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I was shopping the Fox website for helmets and noticed no mention of SNELL ratings for the V1, V2, or V3 helmets on their description product pages.. All three models only listed "Exceeds ECE22.05 and DOT certifications ." Are Fox helmets no longer SNELL certified?
V1
V2
V3
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
2015 SNELL Certifications
2010 SNELL Certifications
Many folks, myself included would choose it OVER Snell. It can be a philosophical debate on impact resistance vs impact absorption. This is old hat for road racers and track junkies In that circle, ECE is considered the gold standard. Many high end road racing brand helmets only test for ECE and DOT, not bothering with Snell any longer (and some believe Snell became irrelevant). For road racing organizations from amateur to pro like the AMA and FIM, ECE is the gold standard. Snell standards have in fact changed in response to this debate. Some really good reading on the changes from 2005, 2010, and 2015 Snell standards.
Bottom line, I have trusted my head on the pavement at racing speeds in an ECE tested helmet and do so in the dirt. I just bought a new Fox helmet. But its a personal choice.
We've talked to some off-road helmet manufacturers who believe that the SNELL standard is really good for things like when a street rider goes down at high speed, and might hit his head on a curb; but which also might prove a little too stringent for lower-speed tipover crashes on dirt.
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I have read the article listed above as well as others. I have done the research and know full well SNELL is a higher standard then DOT and ECE. SNELL can be construed as overbuilt which is the point of going SNELL over ECE when it comes to buying a helmet. I also understand the corporate bullshit that goes on behind the scenes in the motorcycle industry and have decided to stick with SNELL regardless of the propaganda tossed back and forth between competing standards and the corporations that sell helmets with these standards. The whole ECE vs SNELL issue is more of a corporate level battle for control of industry standards to market products then it is a battle for the best helmet standards. SNELL is the higher standard. ECE is a lesser standard even if it is still fairly solid. The only debate for a buyer to decide is whether a human's brain needs SNELL level of protection. Considering brain damage is permanent its pretty obvious that SNELL being a higher rating is the best for brain protection regardless of crash situation.
SNELL is a very difficult rating to achieve because it needs to be built to high standards. Once a helmet can achieve a SNELL rating it is able to pass DOT and ECE ratings as well because it goes beyond both those ratings. The fact that FOX stuck with SNELL for its high end helmets and blew it off for its low end helmets speaks loads about the SNELL rating and a helmet's ability to achieve it.
If SNELL is neither here nor there why did FOX stick with it on its high end helmets?
More then likely the answer is that FOX is cutting costs, making lesser helmets and hoping persons like me will pay the higher price tag for top end helmets to stick with FOX and SNELL or give up and buy one of its cheaply made no longer SNELL certified helmets. The joke is on FOX this time though as I am gonna find a new vendor instead. I no longer trust FOX's quality on its low end helmets now that they have lost their SNELL rating and I am not about to pay triple the cost for a designer helmet to stick with FOX and SNELL.
Screw FOX for dropping quality and the SNELL rating on a majority of its helmets. ECE fan boys and MX industry shills buzz off. Save the sales pitches for consumer sales conversations somewhere else. This thread wasn't started to argue rating systems. Nor was it started to justify purchasing a helmet that doesn't have a SNELL rating. It was started to secure information on helmets with a SNELL rating. FOX doesn't have that rating anymore for a majority of their helmets. Because of this they lost me as a customer as well as others that will continue to stick with SNELL without the high msrp that FOX is demanding.
Anyone that feels differently should of course feel free to go and buy a fashion helmet with ECE ratings at best. $10 head may as well have a $10 helmet. At least its better then a DOT helmet. Meanwhile myself and others even if a dwindling number of persons will continue to buy SNELL helmets. We will enjoy wearing the SNELL rating along with the DOT and ECE that tag along with it. Too bad so sad for ECE only rated helmet owners that wish their helmets could also make the SNELL grade.
Pit Row
Still...when choosing a helmet keep in mind the lower end helmets are built to pass a test and fit in a price point.
If you believe you are safer because one location of your helmet is sufficient for snell penetration test without knowing if the rest of your helmet is up to snuff then you are misguided.
The penetration test is also incredibly stupid for 95 percent of all crashes making helmets less safe for those 95 percent impacts.
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