I was putting on my helmet this morning and it slipped out of my hands and dropped to the ground. Only a little place on the top got chipped, just the paint. I never realized how easy it is to drop it.
My question is, is it safe to use still?
It's 1 month old and looks great otherwise but I don't know what to do here.

 

your helmet is probably fine, i had the same experience when i dropped mine,

so i had created this thread, there are some good opinions that will help you make a decision

https://www.kawasakiforums.com/m_230672/tm.htm

oh yeah i still use the same one

 

i could go into a lot more detail. but simply put - if dropping a helmet damaged it then i wouldn't trust it to hold my head in a crash.


dropping it will not harm the foam at all, if its a fiberglass shelled helmet then it could theoreticly weaken it with hairline fractures or delamination but honestly composites aren't that weak unless there is a manufacturing flaw. if its a polycarb (plastic) shell then its fine, plastics deform rather than break.

 

It's an HJC fiberglass helmet, I figured it was ok but wasn't sure of hairline fractures.

 

How far did it fall and what did it land on?
As long as there are no cracks or visible damage beyond the chipped paint, it will probably be fine.
I've done it before too (sometimes with my head still inside) and still got a few more years out of them. I low-sided on a freeway on-ramp once and the only part of the helmet that got scratched was the face-shield retainer plate (which suffered no damage beyond the scratching--the internal plastic assembly remained undamaged.) I replaced that part and wore it until someone pointed out that it didn't match any of my bikes.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

So it dropped about 3 feet to the ground...its what you don't see that should concern you...there could be hairline fractures that you don't see on the inner shell...helmets are meant for a 1 time impact whether it is from a crash or dropping...I don't know what the magic number of feet a helmet could drop but if either my wife or I drop ahelmet 2-3 feet we are getting new ones...just not worth the risk...

 

I agree with not wanting to risk my coconut, and "only" $800 for a new high-end helmet or $300 for one that works just as good is a modest investmentfor my noggin.
However, if every impact that leaves a mark renders a helmet "used up" that seems a bit extreme. I understand the unseen element of this issue but I also know these things are really durable.
I also think it could be just a disclaimeror something to that affect.
I'm not sure I completely trust a device that is supposed to protect my brain if it is more fragile than my own head. I've hitmy headmany many times and haven't replaced it yet...

 

On which evidence are you basing this?
No hostility intended; I've read several magazine reports (IMO, the most thorough and viable being Motorcycle Consumer News) and to my recollection, none have categorically stated that a dropped helmet is 'used up'.
I've shattered a month-old $600+ Arai RX7RR against a boulder and done my own nonscientific testing: [ul][*]I threw a 3-year-old Arai Quantum-E (the red one in the photo above, which had already been involved in a mild impact) about 10-feet in the air, letting it fall directly onto asphalt. Chips and scratches on paint, but no cracks; I attempted to flex the helmet by squeezing it to see if any cracks would appear, but none were apparent.[*]Threw it up about 10 feet again; more chips and scratches, still no noticeable cracks in the shell, nor compaction/separation of the foam inside.[*]I then removed the interior padded lining to inspect the energy-absorbing foam, (which appeared and felt just as supple and firmly-mounted as when new.)[*]Next I hit the outer shell with a standard, household, steel hammer. After the 2nd whack, the foam did feel slightly separated from the fiberglass shell. After the 4th whack, small cracks began to appear. And after the 5th whack in the same spot, the spot finally caved in. One of these whacks, IMO would easily be enough to shatter a human skull, though my evidence for this is admittedly more theoretical than empirical.[/ul]
True, this is neither an HJC nor Shoie, and Arais are typically more expensive than the others. But this illustrated to me that a helmet could probably survive a 2-3 foot fall and still protect one's head adequately.

Peace!
-CCiNC

 

I'm not going to put my life on the line and not where a helmet, and I know you can't put a price on your brain, but I also know thatI'm not going to replace my helmet every time I drop it. Not that I expect to dothat but you undertstand my point.
Myhelmet will not be replaced at this juncture. (I think of SNL whenever I hear that word)
Chris, that sounds like a Mythbusters style experiment. Alot of fun to get a good repeatable result. Science!
The Arais helmet you experimented on was the one that whacked a boulder?

 

My info is based on what we are taught as sport bike instructors and they brought helmets in to show the effects of dropping it over 3 feet (non destructive inspections and a cut out...the thing they say about the hairline fractures is that you won't always see them...helmets are meant for a one time impact...I know people that will try and sell a helmet that they have crashed in...I know I don't want to find out the hard way...there are enough other things that can go wrong for me to worry about a helmet...