I bought my first ATV and motocross-style helmet back in 2004. Since then, it’s been joined by an ever-increasing number of new ones, but I still keep my old helmets sitting on the shelf.
Then I heard someone say not to use an old helmet as it’s no longer safe. That is when I decided to research how long a helmet is supposed to last and when it’s time to replace it. In this article, I’ll share my findings.
ATV and motocross helmets do not have a set expiration date. Still, helmet manufacturers and certification organizations recommend replacing them after three to five years of regular use or seven years after the manufacturing date. A helmet that was in a crash should be replaced immediately.
On various online forums, you will find a wide range of opinions on when to replace a helmet. While personal opinions are fine, I was looking for hard facts. One should assume that helmet manufacturers know just about all there is to know about helmets. But to keep things as objective as possible, I also looked up information from independent resources that do not sell helmets, such as helmet certification organizations and other relevant studies.
Ultimately it will be up to you to decide. When in doubt, always follow the manufacturer’s advice and the organization that has certified your helmet.
What the Helmet Industry Says About Helmet Life Expectancy
Not all manufacturers provide a helmet replacement policy, while others give detailed recommendations for when to replace your helmet.
No manufacturer, however, has a definite expiration date when the helmet becomes unsafe to use.
Note that the various manufacturers’ company policies for helmet replacement do not necessarily reflect their helmets’ build quality.
Manufacturer | Recommended Replacement Interval |
|---|---|
Shoei | Five years after purchase |
Arai | Five years of use |
Troy Lee Designs | Three years of use |
Snell | Five years of normal use |
Bell | Three years |
Fox | Five years of use |
Fly | Five years of use |
O’Neal | Five years of use |
Shoei: Replace the Helmet Five Years After Purchase
Shoei says, “Ultimately, the useful service life of a safety helmet is dependent on the intensity and frequency of its use.”
They also provide detailed guidelines that help you determine when you should replace your helmet.
They recommend replacing the helmet if only one of the listed points applies or five years after it’s first purchased at retail.
Arai: Replace the Helmet After Five Years of Use
Arai provides information on when to replace a helmet on their warranty card.
“All Arai helmets are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship and are serviceable only for the properly fitted user for 5 years of use, but no more than 7 years from date of manufacture. It should be replaced within 5 years of first use.”
Troy Lee Designs: Replace the Helmet After Three Years of Use
Troy Lee Designs provide information about helmet life expectancy on their FAQ page:
“There is no exact timeline for helmet replacement – the useful life of a helmet will vary for all users. The basic rule of thumb, regardless of use, is that you should replace most helmets after no more than 3 years. If you ride 8-10 hours a week and wash your helmet and liners regularly, you may be able to get 2 years out of a helmet before wear and tear.”
Also, they write:
“Remember: UV damage and the natural aging process of the materials also start to degrade the helmet’s ability to protect you. The life of your helmet is decreased if you do not keep your helmet clean.”
Snell: Replace the Helmet After Five Years of Normal Use
Snell is an independent organization that tests and certifies helmets according to relevant test criteria. As they do not manufacture or sell helmets, they can provide an objective recommendation on when to replace your helmet.
Here is why they recommend replacing a helmet after five years:
“Unused helmets stored in good condition do not automatically expire after five years. Replacing helmets every five years is a judgement call based on testing helmets used by the California Highway Patrol by Dr. George Snively. Wear and tear, the simple act of putting on and taking off helmets, damage the comfort pads and energy absorbing foam liner over time. Helmets with worn-out pads are at least one to two sizes larger than helmets in new condition. A poorly fitted helmet makes it more likely that the helmet will shift too much or even come off the head during a crash impact. For these reasons, Snell recommends replacing helmets after five years of normal use.”
Bell: Replace the Helmet After Three Years
On the Bell FAQ site, we find that: “Bell has a general recommendation of replacing your helmet every three (3) years.”
Fox, Fly, and O’Neal: Replace the Helmet After Five Years of Use
These manufacturers do not provide helmet replacement guidelines on their websites. But if you call their customer support, they recommend replacing your helmet after five years of use.
Why It’s Advised to Replace a Helmet After 3-5 Years
Now that you know what the manufacturers recommend, let’s have a closer look at why it can be a good idea to replace a helmet after 3 to 5 years of use.
Over Time, the Helmet Will No Longer Fit Properly
A helmet should fit snugly onto your head for it to provide optimal protection. It should not move about the head when gently shaking it from side to side.
Over time the comfort padding wears, the EPS foam in the protective inner liner compresses and molds to shape your head, and the retention system loosens due to normal wear and tear.
Three to five years of regular use is typically how long it takes before a helmet that fits snugly when new starts becoming loose on the rider’s head.
The Rigid Outer Shell May Deteriorate and Get Brittle Over Time
The outer shell serves multiple purposes; it maintains the helmet’s structural shape and acts as an impervious surface that takes out the brunt of an impact.
Today’s helmets are typically made of fiberglass, kevlar fiber, carbon fiber, or a combination of these materials. Some cheaper helmets use polycarbonate, which has been shown to lose effectiveness when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun.
Petroleum-based products such as standard polycarbonate resin degrade and may get brittle when exposed to UV radiation.
Manufacturers add UV inhibitors to counteract this issue, but that does not leave the helmet invulnerable to UV rays.
Your helmet will last longer if you store it in a cool and dark place whenever it’s not in use.
Glues, Resins, and Adhesives Can Lose Effectiveness or Affect Liner Materials
Helmets are held together with various glues, resins, and adhesives. Over time, some of these can negatively affect other liner materials.
According to Gib Brown, director of test development at Snell and the foundation’s West Coast lab manager, there have been cases where the glue used to put the liner into the shell has degraded the liner.
Some glues and adhesives dry out and get less effective after a few years.
Helmets Typically Improve as Technology Develops
Helmet technology gets improved and perfected continuously as technology envelopes further.
While it’s not like the technology used to make your now five-year-old helmet suddenly has become outdated, chances are that the materials used and the testing and manufacturing process have evolved one step further.
Replacing your helmet every five years ensures you’re taking full advantage of the newest technologies.
The Liability Issue
A helmet is the most crucial protective gear when riding an ATV or motocross bike. If you crash and the helmet fails, the consequences may be catastrophic.
Manufacturers know that a certain percentage of helmets will fail after a certain number of years. As the years go by, the number of failing helmets steadily increases.
Based on their experience, they know that the percentage of failing helmets after three to five years of regular use is still within the acceptable range.
If they had recommended a longer replacement interval, they would start running into serious liability issues if a failing helmet was involved in an accident where the rider got injured.
Why Is There No Terminal Expiration Date on a Helmet?
It’s not easy to set an exact expiration date on a helmet as it is with, for example, milk.
As long as the milk is stored in a fridge, the manufacturer can accurately predict when it goes sour. And when the milk starts going bad, it will happen relatively fast.
The same does not apply to helmets. There are a lot more factors that may affect how fast the helmet becomes unsafe to use:
- How often the helmet is being used.
- How it is stored, and how it is treated.
- How it is maintained.
- Exposure to the elements.
- Material self-degradation over time.
- Material degradation from reactions between different material types.
- Material degradation due to contact with chemicals.
These factors make it almost impossible to predict an exact date when the helmet expires or is no longer safe to use.
The next best thing is for the manufacturers and certification organizations to provide general recommendations based on their experience, testing, and other available information.
The recommended replacement interval of three to five years does not necessarily fit all scenarios:
The daily rider or active racer who uses the helmet almost every day may need to replace it after only 2-3 years due to wear and tear.
Leaving the helmet exposed to the elements, treating it poorly, and not keeping it clean may also require replacing it much sooner than five years.
On the other hand, you have riders that only use their helmet every other weekend, store it cool and dry between use, and generally treat it well. Their helmet is likely safe for up to 7 years or more.
Ultimately, it is up to you to judge whether it is time to replace your helmet or if it will be safe for a couple of years.
It is not required to replace the helmet after five years. In some states, it is not even required to wear a helmet. But it’s a reasonable precaution.
Is It Safe to Use the Helmet Longer Than 3 to 5 Years?
Many riders have helmets that still look almost as new after five years of light use. It may feel wasteful to throw away a helmet that looks perfectly fine.
As mentioned above, the recommended three to five-year replacement rate is primarily based on standard risk management.
The engineers at the manufacturer likely know at what rate the various materials in a helmet will deteriorate and how fast a helmet wears out with regular use. While they set the expiration date based on an acceptable fail rate, this does not mean all helmets suddenly become unsafe to use after five years.
Tests Have Shown That a Helmet May Last Longer Than Five Years
As of today, there are no studies that specifically test the life expectancy of ATV and motocross helmets.
But most helmets are built on the same basic principles and with similar materials.
While not directly applicable, the results from tests performed on bicycle helmets and other types of helmets seem to support the theory that most helmets last longer than five years before material failure becomes an issue.
This study from 2016 tested how age affects the material properties of EPS liners in used bicycle helmets. The researchers extracted and tested foam cores from 63 used and unused helmets at two to twenty years old.
The test concludes that EPS foam’s impact attenuation properties in field-used bicycle helmets do not degrade with age.
In May 2015, before the study’s release, one of the contributors, Alyssa DeMarco, announced that “There is no justification for two to ten-year replacement recommendations based on impact performance.”
Helmets.org performed an extensive experiment where they tested how 20 products such as sunblock, insect repellant, gasoline, and others affect helmet materials in skate-style helmets.
A total of 16 doses of the product were applied at two to five-day intervals. After exposing the helmets to the various products, they were run through various tests, including a drop test.
The test found that gasoline, sunscreen, and products containing DEET did degrade the inner foam. If your helmet was exposed to hair products, sunscreen, or insect repellant, they recommend cleaning it after use.
Finally, the helmets were shipped to a leading, fully accredited test lab for drop testing. The results were surprising, as only the helmet exposed to gasoline failed the test. All of the other helmets still passed the CPSC bicycle helmet standard.
Similar data was published in May 2017in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. The report includes the test result of crash testing 675 helmets, showing no significant impact performance change with age.
Key Takeaway: Do not store your helmet on top of the vent port on your gas tank or a gas can in the shed.
Finally, we found a reference to a test that removed core specimens of EPS foam removed from 20-year-old freezer walls. The core samples demonstrated no deterioration in the foam’s structural integrity or physical properties.
Most but Not All Helmets Are Still Safe After 3 to 5 Years of Use
The test indicates that many helmets are likely perfectly safe for several more years after the recommended 3 to 5 years.
Crashes, high-impact drops, and everyday wear and tear likely affect helmet life much more than helmet material deterioration due to old age or exposure to personal hygiene products.
But are you willing to take the gamble that yours is not one of those that will fail?
The cost per ride is relatively inexpensive if you divide a new helmet cost over five years.
We believe the potential downsides of a poor helmet (brain injury or death) outweigh the dollar savings by far.
When Does the Counter Start?
Does the five-year rule apply from the manufacture date or when you begin using it?
Ask ten different manufacturers, and you will get ten different answers to this question.
Some start counting from the day of manufacturing, some from the date of purchase, and others count years of use.
A good rule of thumb seems that an appropriately stored helmet can sit on the shelf for two years before the three to five years of use rule applies.
Replacing a Helmet With No Signs of Damage
Do you need to replace a crashed helmet or one that was dropped if there are no visible signs of damage?
Helmets are designed to absorb as much energy as possible in a crash before this energy reaches and potentially damages your head.
In other words, they are designed to deform when they smash into something and will not recover.
After a crash or accidentally dropping the helmet from more than a couple of feet, the helmet may have deformed slightly from the impact. Sometimes there are visible cracks or other deformations in the shell or foam. Other times the damage is invisible to the naked eye.
Regardless of visible damage, you should always throw away a helmet that’s been used in a crash, or that has been dropped more than three feet.
Any damage will negatively affect the helmet’s ability to protect you in the event of a future crash. Its protective value is no longer as good as when the helmet was new.
Replace the Helmet if It Predates 2010
If your helmet is Snell-certified and predates 2010, it is recommended that you replace it.
The Snell Foundation updates its test criteria in five-year increments. For the SNELL 2010 rating, they made some critical changes.
Before 2010, the test criteria focused more on high-speed accidents at 100mph+. This led to manufacturers producing helmets designed to be relatively stiff for optimal performance in high-speed impacts.
The problem was that a stiff helmet is not ideal in real-life 30-40mph accidents.
The post-2010 test criteria were changed to better take into account the lower speed impacts. This means helmets made after 2010 are a bit softer, making them better to absorb impacts at typical speed crashes (30mph to 40mph).
Look for a tag on the helmet’s inside indicating the production date. All helmets made after 1974 should be tagged with the production date. The tag may be hidden behind the removable comfort padding.
Many Manufacturers Offer a Safety Inspection Service
Most major helmet manufacturers offer a helmet safety inspection service, sometimes free.
A professional will inspect and review the helmet’s condition and recommend whether to replace it or if it is safe for a few more years.
Remember that no inspection can give you a definite answer to whether your helmet is good because the user is the only one who knows how a helmet was treated.
Racing Organizations May Have Specific Requirements
Racing organizations often have specific regulations that dictate what helmets are accepted.
They typically require that the helmet you use is certified and that the testing standard used to certify the helmet is not too old. Most racing associations permit helmets with certifications dating back, usually 10 or 12 years.
Please refer to the guidelines of your specific racing organization to learn what rules apply.
Common Misconceptions About Helmet Deterioration
Sweat Does Not Damage Helmets
It’s a long-lived misconception not backed by any evidence that the salts in sweat deteriorate EPS foam used in helmet liners.
According to helmets.org, sweat will not cause your helmet to degrade: “The standards do not permit manufacturers to make a helmet that degrades from sweat, and the EPS, EPP or EPU foam is remarkably unaffected by salt water.”
EPS is not only used in helmets but in a wide range of other applications. In the building industry, they use EPS as insulation, where it must withstand being submerged in salty water without deteriorating.
Short Replacement Intervals to Sell More Helmets
Some will claim that helmet manufacturers recommend replacing a helmet only to sell more helmets.
While it is true that a manufacturer’s policy on helmet replacement can never be entirely objective, there can be good reasons to replace a helmet as soon as three to five years, as discussed in this post.
EPS Is Not Biodegradable
It’s a common misconception that the EPS foam lining is biodegradable. According to Wikipedia and a range of other trustworthy sources is not.
EPS foam is proven to withstand sustained exposure to mold and moisture without affecting its properties.
EPS Foam Does Not Harden or Becomes Less Effective With Age
It’s a common misconception that the EPS foam protective liner shrinks or hardens at a rate of about 2% each year. We have found no evidence to prove this claim.
EPS foam is subject to post-molding shrinkage, but this is accounted for in the protection process and decreases rapidly after the post-molding shrinkage phase of 11-18 weeks is over.
However, the foam does compress from putting the helmet on and taking it off your head, which makes it denser and potentially less effective in a crash.
Wrapping Up
Remember, your safety is paramount. If you’re unsure about the condition of your helmet or if it has been involved in a crash, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and replace it.
While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, investing in a new helmet ensures you have the best possible protection on your ATV or motocross adventures. Stay safe, and enjoy your rides!
