review Full Face Helmet Showdown - Bell Super 3R vs Giro Switchblade - Impressions and Opinion

[US69]

2 hours ago, Pard said:

High speed EUC falls require gear to prevent serious injury.  20 MPH is more than enough to alter your life forever.

Did i say anything else?

I know that as i had 2 respectable Crashs, one on  33kmh because of severe tiltback....and a cutout at "just" 15kmh, where even at this slow Speed i had no Chance to prevent the Smash in to the ground :-(

What i wanted to Point out with my post, is that EUC falls can be much more dangerous than bicycle falls, especially in the Situation of an unpredicted cut-Out.

[Pard]

2 hours ago, KingSong69 said:

Did i say anything else?

I know that as i had 2 respectable Crashs, one on  33kmh because of severe tiltback....and a cutout at "just" 15kmh, where even at this slow Speed i had no Chance to prevent the Smash in to the ground :-(

What i wanted to Point out with my post, is that EUC falls can be much more dangerous than bicycle falls, especially in the Situation of an unpredicted cut-Out.

+1

[WARPed1701D]

5 hours ago, Pard said:

This helmet is perfect for EUC riding.  I do not notice it on my head or covering my face after a few minutes.

 

https://www.bellhelmets.com/sanction-18

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KP7J98Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A nice looking helmet at a great price. No MIPS and only standard basic test rating like the 3R although I suspect the 3R is likely to offer greater protection above and beyond the standard vs this one which is listed as lightweight and smaller. For slower riders this could be a good option for full face coverage without the removable chinbar.

[novazeus]

I've got way too many expensive motorcycle helmets that I'll probably never use again because I don't plan on riding anymore. Fit and comfort is huge. Tried shoei but didn't fit the shape of my head. Arai was way better fit and lighter and then they came out with a different design that was more aerodynamic when you turn you head, my favorite but not a concerned for euc. My arais are like girdles for your head, which is how you want it, but not going motorcycle speeds would be a pressure cooker and you would probably pass out in FL. Groan, guess I'm gonna have to get some kind of skull cap. Wish I could use my arais, but i don't see it. I'm gonna be following this great post but I haven't seen what I want yet or even know what I want. Hate to think that I have to faceplant before figuring it out but I guess it's good I'm hard headed.

[Pard]

Mountain biking downhill helmets offer great ventilation at low speed, are light weight, and designed for activity with great exertion.  Try one.  They are my go to EUC helmet.

[WARPed1701D]

So I just found this video on pinkbike.com where they go into the testing labs of Bell to look at the testing of the Chinbar on the Super 2R (the previous version of the 3R). They specifically mention that the chinbar IS tested as part of the downhill (ASTM 1952) certification and show their internal representation of the test. There may, therefore, be an error in my original text as I thought that the chinbar itself was not tested itself but if it were present (either permanently or as part of a removable system) it could not compromise the success of the tests. I will do more research and check it out/correct the original text if needed.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-bell-super-2r-helmet-impact-testing-2014.html

Anyway, seeing these tests gives a new appreciation for just how valuable and useful these chinbars are. They may not prevent all injury but a huge amount of force is absorbed by them and every little bit helps. Also note that the 2R (like the 3R) was not downhill certified in the end (reason not known) so protection from a certified helmet could provide even greater protection in the chin area than what you see here.

Tagging @Gus as his earlier post suggested only the MET Parachute was tested for full frontal impact. It is possible based on what I just posted above that all downhill rated helmets are full frontal impact tested. In this case the Swichblade passed the test. I will do more research to come back with a definitive answer to this.

[novazeus]

@Pard i'm gonna start looking. in the meanwhile i was exploring this look for me with a skull cap.

[Pard]

Just now, novazeus said:

@Pard i'm gonna start looking. in the meanwhile i was exploring this look for me with a skull cap.

There you go!  Perfect protection for the occasional face plant!.

[novazeus]

@Pardwhen i got into motorcycles heavily about 13 years ago i did a lot of research on helmets because I had no intention of riding without one. Gary Busey was just sitting on a motorcycle, fell over and his head hit the curb and he almost died. a toy helmet would have saved him. at the low speeds of euc's and mountain biking, i don't think we have to worry about our brains inside our skulls decellerating so quickly and bang against the hard bone of our skulls. The motorcycle helmets have styrofoam inside that absorbs that rapid decelleration. this review and testing of all these helmets revealed that some of the cheap ones were better than the $700 ones for impact absorbtion, but no acounting for weight or comfort. a cut out plastic water jug strapped on your head is better than nothing. the hannibal and jason masks might get the people that love to walk arm in arm, side by side blocking the paths out of the way. can you tell i'm not fond of these people. there are other people on the planet that walk faster than you, you lard asses, like me. 

[novazeus]

off topic and showing my age but is there anyway to make the fonts bigger in this forum? using ipads as my devices because in the woods i'm totally cellular.

[WARPed1701D]

Confirmed. If a chin bar is present it is directly tested and must pass all tests under the ASTM 1952 downhill standard. Chinbars are not a requirement for certification but if present (either as a permenent fixture or as a removable component) it must pass direct testing.

What does this mean. Well without ASTM 1952 certification a chinbar COULD be little more than eye candy with little impact protection. Clearly this isn't necessarily the case. The Super 2R linked in my earlier video looks to absorb significant amounts of energy, BUT, only by gaining certifications is there a guarantee of the level of protection provided. This adds even more weight to my decision to keep the Switchblade. If you want a non-removable bar then the Met Parachute or the Giro Disciple are known to me to be certified.

I will update my original review text this evening to reflect this information.

[WARPed1701D]

5 minutes ago, novazeus said:

off topic and showing my age but is there anyway to make the fonts bigger in this forum? using ipads as my devices because in the woods i'm totally cellular.

You can generally zoom pages in the browser menu. This isn't like pinching the screen where you end up with content hidden off the edges it actually enlargens fonts and pictures while keeping the page boundaries intact. Responsive websites will reorganize themselves to account for it.

[novazeus]

@WARPed1701D thanks, i'm a pc/android brain person but i've been trying to rewire my brain for apple. if i wasn't so cheap, there's been many times i wanted to check out their use as a frisbee. this helmet thing is super important. just reading the accident poll page that i can't review the poll because i can't vote yet because i think the first wheel getting to me is the ninebot on friday, so trying to prepare. idk, i might change my mind, i was suppose to be dead 3 years ago and if the cancer is what gonna take me out, i'd rather crack my skull. i'm pretty fearless that way now. i just want to make sure somebody steps in and takes care of Bob and the rest of my animals. i need like a 911 automatic alert if i die because in the middle of 325 acres, if Bob doesn't eat me, the buzzards, wild hogs and coyotes will. save on funeral expenses. everytime i'm around cows, i probably should wear a helmet. i've had close calls in the cow pens. some of these cows are real jerks and will cow kick for no reason. i'm not gonna go fast, i don't care what you think, i've got fast stuff. if i'm too uncoordinated or stupid to ride these without face planting, they will be on ebay soon. idk, i'll start to find out friday. i never crashed an rc heli, didn't do much, but there were guys that would put a helluva show on and usually crash one per trip to the airfield. we always stopped what we were doing to watch them. rc heli crashes are very entertaining. i'm hoping this hobby/venture is similar. i trained on my rc heli with a rotopod. maybe i need a human rotopod.

[US69]

1 hour ago, novazeus said:

stuff. if i'm too uncoordinated or stupid to ride these without face planting, they will be on ebay soon. idk, i'll start t

I you can ride a bicycle...you can ride an EUC, too! 

Just take your time! in the beginning it will feel like nearly impossible....but once you heard a little click and got the first few meters, from that moment it will go on to a time where it works without even thinking about it!

Exspect 5 Minutes...over 5 hours...to 5 days...until you get the first meters done on your own, But you WILL be able to ...after a certain amount of time :-)

Age just makes it a bit longer to learn...we have prooved wheelers over 70/80 years old And A LOT of the forum members are over the age of 50!

[abinder3]

19 minutes ago, KingSong69 said:

I you can ride a bicycle...you can ride an EUC, too! 

Just take your time! in the beginning it will feel like nearly impossible....but once you heard a little click and got the first few meters, from that moment it will go on to a time where it works without even thinking about it!

Exspect 5 Minutes...over 5 hours...to 5 days...until you get the first meters done on your own, But you WILL be able to ...after a certain amount of time :-)

Age just makes it a bit longer to learn...we have prooved wheelers over 70/80 years old And A LOT of the forum members are over the age of 50!

59 years old here. 

The problem that I have lately is getting too comfortable riding my KS18AY.  During almost any 2 hour ride, I'll hit tilt back due to max speed.  By now, tilt back doesn't really bother me much. But it does catch you by surprise if you're accelerating out of a high speed turn and hit tilt back before you've fully exit the turn. 

[novazeus]

@KingSong69 i hope the manuals are decent about setting them up and not in chinese. i've read up on tilt back etc., not that i can't figure it out but like any minute now my dji fpv goggles are getting here and i have mix emotions. flying drones is literally autonomous, depending on how much set up you put into it. i had my head wrapped around all the variables setting them up last year and have two fairly new ones p4pro and mavic and haven't even set them up yet. Bob is kinda of a attention whore. i need the flying cameras to shoot some decent stills or even (groan) nice video for marketing the ranch and i need to learn these euc's for exercising Bob, he can run 35 supposedly. and between the heat and my cannabis medicine i can barely get the essentials done. not complaining, i like being overwhelmed, takes my mind off things, if you know what i mean. past three years have been psychologically challenging, but it is what you make it. there was an old tv show with ben gazarro in it called "run for your life" that was me but now i'm in reruns, again not complaining. i feel fine. strong, nice and lean, great dog but the doctors can't tell me if this cancer guillotine is still over my head or not. in reality, none of us know if there is a guillotine ready to drop on us, it's just being told that by a white coat is different. except for Bob, i don't really give a f**k about anything. everyday a new adventure to enjoy. So, i'm sure when this ninebot gets here friday i'll be back studying asking questions about set up, calibration, etc etc.  

[WARPed1701D]

@Keith or @KingSong69 (or any other Moderator). Is there any way I can now add text to my initial review posts to correct the chinbar certification testing info? They now appear locked so I can't edit them. Can they be unlocked for the additional text, or if I post the text here (or PM it) can someone add it for me? Thanks.

[ir_fuel]

11 hours ago, KingSong69 said:

I guess bicycle and Electric unicycle crashes can not be compared in the "Kind of Crash" that  happens on them...

Mostly when faults appear on a bicycle, with two wheels the Kind of fall is totally different to what happens when a EUC has a cut-out/fault. An EUC just snaps over and if this happens without any warning it is nearly impossible to run this out, or just get your arms up to protect your face...so i totaly understand everyone who is wearing a full face helmet like downhill or motorcycle helmet....

 

What about downhill mountainbiking? You think the crashes those people make are less severe? Or going head-first against a tree, or getting your front wheel stuck on something and being launched over your bike? 

And I am not talking about a downhill mountainbike helmet. I was talking about a motorcycle helmet. 

 

I once read that the perfect example of the stupidity of mankind is the invention of the helmet. Think about that one  

[steve454]

4 hours ago, novazeus said:

i need like a 911 automatic alert if i die because in the middle of 325 acres, if Bob doesn't eat me, the buzzards, wild hogs and coyotes will. save on funeral expenses.

I've been thinking about that lately, had a scare at the gym a couple months ago, I drank half a Redline energy drink (the bottle says only drink half, and I did, but I must have had a reaction to some of the ingredients.  I've used it before, but no more)  before lifting weights, didn't warm up properly, feeling fine, the second set of lat pulldowns someone had just used a weight I normally would have to work up to, but I went ahead and put some effort into it and did a set.  About one minute later the old heart started racing, I got real dizzy for about 5 minutes, scared the shit out of me.  Started feeling better, took it real easy the rest of the workout, took a shower and while dressing got real dizzy again.  Later, driving home got dizzy and lightheaded again, stopped at the doctor office, they did one of those mini EKG on me, said it looked good.  The next day had a couple dizzy spells, drove to the hospital to check out where the emergency room was located, thought about checking in to the hospital for observation in case of a heart attack or stroke.  Didn't do it because of the expense it would be, waited it out a couple days and gradually felt better.  Now I still work out, but warm up gradually and don't try anything heavy.  I'm 60, live alone in an apartment, and wonder if there is something like an automatic alert that is tied to the heartbeat and has GPS on it.  Lifelock is just for falls I think.

 

[novazeus]

@steve454 if you drop dead like my grandmother did in front of me from a heart attack, doctors said she was dead before she hit the ground, you're dead and your neighbors might eventully inquire. i don't right now, but i use to carry powdered aspirin in my wallet, just in case i felt angina or whatever, in fact i need to go get some. i never get headaches so don't have a need except for blood thinner in this case. funny i was just talking to my sister about feeling dizzy, she's 4 years older, in kentucky, and said she had been getting dizzy spells too. maybe the government is testing sometning on us. but yeah, i looked it up, and i only drink distilled water and lots of black coffee to negate some of the psychoactive effects of cannabis and caffeine can cause it. that's probably what it is. i've got two cell phones and two wireless ipads. i try to keep a phone handy. ems will need bolt cutters to get to me, however, cause my gates are locked, and then figure out where i am. hopefully Bob will do the lassie thing and show them. hopefully he'll let them work on me if that happens. Bob is trying to learn cpr.

[steve454]

56 minutes ago, novazeus said:

Bob is trying to learn cpr.

Smart dog! Except, he has one on your throat. Yeah, after learning in my last CPR class that aspirin can minimize the risk, I have a couple of them in my car and the rest at home.  Now you gave me an idea, to put one in my wallet, I didn't think about that, thanks!  I should probably start emailing my son daily.  BTW I can now ride backwards, so it's all good!

[novazeus]

cool, i start friday, maybe, gotta see what Bob has planned.

[abinder3]

Getting back on topic.

The main drawback that I personally see is the Giro Switchblade seems to be rather hot to wear when it's hot outside, whereas the Bell is much cooler due it's ventilation. 
(Most of the reviews that I've read seem to state that also.)

[radial]

13 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

Getting back on topic.

The main drawback that I personally see is the Giro Switchblade seems to be rather hot to wear when it's hot outside, whereas the Bell is much cooler due it's ventilation. 
(Most of the reviews that I've read seem to state that also.)

I'm liking my Bell super 3r helmet pretty well so far.  It's very well ventilated, fits my head, and I suspect the chin bar is pretty sturdy.  

[WARPed1701D]

46 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

Getting back on topic.

The main drawback that I personally see is the Giro Switchblade seems to be rather hot to wear when it's hot outside, whereas the Bell is much cooler due it's ventilation. 
(Most of the reviews that I've read seem to state that also.)

I've been commuting for the last week on my wheel with the Switchblade in Florida. Real feel temp in the morning is in the mid 90s. In the evening the mid 100s. I can happily say that even in these temps the Switchblade has not been uncomfortable at all. I was concerned about the heat but was prepared to accept it in exchange for the certified level of protection it offered and what felt like a more substantial build. Thankfully it turned out not to be a compromise.

The average reviewer is a mountain biker who is cranking his or her way up a hill or mountain ready for their descent. I can certainly understand that in those circumstances it would be very hot. But standing on an EUC with a 15 to 20mph breeze blowing over you. Not a problem at all...even in Gulf Coast FL.

The Bell may be slightly cooler but having learned that the chinbar is tested as part of the Downhill certification (see my posts from earlier today) I would certainly prefer a helmet that guarantees a minimum level of frontal impact protection.