Chatting with a paramedic friend about bike helmets

He told me he sees a lot of crashes where the helmet looks fine but the foam inside is crushed. He said, 'If you drop it from waist height, you should replace it.' That's a much lower bar than I thought. How many of you check helmets that closely after a minor tip-over?

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3 Comments

elizabethg185mo ago

How often do you actually inspect the inside of your helmet? I had a slow speed fall last year, just scraped my elbow, and the helmet looked perfect. But when I pressed on the foam liner, I could feel a slight crunch in one spot. That hidden damage is what your head is supposed to be protected from. It made me realize we treat them like hats, not safety gear that has one real job. Now I check mine every few months, just running my fingers over the foam.

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loganl225mo ago

Wait, you felt a crunch?

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phoenix_carter5mo ago

My old helmet from a minor parking lot tip-over had the same thing. Looked fine, but the foam on the left side gave a quiet crackle under my thumb. I mark the date inside with a sharpie now after any hit, even a drop.

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