Just read an article about a new testing methodology from Virginia Tech.
I’ve clicked on every link and can’t for the life of me find the actual list of ratings.
I’m due for a new helmet and am really curious. Can anyone find the published ratings?
Found them here
4 Likes
Thank you!
There are some interesting changes from the last list. Again, some cheaper helmets in the top ten.
Interesting that some popular MIPS helmets are so far down.
1 Like
Also curious about what made the top. Champion and Trauma Void is consistently at the top and I’ve never heard of them.
I just bought a Charles Owen Kylo MIPS helmet, the first MIPS helmet to fit me (!!) and was surprised to see it so low on the list. It fits my head great and is super comfortable 
I have the Trauma Void EQ3 (#7, yay!) and love it. I think Champion tends to be more popular overseas.
Wow, the OneKs are low on that list. Interesting how highly rated the CO AyR8 is, that helmet fits me beautifully but I switched to a MIPS when I replaced it… a MIPS that is rated lower! Honestly I hate dial fit helmets for showing, so I may get an AYR8 for showing (hair up) and school in the Tipperary (hair down).
I still think that a safety tested helmet that FITS that you’ll WEAR is more important than specific ranking on this list, but it is intriguing info to take into account.
9 Likes
I got a rose gold/black Kylo for schooling (hair down) black/black for showing (hair up). I’ve literally tried all the other MIPS helmets and was thrilled to finally find one, even though it has the dial fit (which is growing on me). The list is certainly interesting to take into account!
ETA:
I have a Champion (forgot the model, no MIPS) and the Kylo fits me significantly better!
This!
My helmet ranks lower in safety than some of these helmets, but fits me better. I find these studies very interesting, and a good resource to use when deciding what helmet to purchase, but I’m glad to hear others remind us that fit is the most important.
I still remember trying on about 10 different helmets at the tack store. I wanted a samshield SO bad for purely trendy reasons. It didn’t fit at all - I’d compare it to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, haha. It made me sort of wonder how many riders are in an ill fitting helmet to stay with the current fashion trend…. or perhaps I’m the oddball with the super weird head shape 
3 Likes
I agree. The OneK fits me perfectly too and I will continue to wear it. I would like studies done with different universities to see if they get the same results.
Curious-- Why would a different university get different results? Are you assuming different testing criteria or methodology? I’m genuinely curious about your thoughts.
The results from both years of testing seem to show that more money does not a safer helmet make, European brands seem to be on the safer side, any helmet in the top 15 would be a good choice, especially if it fits well. And, finally, any helmet is better than no helmet. But I am very glad that the helmet that fits me best is in the top 15!
4 Likes
Curiosity to be honest. I’m a scientist so I would like to see what results other universities would get.
I do agree that more money doesn’t make a safer helmet, but I would like to see other universities conduct this experiment/study.
4 Likes
The only thing I’ve gathered from looking at the recent studies on helmets is the testing hasn’t proven anything. With some helmets getting different ratings with different testers, how can I put faith in any of them?
6 Likes
I think this is definitely me. It seems NOTHING is long/narrow/oval enough for me. I wanted a CO Kylo the other year so bad and DH was going to get it for me for Christmas. I’d had an AyR8 and a Hampton I loved and was crushed when the Kylo wasn’t anything like them. I contacted CO and basically they said, tough luck, this is our helmet shape now. I may have cried.
Ugh!! So interesting to hear that about CO. I had a Wellington Pro, and the AYR8 was WAY too oval for me, but the Kylo fits very well. So strange how the shapes change so much!
I went from an AyR8 to a Kask. This was nearly 8 years ago and unsure how much CO has changed helmet shape during the last few years, but if you’re still shopping it might be worth keeping in mind. The price is a bit hefty so I do try to buy on sale (helmet week, Boxing Day, Black Friday) and can usually find it for 20% off.
I recently-ish repurchased a Kask as my old one hit the 5 year mark (technically a little bit longer than that but I dragged my feet on purchasing), and they changed the shape slightly. Still fits my head but thought it was super weird - why change the shape of a helmet?
1 Like
Interesting! I bought a Tuffrider Carbon Fiber as a schooling helmet after the 2022 ratings came out, at that time it got five stars and was #2 overall. Now it only gets three stars and has dropped lower, although still in the top 15. I wonder why.
1 Like
I like that they are testing them but I very much dislike the way they are showing the ratings. The #1 helmet has a rating of 2.11 but #4 is already 3.05. That’s a HUGE jump. Then the difference between helmet #7 and #11 is .33.
The testing has shown that some helmets are wildly more protective than others. Hopefully helmet manufacturers will use the data to improve their product.
PS: I lawn darted head first into my arena about a month ago in #15
3 Likes
Interesting, a big move up for the faux cowboy hat scenario. As I recall it was something like a 12 in the first round. My head is so oval that a CO certified fitter asked me if I was born with forceps and said to get a helmet that fits from their current range I’d have to order custom to the british standard and essentially smuggle it over. I will continue on with my samshield which is, to some peoples perspective, the devil’s helmet but scores pretty mid range here, it seems. There still seems to be a pretty strong correlation with size/presence of brim to scoring on this test. Not sure how I feel about that
1 Like
