Just unknowingly bought a 6.5-year-old helmet. Keep it?

[Libby2563]

Here’s one more update for anyone interested. I received a reply from IRH regarding whether they recommend routine helmet replacement after 5 years:

[I]What you have heard about 5 year replacement for helmets had been started by another helmet company to get consumers to purchase new helmets.
It is just a marketing ploy and IRH will not be a part of miss leading our customers. There is absolutely no scientific date to back these lies.

I am one of the original founding members back in 1985 that help develop the current ASTM F1163 standard and I am still active in committee activities.

I have attached a study for you reference concerning these false and miss leading statement about the expected life span of any safety helmet.

Sincerely yours,
IRH
Frank Plastino
President[/I]

He did attach a document regarding a study on bicycle helmets (summary here; abstract from peer-reviewed journal here).

I’m no expert so I don’t know if bicycle and riding helmets are similar enough that that applies. I’m also unwilling to take a risk with my brain, plus the lack of packaging was reason enough to return it IMO. But the article is interesting anyway.

[SonnysMom]

Very interesting on the study.

[MissAriel]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;9005353]

I’m no expert so I don’t know if bicycle and riding helmets are similar enough that that applies. I’m also unwilling to take a risk with my brain, plus the lack of packaging was reason enough to return it IMO. But the article is interesting anyway.[/QUOTE]

I’m no expert either, but wrt the materials breaking down, it shouldn’t matter much what the design of the helmet is, if both bike helmets and riding helmets use the same expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, the conclusions should be valid.

Thanks for sharing that information. It is also great to hear that IRH is actively involved in safety testing, and not just making a buck by scaring us into replacing a perfectly fine helmet. I will keep that in mind when I am shopping for a show helmet this year.:encouragement:

[buck22]

I know you have gotten things sorted out, but fwiw, if I were in your situation I would also be contacting IRH and letting them know that a helmet I purchased came rattling around loose in a box with no manufacturer packaging or padding - this is of course assuming the purchase was for a new product and not a open box item, or floor sample, etc.

To receive a new product with no manufactuer packaging is extremely shady and paints a bad picture not so much for the seller, but ultimately the product manufactuer. IRH would certainly want to know that their products are being poorly represented.

Heck, for all you know, that could have been a professional sample that was sent to the merchandise buyer for Chicks’ and not meant for sale.

Its a very good thing you listened to your instincts and returned it.

[WhatzUp]

@Libby2563

Another update: Spoke to the right person and he sent a return shipping label. Whew! I haven’t shopped at Chick’s much so I’m pleased with the customer service.

He did focus on the packaging issue and believes that the 5-year rule is basically an invention of the helmet manufacturers who want to sell more helmets, but it’s going back for a full refund so all is well!

Wow. ’ an invention… ’ ? What an absolutely ignorant thing to say to you - clearly he has no knowledge whatsoever of materials integrity, engineering, plastics, certification criteria et.al. Just wow.

[PlanB]

Wow I had such “dejavu” reading this thread and thinking, geez it was only started a couple weeks ago. lol nope 2017

[walktrot]

I’m not sure if I agree about the materials not degrading over time. It certainly happens to many types of plastics and foams that lose flexibility or harden or crumble. I think that is especially true of plastics left in the sun. I’d be more suspicious that it may have been returned by a customer after a crash, which you can only verify if you take it apart to inspect.

Apparently bike and equestrian helmets are quite similar, but the bike helmet assumes you will go over the handle bars so they are designed to absorb the most impact on the front. You never know what direction you’ll fly off your horse, and the back of your skull is also likely to take a blow when your head snaps back when you land.

Chick’s sent me a tube of Equimax last week with an expiration date of 3/2018. The website did not say it was short-dated. They said they would credit my account, since I don’t need it anytime soon. It’s going to the local rescue barn as a donation.

[poltroon]

The five year rule is conservative, I think, and appropriate for helmets that are in use, just because we bang them around and leave them in all kinds of sub-optimal conditions. One might easily also say that the poo-poohing of the five year rule was just the reaction of people who don’t want to be left with unsellable old stock.

The study is very cool and I’m glad it was done. Bike helmets, I’d guess, would in general be more likely to be stored in a house compared to riding helmets, so it might not apply precisely. There are also issues of changing standards over time and general wear and tear.

In the original packaging, stored at room temperature, the materials would probably be fine. The challenge is that you don’t know that’s how it was stored, and especially not if it was out of the box. A helmet I just kept for showing, and stored inside, I would probably be more comfortable keeping for a longer time based on that study.

[WhatzUp]

@PlanB

Wow I had such “dejavu” reading this thread and thinking, geez it was only started a couple weeks ago. lol nope 2017

A couple of weeks ago was 2017

[Guilherme]

@Libby2563

I just bought a IRH helmet from Chick’s. When it arrived yesterday, I saw that the manufacture date was August 2010. It was also loose in the shipping box with no manufacturer’s box, padding, or packaging materials. Is it safe? Would you be dissatisfied?

If SP or RW had sent it to me I would definitely be requesting a return at their expense but I have no experience with Chick’s customer service so I’m not sure if I’ll have to fight for them to pay return shipping. Before I do, I would like opinions on whether I have grounds. I have emailed IRH to ask them as well but their website has always struck me as a little low-budget so I don’t know how well they monitor the email.

I did some Googling and found contradictory information about when to replace helmets. Some say every 5 years, but presumably that’s when they’re in use. Some say if it’s stored at normal temperatures there’s no significant degradation with time. Anyone know anything about this?

If this was sold to you as a new helmet it should go back since it appears it might not be.

The Five Year Rule is based on the fact that plastic changes over time and can have different responses to impact. In the Navy when I was flying almost half a century ago we replaced our flight helmets at five years for the same reasons.

Send it back and get a newly manufactured one.

​​​​​​​G.

[kcmel]

I had the same issue once with a Tipperary helmet–I don’t remember exactly how old it was when I got it. The seller (Adams maybe?) talked to both Tip and CO and they said the 5 year rule only applies once the helmet is in use. Stored at RT the materials are stable.

So as a neuroscientist I am a big believer in doing right by your head, but I did keep the helmet and had a pretty nasty fall in it (horse fell over an XC jump) and the helmet provided good protection. I was actually sorry to have to throw it away since they had discontinued that model (skull cap).

In this case though with the helmet not in its original box I would definitely have returned.

ETA: this is meant as an anecdote only and not to imply a general rule! YMMV