I'm fortunate enough to have changed out helmets a few times over the last few years; fortunate in that I could afford to and/or there were great deals through my team or through well-timed purchases (sale!).

Anyhow, I have at least three helmets in my garage that still have life but I'm unlikely to ever use. Does anyone have suggestions about how I can donate or recycle the helmets?

I considered selling them on eBay but I wouldn't buy a used helmet and I don't think other people should either. I figure if I give them away there's probably some poor soul who could use a helmet and would appreciate having it for free.

Let the suggestions begin!

-ADM

Helmets are personal, like underwear, trash em.

Sometimes I pass a helmet down to a younger family member if they fit it and if it's still useable.

If you're gonna trash the helmet, or if it's unuseable, beat the helmet in with a hammer and trash it. The beating is to ensure that nobody picks it out of the trash and uses it.

Helmets have a limited lifetime and are a ONE owner item. I usually smash my old ones with a hammer, save the straps for cat toys, and hang onto the pads and clips for use either as spares or for other projects.

I just thought of this perhaps if you were to line them with burlap and fill them with some mulch and soil you could use them as a hanging planter?

I shop for old helmets all the time at thrift stores. There are many good old helmets out there. Unless it's been in a wreck, which is usually obvious, or it's had UV or some other kind of damage to the shell, which you can test for by squeezing the helmet - if the shell itself crackles or makes other unusual noises when squeezed it's toast - old helmets are fine, at the fraction of the cost of a new one. So, IMO, if they are in good shape, you should recycle them, if they are worn out or otherwise damaged, you should toss them.

That is really bad advice. The foam of a helmet can be cracked with almost no sign on the outside surface. You can't squeeze a helmet to tell if it is still good. Foam get's brittle over time and doesn't afford the same degree of protection as a new helmet.

-s

People do buy them on eBay. Agree with it or not, someone will probably buy them. You just have to figure out if you feel OK selling them.

Can you recycle the EPS? (That's the dense foam used in most of them)

Icky I say trash them, some things are not worth giving or selling.

Give them to your local homeless shelter! If they have NOT been in any accidents, then yes, they have life in them, and you will be possibly preventing a costly result to the fact that many homeless cannot afford more than just a bike.

Please don't squeeze the charmin!

My favorite wrench and mentor, when forced to take a turn on the sales floor, always said to a new customer regarding helmets, "Wear one, don't use one." If you've only worn yours and not been forced to use it, donate it -- to Goodwill, a shelter, a resale shop, a school, a garage sale. It may make a difference.

Never buy a used helmet. Trash 'em

Bad? It's anti-advice.

Trash that old helmet!

I still have my Bell Biker, but it's only for display.

Would you want to wear used base ball cap that someones been wearing and sweating in? The foam ages a becomes less effective in a crash (the reason you wearing it in the first place.) Your better off buying a cheap NEW helmit. All helmits have to pass the exact same safety tests.

do You know of a shop that sells used bikes/equipment? Donate the helmet(s) to him. Otherwise donate helmet(s) to a homelss/low-income person whom Yu see riding a bike. There's agencies, too.

I work at an elementary school, and some of our students cannot afford helmets. From time to time, we are fortunate enough to receive outgrown helmets as donations which I can pass them along to these kids (whose heads need to be protected!). If you can donate your old helmets to us, I would be sure to put them onto heads of the correct size and fit them properly. We're at 4967 Monterey Way in Sacramento, near the intersection of Freeport and Fruitridge.
Kim Woodruff
Community Liaison
Sutterville Elementary (277-6693)

Kim, our local school district buys helmets for something like $2/each that are then distributed to low-income children who participate in our local "Walk and Roll" program. We buy them by the truckload. Surely something similar is available in your area.

I wouldn't eat out of a dumpster either, but someone else might. If someone who would use a used helmet that cant afford a new one could have their life saved by it, so be it.

I don't quite feel right aabout it sitting in a landfill killing the earth if someone can use it. I gave my old helmet away with my bike I sold, granted I don't think I ever rode in it, just tried it on a few times since I didn't like its fit.

So Bell Bicycle Helmets web site says:

Bell has a general recommendation of replacing a helmet every three (3) years. If you have any questions as to the condition of your helmet please call us for information or to set up a free inspection.

You say:

The lawyer of the kid with the head injury says:

"Kim, We'd like your house and bank account."

if I have not crashed it, then I keep it as a spare.

I replace helmets frequently but always keep a spare for new riders that join our group without a helmet and our rule is No helmet No ride. They get shamed into buying their own helmet fairly quickly, but an old helmet is better than No helmet.

good advice

Do you find or think helmets degrade quicker in the AZ sun (when used daily even in summer) vs. less sunny climates? Do I need to be more agressive on the 2-3 yr. rule or at least keep it on the 2yr. side.

Interestingly my helmet has a sticker inside that says not to exposure to 120F or greater temps. Fortunately the hottest in the shade temp my helmet has felt so far is 118F. Of couse the helmet was in full sun so its temp was probably higher.

Al

helmets have a shelf life, destroy it!!