Factors that shorten the lifespan of your helmet

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paradise
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Factors that shorten the lifespan of your helmet

Post by paradise »

A helmet is something that is very susceptible to being damaged by extreme heat. This has been stated by many experts on websites, social networks, as well as helmet forums. Accordingly, you should keep your lid in a dry and moderate temperature area.

For example, if you keep your helmet in storage during the 45-degree celsius hot summer, the worst that can happen is the polycarbonate shell can be melted. This is what really happened to some riders.

Although helmet shell melting does not always happen, temperature, humidity, sweat, and UV rays are factors that reduce the lifespan of a helmet. Before we can know about how these agents can affect your helmet, let’s take a few minutes to look at HelmetsZone to find more useful articles about motorcycle headgear.

Temperature

You know, each helmet will be tested before coming to the market. One of the tests is for extreme temperatures. Accordingly, helmets sold in Australia are tested to use within a temperatures range of -7 to 50 degrees centigrade. While European lids are something between -22 and 50 degrees centigrade. Your helmet will probably melt when it hits 50 degrees C or more, but this rarely happens, unless you deliberately leave the helmet in such a place, no one can drive in such a temperature.

The foam inside acts as an insulation, and many people think it is unlikely to be affected by the temperature, but this is not entirely true. In one case, a rider left his lid on his desk in room temperature in the summer up to 40 degrees Celsius, the bottom part melted and fell to the desk.

Assuming the shell and foam are still working properly in extreme temperatures, the soft lining will still be affected. In general, heat is not good for helmets. It can damage one part or another.

UV rays

Regardless of the temperature factor, another factor that makes your gear live shorter is the sunlight. Sunlight often tends to degrade the material gradually. It can cause discoloration or damage to the material's structure. This process is difficult to observe by the naked eye. Only when it actually happened did people realize.
You can't get out of the sun while driving outdoors during the day, but you can protect it when you are not using it by leaving it in the shade, or in a dedicated carrying case. Don’t hang the helmet in the vehicle or put it by the window.

Image

Your sweat

Since your scalp directly contacts the helmet lining, your own sweat will transfer to the lining and sweat can seep inside causing the adhesive to fail and compress the foam. Then your lid will have a tendency to not fit your head, and it will not provide the ultimate protection to your head.

The lining will tend to break into small black scales and fall onto the hair. If this happens to you then it means it's time to buy a new helmet. You also need to pay attention to the hair product that you are using, because some types contain ingredients that are not good for lining.

The solution to this problem is to wrap a thin towel around your head before you put on a helmet bandana, balaclava or skull cap, or anything else that can prevent your scalp and helmet from contacting each other. Regularly washing your lining is also a good help or simply spray in a special helmet interior cleaner. Remember not to dry your helmet by putting it under the sun.

Humidity

Humidity is the ideal condition for mold to grow. If you live in a humid area, put your helmet in a dedicated bag. Buy a desiccant bag and put it in your lid when not in use for a long time. These desiccant bags usually come with the packaging. If not, you can find these moisture-proof bags at many department stores; they are very cheap.

So I have just listed for you some of the triggers for your helmet. You need to pay attention the most to the temperature because it makes your hat wear out very quickly.

HelmetsZone is a very reputable helmet website, you can read about it here: https://helmetszone.com/about-us
Last edited by paradise on Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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