Inside The Made To Order Process For A Handcrafted Helmet
ECE 22.06 is the current European standard that motorcycle helmets are tested against, and it replaced the older ECE 22.05 standard with a wider and more demanding set of tests. Helmets are checked for impact absorption at multiple points on the shell, not just the crown, and the standard also tests rotational forces, which earlier standards largely ignored.
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The trade off is scale. A workshop like this will never produce helmets as fast as a large factory, and that is treated as acceptable, since the aim is a considered, well finished helmet rather than the fastest one to market.
This is slower than fully automated manufacturing, and that is the point. A handcrafted shell trades speed for a level of finish and individual attention that a purely machine made helmet does not offer.
A helmet that is the right size should feel snug all the way round with no single pressure point, and it should not shift when you turn your head firmly from side to side. A helmet that moves independently of your head on a shake test is not the right fit, regardless of what the size label says.
A made to order helmet starts long before any material is cut. Measurements are taken, the intended use of the helmet is discussed, and a rider works with the maker to settle on a shell, lining and finish that suit them specifically, rather than picking from fixed stock sizes.