Snell helmet testing is a type of crash testing used by organizations like the Snell Memorial Foundation. They’re designed to test head injuries from various types of crashes, such as motorcyclist crashes and car crashes.
It ensures that all helmet makers provide a safe helmet. Since it started offering different safety certificates for different types of helmets, it has helped make helmets safer. Now, it offers different safety certificates for motorcycles, motorbikes, and kart racing helmets.
In addition to Snell Certified, it also works with manufacturers to test helmets to make sure they’re safe and provide the best fit and comfort to the wearer.
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M2000, M2010, M2015, M2020D and M2020R
M is the code used to represent the standards that are set by the Snell organization and is an abbreviation for “Motorcycle Helmet”. Most of the helmets that were certified under M2010 and before will have been consigned to history now, but most of the Snell-certified helmets on this site that are marked as passing the M2015 standard will be eligible to sell in all Snell countries around the world.
For the 2019 season, the FIA reintroduced the unified World Superbike regulations, which included the introduction of the new M2020 (formerly known as ‘M3’) standard for supermotards. This time, the standards were split into two groups to reflect the different regulations in place all over the world – including the new FIM testing standard.
1. The M2020D and M2020R are the latest in DOT testing regulations, meaning they apply to DOT-certified helmets. These new standards have changed the helmet industry and require DOT-certified helmets to meet both FIM and ECE regulation
2. M2020R is the current name for these new DOT standards.
Note: This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a legal helmet in Europe. ECE-certified helmets may be sold in the US, but they won’t be legal to wear in Europe. From 2020 onwards, most US helmets will be M2020R certified, which means that most of them will also be M2020D certified.
There may not be a single person in the world who knows how to work at M2020R.
So what does the Snell helmet test include?
The Snell standard for motorcycle helmets is a comprehensive and demanding testing regime. It started in the year 2000 with the original Snell standard, M2000, and is now the M2015 standard.
For a list of which helmets are Snell certified, go to their website. We’ve found helmets that are Snell certified on our site and those we review for the M2015 and M2020D certification tests will include this information.
The first test is an impact test. You’ll see an accelerometer-equipped helmet and an accompanying dummy ‘head form’ that fits inside the helmet. You’ll drop the helmet against a range of different surfaces to measure the impact of a blow to your head.
The helmet needs to absorb enough energy to ensure the accelerometer measures no more than around 300 gs. There are slight variations depending on which standard is being tested (but that’s still a lot of deceleration!
This is a test designed to check whether the helmet fits snugly on the head and will stay securely on, even if the head were to fall forwards. Because of the wide variety of shapes of different people’s heads, we don’t recommend that the helmet fit snugly, but rather leave a gap between the chin strap and the head.
The next test is designed to find the optimal strength and tension of the retention strap. A 23Kg weight is attached to the strap for one minute. If that’s passed, a 38Kg weight is attached. If that’s passed, a 51Kg weight is attached. If that’s passed, a 77Kg weight is attached, and finally a 100Kg weight.
The fourth test is the chin bar test – where a helmet is fixed to a solid base with the chin bar facing upwards and a flat 5Kg weight is dropped onto it. If it bends beyond a certain point, then it is rejected.
The final test requires a 3kg metal spike to be dropped on your helmet to see how it can withstand penetration. It also requires an air rifle to fire a pellet at a speed of about 500kph and penetrate the visor.
The best helmets continue to pass the tests, which are conducted by the independent testing agency, Snell. They also conduct random sample testing on the retail version of each helmet by purchasing helmets throughout the manufacturing run of the helmet to ensure it continues to pass the tests.
If samples fail, Snell will demand that the manufacturer remedy the product, and then decertify the helmet.
Snell and modular/flip-up helmets
Snell also tests modular/flip-up helmets to the same standards as full-face helmets. If a modular/flip-up helmet is going to be used in contact sports, then it should have at least an ASTM F-2063 (NHTSA)-compliant modular/flip-up system.
With a full range of protection, SHARP helmets are easy to wear, easy to operate, and easy to store. If it’s your first time wearing a helmet, you’ll feel secure knowing it has SHARP’s proven lock-release technology.
The helmets used in this study were made by companies that were not required to have their helmets go through the same certification process as helmets produced by professional teams.
Potential issues with Snell helmet testing?
Is the Snell testing regime flawed? There are detractors of Snell testing and there are even more questions as to how valid the testing regime is in reflecting real-world data. The testing regime needs further work to validate its validity.
They’ve looked at helmets from a few different manufacturers, as well as some non-helmets and they found the results all over the place. They didn’t find any evidence that their testing could determine a helmet with a shell that was simply too hard to reduce the shock being passed through to the brain effectively.
This book is a fantastic crash helmet and one of the best books available on this subject. It not only discusses the different types of EPS and how they interact with impact but also how the materials used to make them have improved over time, the different construction methods, and why you might want to use one type of shell over another.
It’s true that there’s not much evidence that helmets are likely to suffer from penetration to the shell. One of the tests a Snell Certified Helmet has to undergo is penetration to the shell.
Despite that, there is no doubt that Snell is dedicated to improving helmet safety and are working hard to improve helmet safety standards for helmet users.
Since we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want to buy a Snell-certified helmet, on the site of the manufacturer you can check whether a helmet is Snell certified.
Philosophy and Concepts of Helmet Testing
Helmet testing is a form of product-type testing that seeks to precisely replicate real-life situations. It’s important to remember that a lot of product-type testing like helmet testing doesn’t seek to precisely reproduce real-life situations, instead, it attempts to define a set of requirements that is analogous to the types of situations that might be encountered while engaged in a prescribed activity.
Helmet tests are intended to be repeatable, measurable, and include a fixed range of conditions that a helmet may reasonably face. At this point, concern for how a helmet may respond to a neck or body during a crash is not incorporated into the test methodology.
It is strictly a measurement of how a helmet reacts during an event to protect the wearer’s brain. At Snell, we believe that as technology continues to evolve, so should helmet design and manufacturing techniques. The Snell Foundation has one of the most advanced and busiest helmet testing facilities in the world.
Snell’s California helmet testing lab is the only ISO 17025 certified one in the United States. Before a helmet can be Snell-certified, it is tested in a state-of-the-art lab.
Snell conducts a variety of tests to measure the helmet’s performance and ability to stay on the head in different environments. The testing standards vary, depending on the application and the performance standards set by the standardizing body. Some helmets must pass all or some of the following tests:
Impact Test
This crash test simulates the kind of violent hits experienced by motorcycle riders in accidents. The rider’s protective helmet is placed on a metal head form mounted on a sled and is dropped from a controlled height into a steel impactor, where it strikes the test anvils in various directions.
The helmet is instrumented with an accelerometer to measure peak G force or acceleration which is measured in “G”ravitational units. The impact energy, or how hard the helmets are impacted, is unique to each standard.
However, the results of any valid test are invalid when the peak acceleration in the direction of the head form exceeds certain threshold values. For example, if the maximum acceleration in the direction of the head form is about 300 g’s, then the helmet is rejected.
Positional Stability (Roll-Off) Test
The head form is used for testing both the internal and external shell geometry in order to eliminate unnecessary adjustments after the helmet is tested on the head form. This is a critical step in the quality control process.
A safety belt is used in the event of an accident to ensure that the occupant of the vehicle remains in the seat. In this case, the person would have to be strapped into the seat if they are able to do so.
The weight is raised to a prescribed height and dropped onto the stop. The resulting shock places a rotational load on the helmet. The helmet may be shifted, but must not roll off the head form. Next, the head form is rotated 180 degrees, the helmet adjusted and tested with the wire rope hooked to the front edge of the helmet and the test is repeated.
As in the first case, the helmet must be moved to the right place so that it does not fall off.
Dynamic Retention Test
The Dynamic Retention Test (DART) is used to evaluate the ability of the helmet to absorb an impact.
The retention system is tested by simultaneously removing the 23 kg weight and applying a 38 kg mass in an abrupt guided fall. If the retention system cannot support the mechanical load, it fails. In this example, the maximum instantaneous deflection of the retention system is 30 mm.
Drop heights are different for each type of helmet. However, the mechanism and failure criteria are similar for all helmets.
Chin Bar Rigidity Test
In order to be an excellent coach, you need to have knowledge of the proper chin bar test method for race helmet testing. This test determines if a helmet provides adequate resistance to the impact of falling objects.
The chin-bar must be no higher than the distance it is listed for. For example, the chin-bar must be below your shoulder.
Shell Penetration Test
Shell Penetration Test is an important test for motorcycle, special applications racing, kart racing, skiing and equestrian helmets. The helmet is affixed to a rigid base. A 3 kg sharp-pointed free-fall striker is dropped in a guided fall onto the helmet from a prescribed height.
Faceshield Penetration Test
The Face Shield Penetration Test is the best helmet testing that exists and applies to all face shields of different manufacturers. The U.S. DOT uses it for every face shield. It applies to full-face motorcycle, special application racing, and kart racing helmets.
The pellet speed for the rifle pellets will be approximately 500 kph, and the pellet must not penetrate the shields, and for the racing helmets, any resulting “bumps” on the inside of the shields must not exceed 2.5 mm.
Flame Resistance Test
It is important for safety helmets to meet the requirements of the Snell Memorial Foundation.
The flame test applies only to racing helmets. It’s conducted using a propane flame of 790 degrees centigrade. The flame is applied to the shell, trim, chin strap, and face shield for a specified number of seconds, and any resulting fire must self-extinguish within a specified time after flame removal.
The temperature of the interior lining of the helmet should not exceed 70 degrees Celsius.
Frontal Head Restraint Test
You don’t need special application racing helmets to attach Frontal Head Restraints. These devices limit the forward motion of the head in frontal impacts and are effective devices to use in the event that a driver or passenger suffers a frontal impact.
The tethers may help reduce the stress on your neck and head by distributing the force over a wider area so that your neck doesn’t have to support all the weight. The apparatus measures the load applied to the shoulder straps and the load in each tether.
Chin Bar Impact Test
This test is used for some special application helmets that have sliding pads or pads that fold into the headgear, such as ski masks and motorcycle goggles. The helmet is placed in a special cradle that can move down freely along guide wires or one or more rigid rails delivering its contents to impact against a flat anvil.
When the impact velocity of the head form measured using an accelerometer is 5.5 m/s or more and the maximum acceleration of the head form during the collision is 275 G or less, the sample will be accepted.
