@motorcycles Looking at getting a black and green helmet (size small) w/ Cat Ears
My current helmet is ok… but not the best in the long run as it’s kind of slightly to big as it shifts up and down on my head. Thoughts on the helmet I’m looking at getting.
you should know, there are foam cat ears with a glue side, you can stick on every helmet. if those are not foam or don’t easily come off during an accident, they could act like a lever when they catch something (ground, branch, etc) and hurt your neck more than a helmet without ears would.
I’d stay away. I checked HNJ’s website to see if they’ve tested those helmets with gimmicky ears (they also do horns and batman apparently). They’ve published zero testing for safety, wind resistance, or anything at all related to those ears.
I wouldn’t trust the single most important piece of safety gear to a company like that. Go with a more reputable brand, and take the other commenter’s suggestion to attach foam ears if you really need that aesthetic.
Simply put, it’s just not worth the risk.
In general I look any helmet I intend to buy on
https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/
Then make a decision on acceptable risk. For me: pillions are only allowed in 5* helmets. My daily, a Shoei NXR, is 4* but light af. Helmets are for when things go wrong, even though they’re worn every ride, I want them for the crash.
Specific to that helmet, they don’t have a sharp rating so that’s an immediate no for me, that aside I’d worry about what those ears do in a crash also a no. I wear a cardo which can react negatively in a crash but it provides some utility as compensation. It’s your head, your risk, your decision.
Thank you, yeah I understand dressing for the crash, I will do some research but I know I also don’t want a helmet that doesn’t make me want to wear it, I’d rather have a helmet I want to wear and do instead of one I don’t want to wear and end up not using correctly.
I get that. My mum rides a helmet that she attaches ears/mohawks to, like these. My SIL covers her helmet in one of these things. Or, find a graphic you like. There’s options to make a boring helmet what you want.
Currently, I draw as little police’s attention to myself, I have the stock quiet pipe, the stock tail and plate, I wear hi-vis, I look as boring as possible so I can ride less boringly. Part of that is havjng a plain white helmet, doesn’t hurt that no graphics are cheaper.