Yesterday when I got done riding, I took off my beautiful One K that I’ve owned for four years, and removed the liner to rinse out. I noticed that my inspection sticker was dated 1/2018. That puts my helmet at over 5 years old. Five years might not seem very long, but in the helmet world, that’s old. By the time your sweat, and all the other fun stuff that comes with it, has gotten into the styrofoam and glue, eating away at it, and compromising its integrity. Also, let’s all be real. We have all dropped our helmet, it’s been knocked around in your tack trunk, or off the chair by your helpful barn cat, or maybe you leave it in your car for days on end. Heat is also a destroyer of all things inside your helmet that make it safe!
So after that study on riding helmets came out, Carolyn and I did some research on the study. Carolyn and I both have a science background, I teach science at the high school level, and Carolyn is a physicist. We both found irregularities in the study. The helmets were NOT tested for coming off a horse. The study does not state the age of each helmet, and it does not repeat the tests to make sure the original findings were correct. The last part we found troubling is that they didn’t test every single type of helmet made by all helmet companies and did not have other professionals review their findings. All of these facts lead us to find that the experiment is faulty, and the findings not substantiated.
My new helmet will be a KEP. I love One K. Their helmets are well designed and have saved many lives, including some of those close to us. The reason I am going with a KEP is because when I order it, it will be made for me at that time. They are not made beforehand and left to sit until someone purchases them.
They have passed the highest safety standards in Europe, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The KEP 2.0 has a crash rating on asphalt, making it as safe as a skating helmet.
Since I live on the surface of the sun, aka Central Texas, helmet ventilation is also high on my checklist of helmet needs. These helmets have amazing ventilation. The front vent can be opened and closed and there are vents in the back as well.
KEP helmets come down lower in the back than most riding helmets. This is to protect your cervical and lower cranial bones of your head and neck. When a rider comes off at a high rate of speed head first, those bones can be impacted. The padding in them help to create a customized fit to your head, and help to keep your head in the same position, even if you come off.
I want my helmet to represent my personality. I can design it to match my saddle, my Kingsley boots, my Halter Ego bridle and even my dog’s collar. The front and the back parts are removable. I can order pieces so that I can have my everyday, over the top helmet and then put on different front and back pieces to have my elegant, subdued, hope I’m not bobbing my head so much that the judge notices, show helmet.
The chin strap can be traditional black, or I can make it my flesh color, or make it pop with any color I might want. I will be going with the flesh color so that it won’t show dirt and it photographs beautifully.
Each custom helmet comes with a gorgeous, padded helmet bag to help keep it safe and beautiful. The bag retail for $150 on their own.
Finding another helmet that meets all of my requirements, can be customized, and is this safe makes it a no brainer to get a KEP to keep my head safe.