UKC

Been looking at a helmet for the gf since she wants to join me outside and it got me thinking.

Foam based helmets have a finite lifespan, much like a bike helmets do, and full blown plastic + cradle ones last for a long long time. But what about hybrid like the Grivel Salamander? The outside is pretty damn solid but the bit keeping it off your head is foam which, we've been told lasts 3 years (going by what my bike helmet says).

In reply to fire_munki:

I think it's very hard to really know and maybe I've been massively pushing my luck, but I've happily (stupidly?!) been using helmets regularly up to a decade or a bit more. I've got an Elios, which is a hybrid, that's at least 10 years old (I'm wearing it in photos taken in winter 05!) and it still looks fine. It's actually currently being used by a friend's daughter in Scotland. When my mate said was it OK to lend to her (he had for various complicated international house moving reasons!) I said absolutely, but when its someone else's kid you suddenly become more worried about it than when its (literally) on your own head! So I suggested that if she gets more into climbing, she considers getting her own helmet sooner rather than later because of the age.

A couple of my oldest helmets now reside in the dressing up box that my parents keep - for when all the various grandkids come to visit. Hence my early 90s Snowdon Moulding carbon fibre lid in disco ball glittery purple has been reimagined as a coppers helmet, a soldiers helmet and part of a suit of armour at various time! But it actually still LOOKS fine for climbing in.

In reply to TobyA:
I get the suddenly more worried, the looking for gf helmet was the straw on the camels back, this came not long after meeting one of her school friends who is a doctor and has worked with MRT in Scotland giving me the 3rd degree!

Was curious if the manufacturers/people who worked in the industry had any definite numbers really but I guess there are too many variables. I think for 50 quid and 4 years good use it's just not worth it.