Choosing Your First Racing Helmet

Contemporary racing helmet design has progressed a great deal since the early adoption of helmets as racing safety equipment in the immediate post-war era of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The open-faced cloth-covered helmets of yester-year are out - full faced HANS-enabled carbon fibre helmets, are in.

Today there are a huge range of considerations which buyers need to be aware of when buying a racing helmet. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the main areas you'll need to be considering if you are in the market for a new racing helmet.

First, consider the desired safety rating required of the helmet. Helmets which meet Snell Standards tend to provide the greatest degree of protection. Snell have been testing manufacturers racing helmets on an international basis since the late 1950s, measuring helmet performance, always keeping pace with the various advances in both materials and design.

There are two key categories of Snell rating to consider when looking at any helmet - they are the 'SA' and 'M' standards. The SA standard was developed for car motorsport whereas the M standard has been developed for road-going motorcycles and other forms on non-car motorsport.

The two categories differ in three distinct areas. Firstly, the SA standard trumps the M standard in terms of fire safety in that the former requires a flammability test, whereas the latter does not. The SA standard also allows for a narrower eyesight opening - creating a smaller vision field - meaning that certain SA standard helmets are not legal for road use. Thirdly, SA standard helmets have to sustain roll-bar impact testing, where an M standard helmet does not.

A second consideration to make at this point will be whether you are required to (or choose to voluntarily) wear a HANS safety device whilst racing. HANS devices (HANS standing for Head and Neck Support) are generally employed within high-performance motor racing and are used to hold the head in place (relative to the chest) during a frontal impact. The forward pressure caused by a sudden decrease in speed is transferred to the chest muscles via the HANS device, meaning that neck injuries are less likely to occur. When they do occur, they are also less likely to be too serious. According to your specific form of motor racing, you may need to ensure that the helmet you purchase is compatible with a HANS device. Always bear in mind that some helmets are, and some are not, HANS device compatible.

Finally, you will need to look at which material(s) you wish the new helmet to be made from. There are several options here but, generally speaking, your budget will be the key determining factor. Fibreglass racing helmets remain popular with many budget-conscious racers, but the lightweight carbon fibre helmet designs are becoming increasingly popular.

By Richard Harwood