Gadgety Items - Helmet Strap Failure
The trusty helmet is usually seen as our most important piece of protective gear, for good reason! While head injuries aren't that common, the potential for death or lifelong disability ensures that our helmets are subject to strict standards.
So imagine our surprise when one of our riders had the strap suddenly pull off a fairly expensive and barely three year old Suomy Mr Jump helmet due to a completely corroded bracket.
A bit of googling turned up other cases of straps failing on Suomy helmets. And Suomy wasn't alone. We also found several cases of corroded brackets for Airoh, another highly regarded Italian helmet manufacturer. In fact, legendary Enduro rider David Knight refused to wear his Airoh-sponsored helmets after the straps failed on two within a year due to rust.
After all of our riders checked their helmets, one of them discovered that his 13-month-old Leatt helmet had a heavily corroded strap bracket and that the Leatt distributor rejected his warranty claim. We have also received reports of corroded brackets (and strap failure in some cases) on Kali, ONeal, Bell, Fox, Acerbis and Just1 helmets too
So, we put the eRag reprobates on the case. An Airoh distributor advised that a change to proper stainless-steel brackets had occurred in recent years. A similar claim was made by a Suomy dealer. We looked for confirmation by sending several questions to Airoh, Suomy and Leatt head offices, including:
What was the original metal used for earlier helmets? And why did this rust so quickly in certain cases?
Was a recall issued, or any public advisory notice published? If not, why not?
When was the change to quality stainless steel brackets made, and which specific grade is now used?
Are corroded brackets only covered during the warranty period? Or for the lifetime of the helmet?
Unfortunately Airoh declined to answer so we can't confirm that they now use stainless steel brackets. Suomy did reply and stated that they used aluminum between 2013 and November 2014. Three failures were reported and replaced in the USA (worldwide figures unknown) and Suomy have used 303 stainless steel since then.
Leatt’s initial response was remarkable. Despite the rust starting well within the relevant period, they refused the warranty claim as they believe the bracket was exposed to sweat or salt water. Hard to imagine someone sweating inside a helmet. Not. Their advice was to clean it up and apply a rustproof coating, a strange suggestion given you should not have chemicals anywhere near the expanded polystyrene liner of your helmet!
We pursued Leatt further and to their credit received a more considered response. They acknowledged their earlier response was flawed and confirmed they used a zinc-coating or similar on all their helmets as ‘all of our external and internal testing showed good resistance against rust formation’. Leatt also advised they are currently doing further salt-spray tests to check for rust formation, as well as investigating possible alternative materials. Leatt also said they will honor rust claims that occur both within and outside the warranty period.
To be fair, we must point out that the number of strap failures is very low for Suomy and Airoh, and Leatt maintain they have only had two rust related claims worldwide.
But when helmets are such an important (and expensive) part of our protective gear, this is an important issue. So what’s the take home message? Check your damn helmet, check it regularly, no matter what brand it is, or how much you paid for it!
