On Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:27:03 +0100, Adam Funk
wrote:

the Snell standard is higher than the EN one and widely used in the
USA, but is not seen as often in the UK as the EN;

Snell certified lids should be lot-traceable, but they are not common
any more since the CPSC standard was introduced; this is slightly
weaker, self-certified and involves no payment to SMF so is naturally
more popular in the US - you wouldn't want to erode the 99.5% profit
margin after cost of manufacture, would you? ;-) I have been told -
and this is just hearsay so I can't be sure - that Bell's packaging
costs more than the manufacture of the lid itself.

EN is about the same test as CPSC but is at least independently
certified - though rather a lot fail, according to Brian Walker. I's
pretty clear that the things are built down to the lowest limit
allowed by the standard, but of course that's not a surprise.

The cheapest ones might well be the strongest, at least in the soft
shell designs. If you are serious about protection your best bet is
to buy a *hard-shell* BMX helmet. Expect it to be heavy and hot.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/urc | http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/
"Nullius in Verba" - take no man's word for it.
- attr. Horace, chosen by John Evelyn for the Royal Society