Find the date
Look for a moulded or printed manufacture date — usually on a label under the comfort lining or on the chin strap.
Helmets · Know when to let go
When to replace your helmet
Crash it and you know. But a helmet also quietly reaches the end of its life on the shelf — and 'looks fine' isn't the test. Here's the five-year rule, the after-crash rule, and the real reasons behind both.
5 YEARS FROM FIRST USE · 7 FROM THE BUILD DATE
ONE CRASH = ONE HELMET
Shop helmets →ONE CRASH = ONE HELMET
The uncomfortable truth
'Looks fine' isn't the test.
A helmet can look showroom-perfect and still be past it. Almost everything that makes it protect you — the crushable foam, the glue holding it together, the shell, the padding that keeps it snug — is quietly changing from the day you first wear it. You can't see any of it, which is exactly why there are rules of thumb instead of a warning light.
How a helmet actually works
The foam only works once.
Under the shell sits a layer of EPS — the dense white foam. In a crash it does exactly one thing: it crushes, in a controlled way, turning the energy that would hit your skull into crushed foam instead. Brilliant — and completely single-use. Crushed foam doesn't spring back, so a helmet that's taken a real impact has already spent its protection, even if the outside looks untouched.
The foam that saves your life is engineered to do it exactly once.
Which is why 'it still looks okay' is the most dangerous sentence in motorcycling.
The rules, in numbers
5 yrsFrom the day you first wear it
7 yrsFrom the manufacture date
1 crashThen it's retired — no exceptions
≈2–3%Impact absorption lost per year (est.)
The part nobody explains
Why five years — even if you never drop it.
This is the one riders argue about, so here's the honest version. It isn't that the foam rots on the shelf — a helmet locked in a cupboard ages very slowly. It's use that wears it out. Every ride, your sweat, skin oils and hair products soak into the liner and work at the glue bonding it to the shell. Heat cycles and UV slowly stiffen the foam and the shell. And the comfort padding compresses — so the helmet that gripped your head when new gradually goes loose, and a loose helmet moves in a crash instead of protecting. Five years is simply when the makers' own ageing tests show a well-used helmet no longer performs like the one you bought.
After an impact
If it hit the ground, it's done.
Any crash means a new helmet — that part's simple. The trap is the smaller stuff: a topple off the seat at a petrol station, a slide off the tank onto concrete, a drop from the bars at speed. If the helmet took a real knock — especially with your head in it — replace it, however clean it looks. A gentle tip from your hand onto carpet with nothing inside is usually fine; when you genuinely can't tell, Shoei and Arai (among others) will inspect it for you. When in doubt, retire it.
Two minutes to check
How old is your helmet, really?
Do the maths
Five years from the day you first wore it, or seven from that build date — whichever lands first.
Check the fit
Put it on. If it's gone loose, rocks on your head, or the padding has packed flat, it's telling you it's time.
When in doubt
No date, no memory, or a knock you're unsure about? Treat it as due. A helmet is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy twice.
The warning signs
Retire it today if you spot any of these.
- It crashedAny real impact, with or without visible damage — non-negotiable.
- Cracks or dentsSplits in the shell, or dents you can press into the foam.
- A loose fitIt rocks or slides, or the cheek pads no longer hug — the fit has packed out.
- Tired strapsA frayed strap, a slipping buckle or a worn D-ring is a failure waiting to happen.
- Age unknownIf you can't say how old it is, assume it's older than you'd like.
- Smell or mouldPadding that stays damp and musty has broken down inside.
Ready for the next one.
When it's time, it's time. A spread of the full-face helmets we stock — every one fresh, in-date and ready for years of riding.
A helmet spends years protecting a head it may only be asked to save once. Don't ask a tired one to do it.
The verdict
If you're asking, it's probably time.
Five years from first use, seven from the build date, and always after a crash. A helmet is the one thing on the bike you replace before it lets you down — not after.
Shop helmetsNot sure how old yours is? Find the date label inside, then browse fresh, in-date stock in the Helmets collection.