What You Need To Know About Italian Motorcycle Helmets
Helmets vary a great deal from one maker to the other and Italian helmets are no different. Polycarbonate, full face, three quarter, open face, fiberglass, there are a great deal of different styles and materials used in the modern helmet. Since this is the most important piece of protective gear you'll ever wear you need to know about Italian motorcycle helmets. Some states require mandatory helmets while others have no laws relating to the wearing of helmets. Even in these states almost 60% are smart enough to wear a helmet. Hopefully one day the other 40% will get wise. In a perfect world we'd never have to worry about accidents but we don't live in a perfect world and accidents are always a possibility and head injuries are the cause of most motorcycle fatalities. That's why your helmet is so critical. And it also means that there's more to buying a helmet than just picking it off the shelf. Your helmet is designed to protect you two different ways. The outer shell protects your head from abrasion and helps absorb the initial shock, while the inner liner absorbs the balance of the shock by collapsing slowly under impact. Upon impact both the outer shell and the inner shell quite literally self destruct. By spreading the force throughout the entire helmet less damage occurs to the skull and brain has a better chance of not becoming scrambled. When you shop for your helmet you need to watch for the DOT sticker. SNELL and ANSI are also important certifications. Each organization has their own set of standards they use to evaluate but overall they check 1. The shock absorbency of the helmet under impact
2. How well the helmet withstands a blow caused by a sharp object
3. How well the chin strap stays in place on impact
4. How good peripheral vision is. DOT stands for Department of Transportation. This sticker will appear on the outside of the helmet. Ensure the helmet you are looking at has the DOT certification. SNELL Is the Snell Memorial Foundation and you will find their sticker on the lower back of the helmet. It is a voluntary certification program so not all helmets will have it. However buying a helmet with it ensure you that your helmet has passed the most rigorous testing. ANSI or American National Standards Institute is more stringent than DOT but less stringent than SNELL so it is somewhere down the middle of the road. The ANSI sticker can be found inside the helmet. When you are choosing your helmet of course you want it to look great so you are drawn to color, design, and style. But it needs to go further than that. Recent improvements in the shell materials have shown amazing improvements in the past few years. Most helmets are either made from injection molded plastic or fiberglass. Both are fairly lightweight but manufacturers continue to strive to make even lighter materials. Injection molded plastic is the lighter of the two and it is also the cheapest, but it doesn't last as long either and it's much touchier. So touchy that the chemical composition changes just with the application of decals. You need to be cautious with this material. Fiberglass costs more but last longer. However there is always the potential for delamination to occur. You can apply decals or paint it however you like without affecting the composition. The liner is made of Styrofoam and is an important part of the helmet absorbing energy and spreading the impact in the event of an accident. Proper fit is important and just as there are different shaped heads there are different shaped helmets. Make sure that the helmet size you choose and the helmet shape are both right for you. Italian motorcycle helmets are available in a terrific mix of vibrant colors which will keep you looking trendy and stylish and more noticed too.
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