Dave Manby wrote:

OK I tried to avoid this one!

Thanks for jumping in; your insight is appreciated.

I am for my sins the chair of the BCU safety committee and several years
ago the committee sent all the helmet on the market to the road research
testing lab at Birmingham Uni. OK they usually test motor bike helmets.
The guy from the research department came and presented his findings.

The Protec helmet was in those days the best of a pretty poor bunch was
his summary. In fact he refused to test one as they reckoned the lack of
resistance would damage their machine!

That's not terribly surprising, considering what they're used to testing. I guess
it comes down to what level of protection one expects. If you want motorcycle level
protection, you'll have to deal with the same weight and bulk. Realistically, what
paddling helmets primarily protect against are cuts, abrasions and contusions. The
shock absoption may also reduce concussions. However, they're not going to save
someone from a severe impact. That's another gripe I have about Mr. Turner's
claims; he presents no evidence that his son's accident was survivable had he been
wearing a helmet that protected him better. It seems that a big assumption is being
made.

Couple of interesting points he made was the very real cocoon effect
that wearing a helmet has. You are likely to try and paddle harder /
drive faster because of this effect the helmet has.

It seems that it's a "chicken or the egg" argument. Helmets are bought for
protection during activities where head injury is possible. Would we engage in the
activity without a helmet?

I use mine primarily for playing in surf and rocks. All I expect of it is to keep
me from bleeding and perhaps save me a lump on the head if I whack a rock
inadvertently. However, with the forces involved with moving water, I know that
it's not going to save my life if I do something stupid or get caught off-guard.

And Brian if your
helmet bears the scars of previous battles with rocks you should throw
it away and buy a new one as it WILL not be as strong as it was. (No
matter what it is made of)

I appreciate your concern, but the damage is purely superficial. I've never taken
any serious whacks with on the helmet. It's a multi impact helmet, anyway.

If you crash your motor bike your helmet is
toast but you may well not be toast because of it!

That's the idea. Motorcycle helmets (and cycling helmets) are sacrificial items.
One impact and the helmet is destroyed, but it has done it's job. In the trash it
goes. This provides a relatively high level of protection for a given size and
weight, but is it practical/acceptable for a sport where multiple impacts can
reasonably be expected? I guess that would come down to a personal choice.

--
Regards

Brian