Old helmet

[smallhound]

My helmet is turning 11 soon. Never been crashed in (I've fallen but always ended up on my arse). Should it be replaced? It's a Tipperary, if that makes any difference.

Comments

[rolypolypony]

Yes! Manufacturers recommend replacing them every 5 years, or after a fall. Even if the helmet looks fine, the material degrades over time, losing protection. So get a new helmet! :)

[pony_love]

I agree, but actually heard from a CHarles Owen rep that you should replace your helmet every 2 years. Either way, 11 is definitely past it's prime.

[penella22]

Yes--it should be replaced. Technology for helmets has improved so much in eleven years...I would replace it if for no other reason than the improved protection now available for my head. Tipperary still makes helmets for those of us with oval heads. The new Sportages run around $60 I think?

[coleoptera]

This is also true for bicycle helmets, though the last check I saw on those was every 1-2 years, regardless of anything happening to them.

... and now I'm trying to remember how long I've had my basic Troxel helmet because it could be a great time to replace it! (My birthday is tomorrow!)

[my_ownwings]

To be honest, I would replace it after any type of fall or if you drop it. But that's just my opinion :)

A helmet that old though, yes, I would replace it.

[coleoptera]

I think if most of us replaced helmets when they were dropped we'd be out a LOT of money!

[my_ownwings]

Dropping a helmet, especially on a hard surface, can crack the shell of the helmet. I'd rather be out of a `lot` of money than my life :) But then again, I carry the thing around like it's my first born so I won't drop it :P

[ernestinewalker]

I agree to a point, but there is also a point where you have to evaluate the situation. For example, I work with a lot of kids. Kids drop things A LOT, but kids are also lower to the ground. I mention to my students' parents that helmets should be replaced after any big impact, but if they were replaced every time gravity won, none of these kids would be able to afford lessons. I am, perhaps, a little more liberal with my helmet for the same reason- if I replaced every time my helmet got pushed off a bale of hay by a cat, or wiggled off a hook it had been sharing with my bridle and dropped a couple feet onto the soft footing of our aiselway, then I would need to head out to the barn with approximately four helmets every time I rode. There is no argument for the cost of my own life, of course, but at $60 a helmet that's what, $240 per ride, times 4 rides a week, generally, is $960 a week. That's slightly more than what I get paid per week