Helmet sizing, and finding a physical store location

[Michael.Buttrick]

Does anyone have any suggestions for actually finding a helmet to try on?

Apart from some track stores (which are obviously not open at the moment) and a few stores scattered along the coast, I’ve not been able to get in touch with a store or distributor to actually try on a helmet before buying.

there’s the some very specific store fronts such as HMS in the Boston area, OG in Virginia, and ApexPerformance in Florida, but I’d love to find a place within a three hour drive I’m wondering if my issue is exactly how I’m searching in google, or perhaps many places didn’t survive the last three years; or it’s just not something I’ll be able to find in the entire state of Connecticut or New York…

Does anyone in the North Eastern US have any local suggestions?
Or anyone nationally have a suggestion on exactly how to confirm ‘my head’ vs ‘a specific brand’ sizing?

For example, I’ve been wearing a bell for years and love it (for motorcycles); but I’m going to be getting my first purpose built Formula car helmet and have been pointed toward Stilo. But I’ve heard every line of advice under the sun as far as sizing and fitment. From “send them the exact measurements but take ‘x’ off” to “never even order online, always go to a distributor so they can custom fit you”… but how do I find a distributor? Closest I’ve come up with (to me) is RaceChoice in Middletown, CT but I can’t even get someone local on the phone, they’re all 877 numbers and they all say “give me your info I’ll have them call you”. They can’t even tell me if there’s helmets in store… doesn’t exactly inspire confidence

I didn’t think this’d be such a saga! Lol

grateful for any advice
Mike

[TimH]

Good luck in your search. Some folks wind up just having to order something online, keep trying on, returning, etc. until finding the right fit, which of course is everything. Keith Averill <http://www.racing-stuff.com/> has been suggested as a quick way to zero in on what will work for you.

I can tell you the Bell Racing helmets are a VERY different fit from their motorcycle line these days. I'd say they're still a lot like the ones from the 1990s, but nothing at all like the new models.

[Nick11]

I know its kind of far but Summit Racing Equipment In Tallmadge, Ohio has helmets in stock. Their we site is www.summitracing.com

[TimH]

I know its kind of far but Summit Racing Equipment In Tallmadge, Ohio has helmets in stock. Their we site is www.summitracing.com

Speedway is also very understanding about the need to test fit what they ship you.

[TedV]

The helmets I hated the most all came from mail order. Those were the worst fitting helmets too. But they were cheap and made me legal...

How many years will you be wearing it? take the time and drive to a store that will have a good selection of the ones you are interested in. What you think is your head size might not match the manufactures sizing.


OG is the same distance from my house as from Boston. My plan was to go get a helmet and also hit the Udvar-Hazy Aerospace Museum for a combined trip. However, at the VIR runoffs, the track shop didn't have a helmet I liked but the Bell rep had a display with inventory support by OG. They took the time to check fitment. my eye glasses fitting is rather important, let me hang around wearing the short list of helmets over my balaclava to make sure there were no hot spot pressure points and sold the helmet at a fair price. Their helpfulness and knowledge screwed me out of an excuse to visit Udvar-Hazy but I am very much happy with the helmet purchase

[Steve Davis]

I can tell you that getting a helmet that fits CORRECTLY (not necessarily 'comfortable') is not easy... and.. in almost EVERY CASE, you'll find 'something' that doesn't suit you when you get on track. If you DO get to try one on, you really NEED to be IN YOUR CAR while doing it.
That said, they're ARE ways to improve the fit after the fact. Also, most mfr's list the method of measuring your head to match their styles.. and a LOT of them now size their helmets by NUMBERS rather than 'small/med/large' - that should improve your odds. A 'properly fitting' helmet will be TOO TIGHT when you try it on .. but after 30 seconds on track, you never notice it again. MUCH better to be too tight than too loose. You can live with 'too tight', but cannot tolerate 'too loose'.

Best suggestion .. make a guess and go SMALLER if you have to pick a size that doesn't exactly match. It will loosen up after the first race weekend and I have generally had to add additional thickness to the padding to get the fit that I want. That's over some 10 or so helmets that I've bought over the years.. and years... that I've raced .. . Don't think I've EVER had one that fit me 'just right' out of the box.

I might also suggest that you choose a helmet that is only FIVE years out of 'expiration' - mostly the 'odd' Snell numbers. Yes, you'll need to update it sooner, but the cost is quite a bit less and if you don't get a perfect fit, you'll have a sooner chance to update it and MUCH more experience about just how it needs to fit in your racecar. Getting one with the longest 'use factor' (10 years) is not always the right way to go.. especially with your FIRST helmet. You may not have as much trouble up in your area as down here in the south, but racing is HOT in the summer .. and keeping the insides of your helmet clean gets tougher and tougher as the years pass. ALWAYS wear a balaclava to help that, and different balaclavas might improve the fit too.
Steve, FV80

[DaveW]

Another note on this subject - even different helmets from the same manufacturer may fit very differently. A large-size Simpson Carbon Devil Ray fits me perfectly, while a same sized Carbon Venator did not. The Venator's eye opening was too high and blocked my vision of gauges and swaybar levers.

[ApexPerformance]

Does anyone have any suggestions for actually finding a helmet to try on?

Apart from some track stores (which are obviously not open at the moment) and a few stores scattered along the coast, I’ve not been able to get in touch with a store or distributor to actually try on a helmet before buying.

there’s the some very specific store fronts such as HMS in the Boston area, OG in Virginia, and ApexPerformance in Florida, but I’d love to find a place within a three hour drive I’m wondering if my issue is exactly how I’m searching in google, or perhaps many places didn’t survive the last three years; or it’s just not something I’ll be able to find in the entire state of Connecticut or New York…

Does anyone in the North Eastern US have any local suggestions?
Or anyone nationally have a suggestion on exactly how to confirm ‘my head’ vs ‘a specific brand’ sizing?

For example, I’ve been wearing a bell for years and love it (for motorcycles); but I’m going to be getting my first purpose built Formula car helmet and have been pointed toward Stilo. But I’ve heard every line of advice under the sun as far as sizing and fitment. From “send them the exact measurements but take ‘x’ off” to “never even order online, always go to a distributor so they can custom fit you”… but how do I find a distributor? Closest I’ve come up with (to me) is RaceChoice in Middletown, CT but I can’t even get someone local on the phone, they’re all 877 numbers and they all say “give me your info I’ll have them call you”. They can’t even tell me if there’s helmets in store… doesn’t exactly inspire confidence

I didn’t think this’d be such a saga! Lol

grateful for any advice
Mike

We are actually in Murrells Inlet, SC, south of Myrtle Beach (not Florida). Stilo was purchased by Simpson, and Simpson was purchased by Holley last summer. I don't see a dealer list for Stilo though. In our experience, BELL users usually have to go up at least one size in Stilo as they run smaller. Stilo fits similar to HJC and Arai.

If you go to the manufacturer's website, they usually have a list of dealers. Here are a few....

https://bellracing.com/retailers/category/dealers.html

https://hjc-motorsports.com/pages/dealer-location-1

https://www.gforce.com/pages/store-locator

[halcyon]

HMS and Stand21 attend some of the larger vintage events. That's were I test fit my gear. Both are outstanding companies.

[pooch776]

Michael,

You could always visit a friend in FL and try Wine Country Motorsports in Sebring. They have a good selection in stock including Stilo helmets.

Cheers, Joe

[ApexPerformance]

We are glad to work with folks on helmet exchanges but you get into shipping charges back & forth.

[scorp997]

I bought my previous helmet from ApexPerformance and had excellent service. Luckily I didn’t need to exchange, but felt confident they would have done all that was required to get it right.

my current helmet was bought through a local supplier during the lean time when helmets were not in stock. I like to support our local distributors when possible but Apex is a great option.

We are glad to work with folks on helmet exchanges but you get into shipping charges back & forth.

[AlanVDW]

Stable Energies in Passaic NJ, near Rt 80, has helmets to try on. I am unsure if Driving Impressions, near Dover NJ, still has helmets.

[Zonker]

Road race shops can be hard to find, check the local circle track suppliers. They have all kinds of interesting goodies.

[EYERACE]

I don't think they do this anymore but during SpeedWeeks at Daytona at the Ocean Center in the week before the 500 there used to be for several days the "Circle Track Show" ....... lots of vendors all coming down for the 500 and escaping the Northern Winter. I bought one of my helmets there and the Vendor that had come down from Indy had a virtual wall of helmets in boxes. I learned this from them > people tend to put on a helmet, raise both hands to grab the helmet on the sides and then try to rotate the helmet back and forth to see if it's the right size..........wrong!!......I put on the helmet and the guy grabs the helmet to hold it in place and tells me to try and twist my head inside the helmet..........bingo!....what I thought was correct proved too big......one size smaller proved to be the one. Also, any helmet I've purchased since has been custom constructed with extra padding in the cheek area such that my cheeks are slightly squeezed against the sides of my nose for an even firmer fit. I can still breathe through my nose just fine but the helmet is more secured.

[FVRacer21]

Stable Energies in Passaic NJ, near Rt 80, has helmets to try on. I am unsure if Driving Impressions, near Dover NJ, still has helmets.

I would second Stable, but from CT it is still across some bridges....

I have used Shoei, Bell, Simpson, Zamp and Pyrotect and always done mail order - think I have only had to send one back in 45 years.

Welcome comments on my suggestions:

1. Decide what you want to spend and what features you want - with glasses a wide port opening might be better. (but I still liked my Simpson Bandit ) Keep cooling vents in mind.

2. Talk to the company and understand their return/exchange policy.

3. Use the specific manufacturer sizing chart. A medium on one might be a small on another.

4. Most helmets are a compromise - there is usually a overlap in inch sizes, if in doubt go with the smaller size. (although I notice the Bell chart actually has gaps in the inch size. I guess if you are in-between no helmet fits.....)

5. Try a helmet on with balaclava - I like the thicker ones rather than the thinner ones, but it might make a difference in fit. Even if not required, a balaclava keeps the helmet nicer, longer.

6. Talk to the someone at the company. They might ask questions about fit since that is their job.

7. I cannot imagine any helmet today NOT being prepared for a HANS device, but it doesn't hurt to ask, Sometime they will have an option to match what hans you have.

8. I will get some flame for this. Yes your head is the most important thing on your body. If you wish to buy a $2K helmet to drive FV, no one will stop you. There a lot of good helmets out there at a reasonable price. Just reconsider that black helmet - sitting on the grid in August.....well. That goes for black suits too.

ChrisZ