Darryl, I am on your side, I am not rich either and the last thing I want to do is spend money.
The rule of thumb if unsure, price cost helmet to possible future head injury. Sound drastic? Yeah. But if in doubt, it's a real decision.
That said, in your crash, any head trauma, ringing, headache, etc?
Any damage to the shell, even a scratch?
For me, if there is any doubt, it is done; I don't want to be riding and wondering if my melon is protected or not.

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You can pick up a serviceable helmet for a lot less $$ if you shop online and aren't too picky about wearing last year's model (or older) and don't care too much about color/graphics. If it crossed your mind that it might need replaced, why chance it?

 

My rule is that if the impact was enough to mark the shell, then the foam underneath is probably compromised and I will replace.

If there's no marking/scuffing on the shell, then I continue to use it.

I usually will replace a helmet anyway after around 5yrs or so at the top end, anyway. Usually, all the sweat has that helmet good and ripe by then anyway to the extent that I don't want to wear it anymore because of the funk that I can't wash out anymore.

But then again, I saw a dude on the trails yesterday with one of these (and probably the same bike he bought at the same time as the helmet).

 

Check out Kali Protectives, good affordable helmets, If you decide to buy a new one.

 

Thanks people's. I do feel a new helmet is in the future. I agree it isn't worth chancing it.

 

As a somewhat opposing view, have a really good look at it. The things are 95% closed cell foam, and that is the important part. It can compress or crack. I fell and hit the ground about a month ago. Separated my shoulder, broke a rib, and bent up my iPhone. It never even occurred to me I hit my head. A few rides later I inspect my helmet more closely. The shell was cracked and the foam was compressed. Time for a new one.

My observation is that in many cases the damage is subtle, but the open nature of the inside of most MTB helmets means you can often see the damage with a close review. Of course the foam can get compressed on the shell side, but often the shell is damaged as a result. I won't tell you to use it if you can't find anything, but if you are going to anyway it may give you a little bit of a piece of mind.

 

As the above poster said, sometimes the damage is so imperceptible to the eye until you really scrutinize it under in very good light, that most times you can miss it. Not sure what helmet you had previously, but there are still some very good deals to be had on last years/previous years models of some very nice helmets, like 50% off, mostly it's the smaller sizes left over, so if you have a small head you're in luck. My top pick is the iXS TrailRS, just over 50% off and Jenson, S/M size will fit a 58cm head or smaller iXS Trail RS Helmet > Apparel > Helmets > Men's Helmets | Jenson USA

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