mstateglfr 

Almost no bike helmets cover your ears. I only see that on DH riding, really.
I dont think Ive ever seen a cross country MTB rider wearing a full on cover the head motorcycle helmet.

The Lazer helmet in question does sit a bit high on the user's head, I guess it could drop 2cm or so, but it isnt designed to cover the guy's ears. It may just be that the helmet shape doesnt fit the user's head shape very well.

RH Clark

I'm quite a wind drag. I was thinking it might help keep my face off the pavement. LOL

big john

Moto helmet.

Mr. 66

I saw someone who fit into that description at the Ballard Goodwill yesterday.

big john

Trail helmet.

big john

It's not like a baseball cap. The visor is supposed to be high enough to not obstruct your vision and you tilt your head down a bit when riding into the sun. The model pictured appears to be wearing a helmet on the small side.

big john

Visors are generally meant to break off upon impact. My motocross helmet even uses soft plastic screws for safety.

t2p

many of my off road friends have helmets like this (the majority)

not a big fan of the looks of a visor pointed up like that

( some you can adjust down a tad )

staehpj1

It looks like a normal trail riding helmet other than the fit on that particulr rider is maybe a bit small and the visoor is flipped up. If you google that model and look at pictures of it on other riders it looks pretty normal.

RH Clark

OH, I know. It just made me think of a baseball cap bill I was thankful for once. I was wearing my ball cap under my helmet and did something I shouldn't have. My face got some, but that cap saved me a good bit considering how chewed up it was.

daihard 

My 3-year-old daughter dropped her helmet onto the concrete ground. She was sitting in the child seat on the back of our Tern HSD - probably about 5 feet high. Should the helmet be replaced?

It's a relatively new helmet so I'd like to keep it if safety isn't compromised by the fall, but I don't want to take a chance, either.

Any insights would be appreciated.

Barry2 

That's a really tough question to answer.
It's parental decision that I would not want to get in the middle of.

If I were to drop my helmet a similar 5' distance, I'd be buying another $300 helmet.
But... living on a hill all my rides begin with at ~40MPH
If I dropped it from my hand ~2.5' then I'd likely think twice about it.

I suspect you already know the best answer to your question.

All the best

Barry

urbanknight

It’s impossible to tell 100% certain as there could be hidden damage, so you’re going to have to make that call. If you see any dents or cracks, toss it. If not, it’s probably fine having only dropped on its own weight, but the cargo it’s protecting is very precious and only you can determine if the risk is reasonable.

msu2001la

Obviously if you're worried about it, then replace it. Your daughter's brain is worth a lot more than the cost of a new helmet.
That said, I would probably only replace it if there are visible signs of damage, like a crack in the shell or foam structure. Dropping an empty helmet on the ground doesn't seem like it would compress the foam structure like it would if it it were worn during a crash.

I'm just some random person on the internet though, so take this advice however you want.

Koyote

I've always thought it rather unlikely that a helmet could somehow be damaged internally without any external signs. I mean, it's essentially styrofoam; if any of it is compressed, it'd likely be externally visible.

CrimsonEclipse

My standards are: If I hit my head (ground, tree branch, etc) with the helmet on and it still hurts, time for a new helmet.

Chances are, a 5 foot drop will not decrease the protection for your daughter in any conditions that she will encounter on a bike.

From a parental point of view: How much will it cost you to put your mind at rest?
$20-50? Well worth it.

Also, make this an opportunity.
Buy a new one that is better, and possibly one that she picks out and has some room to grow into.

datlas 

If the outer shell not cracked, inner EPS core not cracked, and all attachment points are strong and intact, I believe the helmet should be ok. This is nearly impossible to “prove” so if you will sleep better at night just get a new helmet.

Reminder helmets work mainly by slowing down the sudden deceleration of head/brain on impact, and this happens by allowing the EPS to crush. So based on this, I do expect helmet should be ok.

Calsun

If there was no compression of the liner then the helmet is OK.

icemilkcoffee 

Wow- people are paranoid here. The helmet is fine. If your kid bikes to school, he/she probably already dropped the helmet more than once before lunch. A more active kid probably used the helmet as kickball, or used the helmet to bat baseballs.

Barry2 

As stated by OP in the first 4 words..... The kid is 3

Barry

SpedFast

Logic says that if the head isn't inside the helmet upon impact with ground, it's probably fine But if you're looking for peace of mind, what's $25.bucks? I get a kick out people that buy used from second hand stores. "Life is like a box of chocolates...."

staehpj1

A drop of 5' and a weight of what? 10 or 12 ounces? It sounds like a very light impact, Your call, but if it was me I wouldn't sweat it.

bruce19

I'm not a big believer in that "You dropped your helmet 5 ft and now it's no good."

LarrySellerz

The forces at play when someone wearing a helmet falls from a bike are like ~100x those of just the helmet, they scale linearly with weight right? My helmet falls off my bike sometimes at speed and I never deemed it damaged, for what it’s worth. The 100x number is also assuming you fall off your bike when stopped, what happens during most crashes is more than 100x what happened to that helmet.

Lol @ people considering replacing a helmet that fell 5 ft. Just lol.

livedarklions

I put the probability of any given helmet having been dropped at least 5 feet in the store and/or warehouse at 50%.