towards the back on many would help reduce buffetting when you get over 150 mph😵

$25 for a nice Bell helmet at Walmart. It has the certificate of safety. Later when I knew I was hooked I spent $155. It has better venting. But the cheap helmet returns in the winter.

$25 for a nice Bell helmet at Walmart. It has the certificate of safety. Later when I knew I was hooked I spent $155. It has better venting. But the cheap helmet returns in the winter.

Well, paint me green and call me Kermit.

Giro is offering the Timberwolf and Shackleton 'winter' helmets.



And Specialized is offering the Centro Winter (plus the regular Centro and a separate winter inner insert).



The Centro can fit a purpose built LED tail lamp as well.

These still lack the fitted, snap on rain cover the old Bell Metropolis had, but a slip over cover can be added aftermarket from numerous sources.

BTW, kids, just so we're all up to speed: MIPS is a proprietary design which seeks to reduce rotational energy to the brain in a crash. MIPS is licensed to numerous helmet companies.

Other companies have their own in-house designs that seek to reduce rotational energy to the brain in a crash: 6D with their Omni-Directional Suspension, Kali Protectives with their LDL, Leatt with their 360º Turbine, POC with their SPIN and probably others.

Other 'beyond safety tests' considerations besides weight and ventilation: rounded exterior with no snag points, slick outer surface that slides instead of catches, extended rear coverage, dual density foam energy management.

And none of them available in XL.

Yeah, looks like only small and medium heads are worth saving.

Vista Outdoor is a NYSE public traded company that owns several brands including Bell and Giro.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vista_Outdoor

The best helmet is the one that fits and you like to wear.

This.

I'd just like to pay something that's closer to the actual value of the materials in the average helmet.

Fair enough. About three years ago I picked up a helmet to keep @ my dad's house for impromptu rides around his neighborhood. It's a Bell Terrain,




molded in shell with True Fit, hiviz, visor and the same CPSC certification as every other bicycle helmet for sale in the USA. The helmet is sans any cutting edge Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, but if one only wants to pay for materials and not R&D, you're going to get an older design with amortized engineering. Still, the helmet is light years above my old Bell Biker




that I wore happily for many tens of thousands of miles in the late 70s and early 80s. The Terrain wasn't on sale and I think I paid ~$21 retail @ Walmart.

I am a bit of a helmet junkie. I have a KASK Infinity that I got at an awesome price (Unclaimed Luggage) and a couple of other nice ones. I recently had a chance to test my Smith Rover MIPS with my head. I was going 20+ on a 20" wheel folding bike when I t-boned a medium sized dog.
I apparently slammed down on the pavement with the back of my head. I had virtually no abrasions. I was out cold and had an ambulance ride to the emergency room. I do not know how much time was involved. I was on a rural road - I remember being loaded into an ambulance, which had travel from its base manned by volunteers - and then a 35 mile ride that I have no memory of.
Helmet shell was cracked in a couple of places and the hard foam inner was broken up into several sections. The helmet had no abrasions, but the outer shell has a print of the asphalt texture of the road!
After a couple of days rest and check ups by neurologist and thorough scheduled physical by family doc., I was back on the bike. During rest period I ordered another Smith!
For what it's worth, I am 69 years old.

Where to buy? I usually buy at REI - they have a large variety available that I am able to try on. Most are "good", but good fit is a prime consideration.

I also look for sale items, there are some good buys that regularly come up.

Any helmet is better than no helmet.

SNELL doesn't even test for rotational accelerations, so, no, the MIPS helmets don't do any better in the SNELL test. Kinda like saying cars with side airbags don't do any better in a head-on collision. Yeah, true. And so what?

Ben

This was a special 'oblique angle' test Snell ran. Thanks for asking!

Some new helmet models have extended rear coverage, not required by the old CPSC test regime.

Like many MIPS equipped helmets, the Smith Optics Rover's MIPS does not extend into the back of the helmet.

The actual point of impact in my Smith Rover approximates where the long label is just below the orange line. The MIPS could have been effective at that point.

My newer Smith Session has more complete coverage of the MIPS.