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Don't buy/sell used helmets
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This is something that bothers me when I see it on this site. It's a safety issue.
I know some people here are just trying to make a buck, or save one. Just be cautious. All helmets are single impact only, any time after that, the risks of injury increase dramaticaly. The average lifespan of a helmet is 3 years. A hairline fracture is almost impossible to see with the naked eye, and though the high density styrofoam used to make helmets is very strong, it deteriorates like anything else through use.
Don't put a price on your head, or that of others.
In fact, if you know a helmet is no longer safe, destroy it before disposing of it.
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that's somethin' to think about!
i don't ever wear a helmet myself. i never fall, so what's the point?
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it may be expensive, but i replace my bad lt every season. yeah.
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i dont really understand this single impact shit.
i mean, its a helmet, made up of dense foam and padding with a plastic case right?
so if you get a dent in that foam/padding on one side, then that foam/padding is compressed and it loses its impact resistance(i.e ability to absorb energy)?
so now that you hae a dent/compression in one side of the helmet, the other side is still ok right? and the only reason you (in general really) say that they are only good for one hit is because of insurance reasons? example: a kid falls and dents his helmet, then falls again and dies. the helmet company can say "our helmets are only good for one impact, it saved his life the first time"
yet companies like marker are coming out with "multi-impact" helmets (omega series...i just bought one last season)
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^im exlcuding cracks/fractures...if you get a crack, no shit. its unsafe.
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welllll all that makes sense except what if you fall on the side you already fell on? and considering that you fell on it already you are probably more prone to falling to that side. just a thought. Buying a used helmet isn't totally out of the question, it's wayy better than a hat as someone else said, if you cant afford a new helmet a used one is still good. Although if you get it in the mail and find that it has a huge crack or somethin in it if you have the means i'd try to find another one. I got one left over from last year on sale at a shop for $30 bucks though! if you ski you can afford to spend $30 bucks and it's a decent looking protec that was like $60 new.
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i dont know much about physics and shit
but i would think if your helmet cracks, thats a defect. helmets are made to absorb energy, if your helmet cracks, all that energy went straight through your helmet and into your head. in which case i would think the helmet company would have some sort of obligation/insurance issues. when something absorbs energy it basically takes the shape of whatever it hits (a rock, the gound, a tree etc.) if it hits the ground, it will have a flat spot, if it hits a small rock, it has a concave dent.
but when it cracks, that means it didnt conform to/absorb whatever it hit, it was simply too hard and couldnt do much.
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^ i guess i shouldnt say it takes the shape of whatever it hits. probably depends on force/angle/energy waves and how they travle through it. i dont know
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didnt read any of that long shit...but the guy has a good statement about buying new helmets.. hopefully this is an eye opener for people... like me ... :p
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in response to the above, some guy... a large guy... hit me when i had the right of way on the ski hill and i got a concussion. i found a crack on the most opposite part of my helmet from where the initial impact was. and yes, i did hit the snow... but very near to where i was hit by the guy. i know for a fact the crack wasn't there before the incident, becuase it was brand new and closely inspected by myself. just thought i should throw that in there.
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es the simple fact of the matter that really matters.
Our sport is expensive, and not everyone has rich parents that will buy everything new all the time. Im not saying im poor, not even close but i like to pay my own way, not ride off of my parents money.
What I am saying is that if i have the chance to get a 200dollar helmit for 75 bucks cause someone used it for a few days then im gona take it, I can use the rest of the moeny else where on other things, in the end a dented helmit is better than a hat or touque any day
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yes, you don't know much about physics. It is actually the opposite of what you said: if the helmet cracks or dents that means it took all the force/energy it could so that as little as possible went to your head. Think of it as a car: hondas for example, have a very soft front end, or crumple zone. The force of the impact is a relationship with the time of the collision (called impulse). So, car companies (and helmet companies) attempt to use a material that will withhold small forces (fender benders for cars and regular falls for helmets) but will have a cushion effect in a more serious accident. So, your helmet denting or cracking is purposeful to elongate the impact, decreasing the force to your head and being absorbed by the foam/plastic. Make a little more sense?
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yeah you do NOT want to buy used helmets.
I'm surprised NS even allows people to sell them.
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yeh i personally most likley wouldnt buy a used one...but for what i am doing...im not going to need a troy lee D2...i have banged my head a few couple hard times but i still have the same helmet...lets put it this way...it is better than nothing.
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