I don't have a set schedule, but I do tend to flex and stress my helmet, just to see how it's doing.

Learned this kinda backwards from a safety inspection of my old safety helmet at work. It was old, but looked perfect. Twisted the helmet and it cracked. Yanked on the webbing and it tore apart. Etc.

 

I'm guilty of keeping a helmet more than the 5 years recommended by most manufacturers. My last Shoei was 9 yrs old when I replaced it with the GT Air II. It was (is as I have it on a shelf) still in perfect pristine condition, but I felt 9yrs is a long time for technology to get better so I bought a new one.

I did drop my 3yr old Shoei Hornet X2 ( I wear when riding my KTM 1190) and it bounced on the garage floor twice. I hated to do it, but replaced it as it had a decent chip in it and not sure what if any damage to the hard lining. Its on the same shelf as my 9yr old Shoei.

 

I have gone longer than 5 years before replacing the helmet. Like my bike, I inspect my riding gear before each ride.

 

All of the parts of the helmet cure after manufacturing. After the initial curing, which is short duration, those products curing rate slows dramatically, but never stops. So the shells get harder over time, which lead to fracturing. The liner deteriorates because of the oils and sweat that humans exude constantly.

At 5 years, my helmets will only have about 30k miles, each, using them. Now I have two helmets that share those duties. I probably will not replace for a total of 7 years, barring any events that damage the helmet. If I only had one helmet to wear all the time, I'd replace at 5 years as that is about 60,000 miles.

 

My understanding is that like tires exposure to just the air causes the impact absorbing liner to harden. In a hard impact the lining is designed to compress and crush absorbing impact. If it hardens it won’t absorb the impact as much, transferring the forces to your skull.

It hurts to throw out an expensive helmet. But, it would hurt even more to have TBI.

 

I use 5-7 years from manufacturing date but the funk smell usually makes me throw it away sooner. I am bald and sweat profusely ... I usually buy new pads for the inside a year or so into ownership of my Shoei RJ Platinum R.

 

I bought mine in 2002 and its still going strong. I'll let you know if I ever wear it out.

 

But if it fails to protect your noggin, we won’t hear from you. 🤔

 

I respect that. I'm thinking manufacturers have another reason.

 

This explains the deterioration quite well I think and it isn’t from a manufacturer.

https://microdothelmet.co/blogs/news...ehensive-guide