I have a medium-priced Bell Helmet about 4 years old. Included pads were thin to start with & wore out after a couple of years. Bell discontinued stocking replacement pads for that model so I stuck in some fresh replacement pads from a previous helmet. Actually pads might not even be necessary but for the rough foam imprints + Velcro attachment circles which can irritate the scalp esp on hot days.

Visited local Performance shop & saw that most if not all helmets had extremely thin pads. I checked out a medium-priced Louis Garneau helmet that had such thin flimsy pads that they were not attached properly & was impossible to affix pads properly. I can understand that overly-thick pads could interfere with proper crash safety but these 2 mm pads are terrible. Motorcycle & auto-racing helmets have much thicker foam that doesn't seem to compromise crash safety.

So are there any helmet-producer companies noted for comfier/replaceable padding?

Also it's bizarre that very few current cycling helmets are produced in safety colors. Older cyclists remember when hard-shell helmets were just beginning to be popular: some bikers used bright orange or yellow MSR helmets. Majority of current cycling helmets made with poorly-visible colors, many of them made in black, dark blue etc let alone safety-yellow/orange. They even make bike helmets in camouflage colors. This is crazy, helmets work a lot better when the motorist sees you vs hitting you.

Thinking you are having a fit issue with the helmet as a whole rather than the pads. You should only need minimal padding if the helmet actually fit you.

For the Motorcycle/auto analogy, they don't have to worry about sweat/cooling in the same way as for a cycle helmet.

For colors, if you can't find a helmet in a the color you want, your really not looking hard enough.

My Arius helmet seems to have good quality thick padding. I don't know if they sell replacement pads but the ones that come in the helmet have Velcro attachments and are thick.

I use a Snowboarding / Climbing helmet on my Bike. Sooo easy to fit a Go-Pro camera and also a rear facing lamp on if you wish ! Personally, I can't stand the slotted polystyrene things that perch on the top of your head, May not look so "cool" but, in my opinion, much better protection, WHICH IS WHAT YOU WANT THEM FOR ! The day I see motorcyclists wearing the polystyrene things, I may join them !

I know what you mean about the pads.

I have simply moved to wearing a cap under the helmet and that has been perfect.

Helmet seems to fit OK, was pretty comfortable when original pads were new. You're right that thick pads shouldn't be necessary to fit. But OTOH many mfgrs treat the pads as an afterthought & discontinue selling replacement pads for some models. Plus the airier design of most helmets means that pads can be quite narrow making them wear even quicker. Perhaps it's better to shop online so as to find best color/features etc. Nice to try on in a shop but of course they can only stock a small fraction of models.

I'm leaning to using a cap or bandana. Even with good pads a cap/bandana would help to keep sun & bugs off, esp for those of us who keep hair very short or are bald.

Used to see a woman who frequently rode on a local bike path, she wore an open-face motorcycle helmet. Perhaps she had special medical reason to require extra protection. Vents on bike helmets also have the drawback of letting bugs in, it's really irritating when they get stuck between scalp & helmet. Not to mention rain. Knew a rider that used tent tape to cover vents during winter. Mfgrs warn not to use any adhesive stuff on helmets but his vent tape only contacted a small area of helmet.

Interesting that you mention attachment; I'd like to see more models designed allow easy attachment of lights etc. Even nicer would be if they made waterproof breathable covers with holes for the lights to stick thru. I've seen lots of snowboarders wearing Go-Pros so I guess attachment a near-must for snowboard helmets. BTW I imagine that Go-Pros might be an interesting option for cyclists who do a lot of riding in traffic to provide video documentation if motorist causes an accident. How is your helmet during hot temps?

If you have pads that are too thick then the helmet will not fit firmly and might move more than what it should on impact. Definitely, I agree that the pads wear out probably faster than what you expect. I learned that with my first helmet. I guess you could consider probably buying an additional set of pads for future replacement. What I do is use a sweat cap which helps avoid the sweat from running into my eyes since the pads don't really absorb much and I get a good firm fit in my helmet.

For the hair challenged such as me, the vents in the bike helmet result in some interesting tan/burn shapes on your head if you forget to use sunscreen up there.

LOL! Yes. Sadly, I have reached such an age. Was just commenting to some friends yesterday that my "hair" now resembles that of Dilbert's boss.

See my earlier post re Snowboarding Helmet .... Mine IS ventilated and if plagued with flies of bugs, I fit a woman's Hair Net over it ! In winter I wear a baseball cap underneath as I too, am short on hair !

I can dry my hair with a Kleenex and still have enough left over to blow my nose. I've saved a ton of money on shampoo, combs, and hair dryers though. If it weren't for my beard I'd have no hair style options at all. I buzz it down on the #2 guard, turtle wax the top and roll.