Please carefully read, understand and adhere to the following information. Since your helmet is engineered to very exacting standards, correct care is vital to its proper functioning.
Shield hardware
To insure proper shield fit and function, it is important to check the tightness of the shield pivot and shield positioning screws before every use. Tighten until screws are firmly seated, careful to not over tighten.
Helmet cheek fit pads
To change, remove or replace cheek fit pads, turn the helmet upside down and place thumb under cheek pad and ‘pinch’ thumb with fingers on the exterior shell. This will prevent separating and helmet upholstery from the shell as you remove the cheek fit pad.
With the free hand, slowly pull the cheek fit pad away from the hook and loop interior starting at the corner. Replace with a new cheek pad.
Helmet inner liner
After a race, wet fit pads and a liner should be dried in the shade using a fan.
Mini champ and vapor helmet inserts
A helmet is a size large without insert. To place an insert into the helmet perform the following:
1. Hold your helmet with the base opening facing you.
2. Carefully fold the back hat band upholstery toward you around the entire circumference of the helmet.
3. Insert a quick-fit insert at the rear of the helmet first and continue to push the insert in and smooth the insert down around the entire crown of the helmet. Fold the hat band liner back into position.
Helmet hardware
All fastening hardware and straps should be checked regularly for strength and security. Keeping all components of the helmet clean and well cared for is very important. Even perspiration can compromise the effectiveness of the hardware and straps.
Caution!
Read all warning labels and instructions found in, attached to, or included with your helmet. It is extremely dangerous to modify your helmet as it may decrease its effectiveness. Helmets are designed to absorb impact only once. Any helmet involved in an impact should not be used again, even if there is no visual damage.
Established in 1957 after the tragic death of Pete "William" Snell, the Snell Memorial Foundation has been a leader in helmet safety both in the United States and around the world. For over 50 years, the Snell Memorial Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, has been dedicated exclusively to head protection through scientific and medical research, standards development, helmet testing, and public education.
Dr. Snively was the principal architect of the Snell Memorial Foundation. In 1956, at the time of Snell’s crash, Dr. Snively had already been interested in helmets and crash injury protection. Fired by Snell’s needless death and with the support and encouragement of the SCCA and Pete’s friends and loved ones, Snively intensified his efforts. Within a few years, under Snively’s leadership, the newly incorporated Snell Memorial Foundation published the first Snell standard for protective headgear. Over the next twenty years, Snively revised this standard continually upward demanding more and more protective performance from the helmet industry. Thanks to the support of the auto racing public, whose numbers were soon swelled by a considerably larger motorcycling public, Snively got that improved performance.
Since its founding in 1957, the Snell Memorial Foundation has independently tested manufacturer's helmets. Its first safety standards for protective headgear were issued for auto racing in 1959. Subsequently, other specific helmet standards for motorcycling, equestrian sports, bicycling, rollerblading and skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing, and karting have been issued. These standards address performance, not specific materials or design. Periodically, utilizing specially designed test equipment, the Foundation upgrades its specifications on performance characteristics of helmets to keep pace with advances in materials, helmet technology and design.