Rubberized coating on helmets?

[sandyrs]

I recall seeing a thread about this, but can't find it, so if anyone can point me to it that would be much appreciated!

I have a helmet (Casco Speed Airo) to which I would like to apply a matte black thin rubberized coating. I've seen this done before on other helmets, so I know it's possible, but I don't know how I would do it or where I would take the helmet to get the work done. Does anyone have any experience doing this sort of treatment?

Thanks!

Also, if there's a reason this is a bad idea and I shouldn't do it, I'm all ears. I can repaint the helmet pretty easily, just thought I would change things up a bit.

[Nooch]

I'm gonna say, if you can plasti-dip a car, you can plasti-dip a helmet...

http://www.plastidip.com/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/artixtn/2012-04-21_08-32-11_615.jpg

[Mark McM]

I'm no helmet expert, but this sounds like a bad idea. Helmets are typically meant to slide on surfaces they hit. If the helmet has a grippy surface, it could stick to a surface it hits, possibly creating a torque about the head, and increasing the chance of a neck injury.

There's already some evidence that helmets may increase the chances of neck injuries. I wouldn't put a grippy coating on a helmet to increase those chances further.

[mhespenheide]

I am not a lawyer nor an engineer, but...

To echo MarkM, I think that's a bad idea. Possibly a remarkably bad idea. I don't think you want to increase the coefficient of friction between the road (or other impact surface) and the helmet. Much better to slide across a surface than potentially create a torque that twists your neck.

I'd stay away from it.

[ShaneAtSilca]

I second and third these guys. Seems like there is potential that this would be going the wrong way from a safety standpoint.

[christian]

Plasti-dip isn't that grabby. I think it's fine. Good idea for Livestrong helmets, for instance!

[11.4]

Most helmet manufacturers tell you not to put even stickers on your helmet because they can damage the plastic or foam. The way helmets are designed, it only takes a tiny amount of deterioration or damage for the integrated structure to lose a lot of protective capability.

On the track we've done a lot of work looking at helmets and how they cause neck injuries versus allowing you to slide. Mostly it's been about helmet shape but I suppose a rubber dip could add to the problem. Mostly I ask, ... why? It adds weight too, where you really feel it.

I wouldn't do it. There are parts of me that are in serious need of rubber dipping, so my helmet just wouldn't get the priority.

[Tony]

I sprayed bedliner on a plastic kayak to make it more durable and slide easily on barnacled covered rocks. After getting caught and slammed then held against the side of a cliff the only thing that survived was the bedliner : )

https://plus.google.com/photos/107709068384636814318/albums/5544277317785532305

[Bradford]

If you go back to the early 90's, there was a transition from lycra covered helmets to plastic covered helmets, the Giro Hammerhead was the first I remembered. I was a poor gradute student and had a lycra covered helmet, and I wasn't going to buy a new lid unless it was worth it, so I looked into the reason for the change.

The reason, I was told from multiple sources, was that in accidents that involved sliding, the friction from the lycra was grabbing the ground and snapping people's necks.

I don't know if that was 1 in a million, 1 in 100, or just plain made up marketing mumbo jumbo, but I bought a new helmet. You get to decide what risk level you are comfortable with, but I'd just buy a new helmet if I were you.

[saf-t]

Bedliner material is harder than my plastic kayak. I'd imagine that a rubberized coating would be way softer than a typical helmet shell.

I wouldn't do it.

I sprayed bedliner on a plastic kayak to make it more durable and slide easily on barnacled covered rocks. After getting caught and slammed then held against the side of a cliff the only thing that survived was the bedliner : )

https://plus.google.com/photos/107709068384636814318/albums/5544277317785532305

[SpokeValley]

I'm no expert nor am I an engineer but, like others here, I don't see how this would be any good in a fall. After all, if it was some kind of competitive advantage, someone would have done it and brought it to market.

Companies (like MIPS http://mipshelmet.com/how-it-works/Video-page) have designed helmets that reduce the friction from impacts to help prevent brain injuries. I think adding an essentially "non-slip" coating defeats the hard shell purpose.

Fuggeddabboutit.