We’ve all done it at some point.  Aside from the gut-wrenching disappointment caused from dropping your lid, there’s always that nagging feeling that remains.  Is my lid going to protect me if that day ever comes?

Sure, you may not own a premium helmet, and if this is the case we recommend buying a new one.  SHARP have awarded 4-5 stars on helmets that are actually cheaper than our inspection service.

However, if you parted with decent money for your lid and you’d like to know if you can keep on using it in the knowledge it’s still up to the manufacturer’s standards, we will provide you with a definitive yes/no answer with our helmet inspection service.

Our scanning service costs £40 inc. VAT per helmet.  This includes return shipping by courier.

Simply put, we’re scanning the outer shell of your helmet using a non-destructive technique that’s up to 100,000x more powerful than the human eye.  The scanning process identifies any possible integrity issues with the outer composite shell.

Once we’ve scanned your helmet, the scan results are reviewed manually by one of our certified competent technicians who will markup the results with any annotations.  After which, we will email you a detailed report, stating whether or not your helmet conforms to the manufacturer’s safety standards.

We will be providing an explainer video, which will show best practice for packaging your helmet securly before shipping to us.

• In the meantime, we recommend you place your helmet into a helmet cover to stop it from being scratched, then place it into the original manufacturer’s box. Insert lightweight padding at points where any fins etc. may touch the box.

• Before you seal this box, write your name, address, contact number and your order number on a piece of paper and place this in the box.

• Place the original OEM box inside another box, making sure the outer box is only marginally larger than the OEM box, so restricting any movement.  Include further padding if necessary.

• Then choose a postal service of your choice.  We recommend using a service that provides a sufficient level of insurance against the loss or damage to your helmet during transit.  Your helmet will be covered by our insurance while it’s in our hands.

If you no longer have the manufacturer’s box, it’s likely you can ask your local motorcycle dealer to give you one, or buy one online.

We are currently sourcing suitable helmet boxes from manufacturers, which will be available to buy on our website.

Once we have scanned your helmet, the data is reviewed manually by one of our trained technicians.  If there are any aspects of the data that may be ambiguous, we escalate the inspection data to one of our specialists.  If the data continues to be inconclusive, we will scan your helmet a second time – with an increased focus on any areas that have been inconclusive.  When we are satisfied our inspection is conclusive, we will send you an inspection certificate, stating a pass/fail and a detailed report to support our inspection result.

Our advice has always been, and always will be, if a helmet has experienced an impact in an accident OR if it’s obvious your lid has sustained damage – don’t mess about.  Retire that helmet and replace it.

Did you know: in many cases your local fire services will often take retired helmets and use them for RTA training.  If you’re not keeping your retired lid as a keepsake, consider donating it rather than sending it to landfill.

We recommend having your helmet scanned once a year, OR after any form of minor impact, such as dropping it from the bike while stationary.

We’re currently predicting a turnaround of no more than 5 working days .  1-2 days once your helmet reaches us and 2-3 days for shipping to and from.  We’ll be offering a premium service for those who require quicker turnaround times.

Absolutely not.  We also service other markets such as motorsport, equestrian, snowsports, watersports and military etc.

Helmets save lives, and we believe it’s in the insurance companies interests to incentivise you to have your helmet inspected, and it is our hope that underwriters will look favourably on those who have a valid scan on their helmet.  Sign up to our newsletter if you would like us to keep you informed of our progress.

Yes.  We return your helmet to you using our insured courier service.  The return shipping cost is included in our service fee.

Technically speaking, the EPS liner is constructed from pressure moulding, and no resins are used in this process.

Assuming the outer shell is made from composite materials, resin is used to bond the multiple layers of composites used in the manufacturing process.  

These resins break down over time, which is why manufacturers state the lifespan of a helmet is typically 3-5 years.  The lifespan of your helmet depends greatly on the environmental conditions it’s been subjected to and how you have treated it.  For example, if you frequently leave your helmet sat on the tank of your bike, small amounts of petrol fumes will accelerate the degradation of the resin, resulting in a shorter lifespan.  Other factors, such as sweat, direct heat, sunlight etc. all play their part.

When these resins break down, this will result in deformation of the composites in the outer shell, which our inspection service will identify.

Assuming the outer shell is made from composite materials, resin is used to bond the multiple layers of composites in the manufacturing process.  

These resins break down over time, which is why manufacturers state the lifespan of a helmet is typically 3-5 years.  The lifespan of your helmet depends greatly on the environmental conditions it’s been subjected to and how you have treated it.  For example, if you frequently leave your helmet sat on the tank of your bike, small amounts of petrol fumes will accelerate the degradation of the resin, resulting in a shorter lifespan.  Other factors, such as sweat, direct heat, sunlight etc. all play their part.

When these resins break down, this will result in deformation of the composites in the outer shell, which our inspection service will identify.

We are expecting to be fully operational by mid-2021.  If you’d like to be kept up to date about our launch date and receive early discount offers, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll keep you posted.

Sorry, no, not at the moment.  As much as we love meeting fellow bikers, our primary focus is to provide you with an affordable and efficient inspection service, where we have as short a turnaround time as possible. We felt this was more important than building customer-friendly areas at our facilities.

No.  Budget helmets are typically manufactured from thermoplastics.  Our inspection technology detects delamination in composite materials, which are typically used in the manufacture of premium helmets.

Not all crash helmets are made from composite materials, but most will be, using either fibreglass, kevlar, carbon fibre or composite blends.  Most budget helmets are more commonly associated with thermoplastics, ABS, polycarbonate, and compounds that are a blend of both.

The easiest way to check the materials used to manufacture your helmet would be to visit the manufacturer’s website.