5 Reasons why you shouldn’t buy a used second-hand helmet

As a motorcyclist or biker you must be aware of pretty expensive gears, especially when you have to begin from scratch. There are many people who prefer to buy some second-hand motorcycle safety gear in order to save some money or maintain their budget. But they are unaware of the dangers of a second hand used motorcycle helmet. Buying a second-hand motorcycle helmet is a huge safety hazard, one should keep in mind. Let’s take a look through various reasons that why you shouldn’t buy a used second-hand helmet:

Personal hygiene

Hygiene is one of the reasons not to buy a second-hand helmet. A used helmet is not hygienic at all due to several reasons like you wouldn’t want to wear a helmet full of somebody else’s sweat, hairspray, and dander.

Helmets expire after a couple of years

Very limited people or can say users know this, but helmets also have an expiry date. There are some long lasting helmets but after few years they all are going to expire. Now, you can ask how long do motorcycle helmets last? So, the answer is that generally helmets last for about 5 years but genuinely it depends upon the material used in manufacturing of the helmet. Therefore, if you have a polycarbonate helmet then it will last an average of 4 years and if a composite helmet then helmet will last an average of 6 to 7 years.

A helmet is useless after hitting to the ground

If you are a motorcyclist then for you a helmet is as important as an airbag is to a car owner. You should actually replace your helmet when accidently or intentionally you drop it from 4 feet or higher. Suppose you are about to buy a second hand helmet from a person and you are not sure that it is dropped on ground earlier or not then it’s completely unsafe. May be the outer shell of your helmet doesn’t break or doesn’t get any scratch but there are chances for the damage of inner shell.

The materials will wear out

There are several factors like UV radiation, rain, and differences in temperature which are capable to catalyze the wear out process of the material used in helmet. EPC is the material used for the inner shell which will harden over time and eventually make it less effective for shock.

The interior should shape to your head

You should know that every helmet is specifically designed to wrap perfectly around someone’s head. It’s a known fact that every helmet has an interior/ inner lining, which shapes to your head after some time. However, in a used helmet it is shaped to somebody else’s head. Once it does get shaped, it cannot be transformed into a new shape. It means the helmet fits the prior owner perfectly, but won’t fit you as a new owner.