Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear novelty vs. dot

what's the difference? more lining? i'm tired of the mushroom head helmets.

The novelty ones don't have any foam in them. This is the stuff that gets crushed when there is trauma to the helmet, it absorbs the energy instead of your head.

www.carbonfiberhelmets.com
i am ahout to order one because i have heard a lot of good things about them, plus they are dot

Frank

I like my Carbonfiberhelmet. Their service is the best out there.

i just bought yet another helmet from the helmet source and their HCI helmets claim to be the smallest dot helmets on the market. but the dang thing is literally "small". a medium fits like a small. i just can't seem to find one that works.

so novelty helmets have no padding at all?

Personally my brain function is more than a novelty to me.
Not trying to start anything but I'll stick with a dot helmet.

BTW you'll find the carbon helmets on ebay much cheaper than at their website.

thorn

i agree that a dot helmet is much safer than 'not DOT'. that goes without saying.

i currently have a full-face helmet that i wear, always. just looking for a slimmed-down helmet to wear around the town at 35 mph.

Those Head Trip lids are nice looking except for the Nazi style ones...those are FUGLY. Cant understand why anyone would want to wear a lid so reminiscent of one of the most hateful political regimes the world has ever known. I mean , I know some folks think they look "cool" but really?

Why would anybody want to look like Sgt Schultz riding around?

Its a free country though...so to each his or her own. I'd not ever be caught dead wearing a lid that looks and or brings to mind Hitlers Nazi party.

Even the new helmets our military wear although loosely modeled in terms of shape to the old Wehrmacht helmet do not look exactly like them.

The German did wear the same pattern "coal shuttle" helmets in WW1. But I agree with you. Its too bad the English helmets of era were so queer.

I wear a half helmet most of the time. But its still more helmet than 1/2 the riders have on in this state.

i called the number on the bottom of the webpage at carbon helmets... it's a month wait for any helmets since they are on back order and are hand-made.

on top of that, i asked the kind lady on the phone what the difference in her novelty and dot helmets and she kindly explained...

the only reason the novelty helmet was not approved for their helmets is because it failed only 1 of the required dot tests. they dropped a 7 pound spear from 10 feet in the air and the spear penetrated the helmet. there are testimonials of the novelty helmet saving folks' lives. i guess if someone were to throw a spear at me while i were driving down the street, i'd have more to worry about than the safety of my lid.

Their novelty helmets may be different than most you find at a rally or bike shop. The ones most of these guys are talking about are also referred to as "brain buckets" Literally just a plastic shell and a strap, or a liner like wojo's.

Those "Natzi" helmets were worn by many different countries. I have been keeping my eyes open for an origonal but they bring big money. I think Italy and Sweden used them too but I am not sure off the top of my head.

Quote:

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but I am not sure off the top of my head.

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HA! get it?

A novelty helmet is just a hat. You can replace it with a derby, beret, fedora, baseball cap or sombrero with no loss of protection. A DOT helmet is what you want on your head during a ground/sky/ground adventure.

I bought 2 of those HCI retro helmets and usually wear an XL helmet, have a 7 3/4 hat size. I thought the fit was fine, have you tried one on?

You might try NEXL Helmets, they are expensive, but I believe they are the lightest DOT approved helmet on the market. They will cure a case of mushroon head, as will a Davida or HCI.
NEXL Helmets

They also make a carbon fiber helmet.

I normally wear a medium, but the HCI I ordered (which was a medium) fit like a small. so, i gave it to my girlfriend.

the search continues for the "perfect helmet."

thorn

edit

edit?

The NEXL helmets are amazing, but expensive. I don't own one, but I've examined them at a dealership, they are top drawer. Some Harley dealers carry them, check them out.
Their site says

Our Wind Cheating Kevlar®, Carbon Fiber Reinforced composite shell combined with high tech liner made from patented Nexl™ dual laminated HDPE foam allows us to produce the LIGHTEST and SMALLEST DOT certified helmet in the market.

I've wanted one for years, but decided to get a fullface this year. Plus the HCI fill the half helmet needs, cheap. I have four half helmets now which sounds extreme , but I hate putting on a damp helmet in the summer and don't wear a doo rag.

Good luck on your search.

Has anyone ever tried the Davida Classic? I spoke to one of the Florida dealers who said it was more than a novelty but less than dot, they're supposed to be excellent quality (price is high for a half helmet) but they look pretty good.

I love my Davida... and they reach the ACU Gold standard. That's race track standard... My next helmet will be a Davida too.

Wow up until reading this I forgot that I have an original WWI German "Army" helmet and I have an original WW2 german paratrooper helmet that has an insciption on the inside that reads in german but translated by my german friends
"we are night bats- we are honor- we are loyalty"

but so people know before they spend the money is the originals are way too heavy to wear on a bike, if you get rear-ended I'm sure it can snap your neck they are so heavy.

but its good to have friends who live in Wurzburg..