Standards — DOME

An overview of standards for cycling, snow and powersports helmets.

There are dozens of helmet standards across the spectrum of action sports. Different types of helmets help to protect you from different types of impacts. A motorcycle crash, for instance, is entirely different than a snowboarding spill. It follows then that motorcycle and snowboard helmets should offer relevant levels of protection and live up to relevant standards. Simple.

Here’s where it gets complex. Different countries and organizations also have different safety standards for the same kinds of helmets. There are, for example, 10 different bicycle helmet standards alone. And there are more things that make it a bit more difficult as well. So let’s tuck into it.

sort by category

Bicycle

EN-1078

The European standard, EN-1078 permits lighter, thinner helmets than some of the other standards because it subjects helmets to impacts from lower heights than either Snell or CPSC. It’s not as simple as that, though, as EN-1078 does require a lower test line than Snell and CPSC, which may require that the helmet provide slightly more coverage.

Bicycle

ASTM F1952

This downhill mountain biking helmet standard features greater impact energies and drop heights on the hemi and curbstone anvils than the CPSC or the Snell B-95 standard. This standard also features a lower test line on the sides and back of the helmet than most other bike helmet standards. While chin bars are not required to pass this test, if a helmet does feature a chin bar, the bar must pass a deflection test as well.

Bicycle

CPSC

All bike helmets sold in the United States must meet this standard. CPSC is also accepted in Canada, China, Taiwan, Japan and Brazil. CPSC subjects helmets to slightly greater impacts than both EN 1078 and AS/NZ standards.

Bicycle

SNELL B-95

Snell B-95 subjects helmets to harder hits from greater heights than the CPSC and EN-1078 standards. Snell B-95 also features a slightly lower test line than the CPSC standard, requiring protection over a greater area of the helmet.

Snow

CSA Z263.1

When it comes to putting helmets to the test, Canada’s ski and snowboard helmet standard is quite similar to the more popular EN-1077 European standard. Perhaps the greatest difference is that this Canadian standard requires third party testing and certification. As of 2016, no helmets had been submitted to CSA for certification to Z263.1.

Snow

EN-1077

The European ski and snowboard standard. EN-1077, requires that helmets undergo impact testing, though its protocols are not as severe in some ways as those required by some other standards. There are two variations of EN-1077 (Class A and Class B). Of the two, Class A demands greater coverage and penetration resistance.

Snow

SNELL RS98

A voluntary snow sports standard that has long proven the most challenging to pass. The Snell Foundation’s RS-98 standard subjects helmets to harder hits and the most comprehensive range of tests.

Snow

ASTM F2040

This is a popular standard snow sports in the United States and Canada. Though not as stringent as the Snell RS-98 standard, ASTM F2040 subjects test helmets to somewhat greater and more comprehensive impact testing than that required by either the Canadian or European snow sports standards.

Powersports

ECE 22.05

ECE 22.05 is the most common motorcycle helmet standard in the world—legally required by nearly 50 countries and recognized by a long list of racing organizations. Though this standard doesn’t call for impact energies on par with that demanded by other standards, ECE 22.05 tests a wide range of helmet.

Powersports

Snell M2015

When it comes to impact testing, Snell’s M2015 standard still proves the most daunting to pass—with harder impacts, a more challenging gauntlet of anvils to be struck and more discretion for testers to pinpoint potential weaknesses.

Powersports

DOT

All motorcycle helmets in America designed for street use must meet this standard. In terms of impact testing, the DOT standard falls somewhere between Snell’s stringent M2015 standard and Europe’s less-intense ECE 22.05 regulations.

Testing

Anvil

While it’s impossible to replicate all of the items your head may come into contact with during a real-world crash, standards require that helmets be dropped upon a flat, steel anvil as well as variously-shaped, solid-steel anvils that simulate different types of crash scenarios and subject the helmet to more focused shocks…

Testing

Helmet Testing

With few exceptions, this is how helmets are tested in the laboratory. While our charts have focused on impact testing, that’s simply the most obvious part of the testing process. Step 1: Outline the test area Not every square inch of a helmet…

Insights

Standards Guarantees

Helmet safety standards dictate everything—from how much of your head the helmet covers to what kinds of labels cover the helmet’s own packaging. But when most people think about helmet standards, they want to know just one thing: How big of a hit can this helmet take before I…

Insights

Toughest vs Safest

“Which standard is the safest?” That’s a logical question, but here’s another: Does passing the toughest test inherently make a helmet safer? If the “toughest” test doesn’t accurately match what happens out in the field, then the answer is “Not necessarily”. A standard that’s…