So just wondering how long people keep their helmets before retiring them? obviously after a knock but maybe 3 years ? or longer?

i know there is a date on hard hats as they degrade due to uv and i would have thought that a helmet is more susceptible?

Met say 3-5 years of normal use, Giro 3 years
In practice mine get replaced when the liner pads are falling apart and can’t be washed any more, which is around 3-5 years (assuming there’s no obv damage)

There is no reliable/independent information on this, and I have found no evidence that UV degrades helmets in a structural way.

Lots of people will say “why risk it?” etc of course, ignoring rationale.

Mine tend to get replaced when cracked, one is presently 7 years old. (you can often get spare pads too).

Mine are mostly newish… but one of my Giros is 9-10 years old.

Having worked in the industrial safety products sector, dates are used to indicate the point at which they can no longer guarantee the safety and integrity of a product – particulary due to exposure to UV and ozone which can have a degrading effect on the materials. It’s a worst-case scenario so if the product is stored safely away from direct sunlight rather than left in the back shelf of a car, battered around in the boot it should last a lot, lot longer. I generally replace mine every 5 years or so.

I ride a fair bit (4-5) times a week, so helmets get soaked in sweat on a frequent basis, replace them every 18months or so, unless they take a big hit, then replaced.

As Al says, various figures have been bandied about but there’s little or no scientific data. I’ve just replaced a 7 year old road helmet.

My MTB helmets are replaced before that age as they suffer more knocks.

When they look a bit tired. I have a couple of helmets. I use a cheaper one for commuting and replace it every few years. At about £40 used daily it isn’t really a cost concern. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of my nicer helmets get old as racing on and off road regularly gives them a short life expectancy. Normally <2 years before I crash hard enough to justify a new one.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the dates. I assume it is UV degredation that is the main concern. Being ithe UK doesn’t make that a big problem compared to southern Europe which will have to be covered by the same date stamp.

Got a ‘new’ helmet earlier this year that was manufactured in Nov 2014

When they look a bit tired. I have a couple of helmets. I use a cheaper one for commuting and replace it every few years. At about £40 used daily it isn’t really a cost concern.

Mostly this +1

I usually have one ‘road’ and one ‘trail’ helmet on the go at any given time. They generally last until they start to look scruffy and/or they take a big enough knock to justify replacement. I doubt they get anywhere near 5 years on average!

Having said that I just ordered a new one because my old one had cracked clean through at the front and I don’t actually remember any really bad crashes. So it’s worth inspecting them periodically and replacing out of caution as it had obviously been weakened by a relatively minor crash at some point (or rather, I hit my head harder than I thought and it did it’s job).

Even if replaced at 5 years despite no signs of damage, that’s a cost of about 20p/week for peace of mind.

2-3 years depending on head to floor ratio.

Easy test is a visual inspection, does the polystyrene move independently of the shell?

Is the interior looking a bit flat?

Any cracks etc

Is it time for new bling?

This is what POC advised me recently when I queried :

We like to recommend a 3 year life cycle for our helmets, starting with the day you first put them on. All lot of outside factors like UV light, humidity, and normal wear and tear work to degrade the safety of the helmet. Our in house testing has determined that on average after 3 years the safety of the helmet starts to decrease, hence the recommendation to replace it after this time period.

Our in house testing accountant has determined that on average after 3 years we need to make more money out of punters the safety of the helmet starts to decrease

We like to recommend a 3 year life cycle for our helmets, starting with the day you first put them on. All lot of outside factors like UV light, humidity,

Do they store them in an airtight, dark chamber untill the day you purchase it?

I’ve had one over 10 years, however there comes a point where we are all slaves to fashion….

Generally after a few good whacks to the head. Need a new one…

Potentially good up to 26 years…if you don’t mind the fashion faux-pas…

Some interesting info here regarding helmet longetivity

Do they store them in an airtight, dark chamber untill the day you purchase it?

who knows, but their advice sounds sensible, so I will follow it 🙂

Do they store them in an airtight, dark chamber untill the day you purchase it?

Cardboard box with a silica gel sachet?

I change mine whenever I get a new pair of sunglasses that doesn’t match.

When I had 1 helmet for all types of riding I’d change it every 2or3 years…
Now I have 3 – for road, mtb and ‘enduro’ uses. As they each get less use than the single helmet did I guess every 4or5 years.

Had mine since 2009

Have a Giro Havoc – Always kept in the helmet pod, never dropped/crashed etc but I looked and it was manufactured in 2006! 😯 Thought it was probably a good idea to get a new one just in case 😀

Im lucky to get a year out of one, but thats because I’ve fallen off and damaged it.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/have-we-done-headkayse-pu-helmets

Do those Headkayse helmets last longer?