 Poster: A snowHead
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I've had my helmet for around 3 years or so now - never had an impact with it. Even so, I was wondering if there comes a point when it needs to be replaced regardless. (Notwithstanding the fickle finger of fashion).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ajpaul, we have never been told of a shelf life on helmets, however it would depend on what helmet it is and the construction type. Some of the older helmets may deteriorate over time and become brittle, but you would see this just by looking.
Most manufactures say replace after an major impact or if the outer shell is cracked or punctured or if the foam has started to come away from the outer plastic shell
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I would say that helmets did have a shelf life but the manufactures would be the people to state what this is!
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Motorcycle helmets certainly do. I don't know much about ski helmets but if they are made of similar materials I'd guess the same applies. For plastic/polycarbonate motorcycle helmets the recommendation is 3 years of weekly use, up to a maximum of 5 years of age and for fibreglass/composite motorcycle helmets it's 5 and 8 years respectively.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Don't know about helmets but helmet threads have an indefinite life
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Most plastic products have a shelf life. As a general rule, a climbing rope is usually replaced after 5 years even if you never take it out of it's wrapper and use it. Obviously if you use it every week, it will wear out faster.
Kersh
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To all intents and purposes ski helmets don't have a shelf life.
However, you should consider replacing if it has the slightest dent, especialy if it is a lightweight one.
The climbing equipment stuff is about UV degradation - nylon molecules gradualy come apart when exposed to prolonged UV radiation.
However modern plastics are a lot more stable, and recent research by the British Mountaineering Council has shown this to be much less of an issue than previously thought.
The 5 year rule may still apply for other reasons !
Modern helmets are a lot lighter and more comfortable.
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Three to five years as UV degredation is massive at altitude. A bike helmet (althought worn more) lasts about the same time. It all depends on how much you value your head i guess
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If it's never had to save you when you've stacked, and structurally it looks fine... it's fine.
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Wrong oz, UV degredation is massive at altitude. It may look ok but................................................... 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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UV degradation at altitude is massive.
However UV degradation does not affect everything, only specific polymer chain types.
Modern lightweight helmets are not affected by UV degradation, although the straps might be.
For example, your skis & boots are made of plastic, and are undergoing considerable continual forces, but they don't disintegrate.
It did used to be an issue with very old plastic ski boots that were used all season every season ... they became brittle, Scarpas were notorious ...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Maersk, cobblers.
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I don't know if they are made of similar plastics or not, but helmets for use in construction sites do have a 'replace by' code on them and IIRC that is usually around 3 years, but again that might assume constant daily use outside. On the other hand that might be to prevent litigation if someone gets hurt, things like horse riding hats don't have a date on, but in that industry the current standard updates so regularly that its easy to spot an old one and folks that compete must keep their's up to date at least.
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You know it makes sense.
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It makes you wonder if the hire companies in the Alps have ever thought about a shelf life for helmets 
There are also different standards that helmets are designed to, there is the CE and the ASTM, the ASTM US standard is higher than the CE standard, then there is another standard for racing as well. Most recreational helemts are not made to the race standard, but you can get them.
I have asked regarding life span, of ski helmets and will update when I get an answer
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
I have asked regarding life span, of ski helmets and will update when I get an answer
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It would appear not, Ski Helemts do not have a shelf life, however the advice would be to carefully inspect your helemt from time to time.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| livetoski wrote: |
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I have asked regarding life span, of ski helmets and will update when I get an answer
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It would appear not, Ski Helemts do not have a shelf life, however the advice would be to carefully inspect your helemt from time to time. |
Whose position is this? I'm somewhat surprised as, though it may not be a "shelf" life, I'd expect the glue bonding the outer shell to the deformable inner to degrade with sunlight & large temperature variation. I've certainly got a bit of an airbubble forming under part of my shell.
Had an old protec (not typical modern construction) that would completely deform with heat e.g. when left on backshelf of car. Got rid of that.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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fatbob, The info was from one of my suppliers, the question was shelf life? not life span, probabley wrong of me  to say life span in other post
I would agree with you that any deformation in the helmet due to heat etc then maybe adviseable to think about replacing
The older Ski helmets, (not sure about protec) were made from a different plastic, the regs. standards changed in 2009 as well which probabley had an impact(pardon the pun) on helmet construction.
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e.g. when left on backshelf of car
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The temp in cars gets very very hot and IMHO would not leave a helmet uncovered in a car in direct sunlight
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Did not realise oz5000 was a Schumacher fan, soz. 
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I have an old-ish Scott ski helmet with a 3-year life.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I did wonder whether there was a lifespan built into the codes themselves, i.e. to conform to a code does a helmet require a certain 'plastic life' stability?
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Hmmmn maybe I should have said lifespan, rather than shelf life in the OP. I take it I'm probably still OK with around 6 weeks wear over 3 years with no impacts then?
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ajpaul, all depends - is there a newer model in a slightly different shade on the market yet? That's how it works for all other equipment........if the answer is yes, clearly your current helmet is shot and needs replacing.
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| The Voice of Reason wrote: |
| ajpaul, all depends - is there a newer model in a slightly different shade on the market yet? That's how it works for all other equipment........if the answer is yes, clearly your current helmet is shot and needs replacing. |
Also remember that helmet brands are still striving to make them standard equipment and too negative a message about how often they should be replaced may deter casual first time buyers. Once the market is fairly saturated I'd expoect we get to see more studies of how ski helmets weaken over time and therefore should be replaced frequently.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I am a sad person and was thinking about this today when I clapped eyes on our riding hats. If we assume that it is UV damage which weakens the shells then I wonder what role the coating on a helmet makes. horse riding helmets have a covering of dense velvet fabric, or a fabric helmet cover in the case of a 'jockey helmet', cycling helmets are often finished with a light covering of coloured plastic - the same for many ski helmets that I've seen, motorcycling helmets are often coated with paints and laquers by the manufacturer. How much does it take to stop UV - IIRC from the recent thread on sunglasses not much is required. Is helmet degradation a real phenomenon or a means for manufacturers to flog us a shiney new one?
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Thu 5-08-10 18:22; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm buying a new helmet this year (replacing 3 year old Giro), for no other reason than the latest ones look much better than mine and it's the only new bit of kit I can possibly justify purchasing, however flimsy the reason, having got a whole new outfit + skis last season.
Don't judge me.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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A bit of clarification ...
... relevant to all sorts of helmets, & pretty much anything else these days ...
A CE mark is not a standard, it indicates at which approved body the product testing was done. The standard the product was tested to is usually indicated by an EN number.
For example, climbing equipment & pesonal protective equipment for working at height both carry CE marks, but are tested to different ENs, & you can't use climbing kit as PPE at height.
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FlyingStantoni emailed sweetprotection.com in March 2008, questioning the general 3-5 years helmet lifespan he had read about.
Sweet responded: "Well, 3-5years is LONG! We normally recommend that one should consider replacing a helmet after 2 years. This is, if you use the helmet quite often. The problem is that there’s no way any helmet manufacturer can say how the helmet has been treaded [treated?], or what ”damage” the helmet has been suffering. This is also why we say 2 years."
See: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37568
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You know it makes sense.
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Walter-Spitty, I've had my Rocker for 4/5 years, used pretty regularly, and it's still fine, although I'll probably convert my Trooper for paddling too this time next year. I do keep losing the bloody screws for the peak though, which gets pretty tedious.
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FAQ
Helmet "life span" is approx 2 years, after a bit more digging, it would appear that their two years is two full seasons use, and then its more an issue of helmet abuse than a breakdown in the materials.
