How to Loosen a Tight Helmet?

A new motorcycle helmet is supposed to feel snug. It should hold your head firmly, stay in position and move the skin on your cheeks when you turn it from side to side.

What it should not do is make your head feel as though it has been clamped in a vice.

There is a big difference between a helmet that is reassuringly firm and one that is genuinely too tight. There is also a big difference between safely adjusting removable comfort pads and attacking the helmet with heat, weights or some contraption bought online.

A motorcycle helmet is safety equipment. It is not a pair of boots that you can stretch into submission with brute force and optimism.

Comfort Padding and the EPS Liner Are Not the Same Thing

Before looking at fit, it is important to understand that a helmet contains two very different types of lining.

The soft fabric-covered parts against your head and face are the comfort lining and cheek pads. On many helmets, these can be removed for cleaning and may be available in different thicknesses.

Underneath them is the harder EPS impact-absorbing liner. EPS stands for expanded polystyrene. This is a major part of the helmet’s protective structure and is designed to absorb energy during an impact.

The removable comfort padding may settle slightly through normal use. The EPS liner must never be heated, carved, sanded, crushed or deliberately compressed. SHOEI warns that the impact-absorbing liner is extremely sensitive to heat, while HJC advises against cutting, removing or modifying helmet liners.

How Should a Motorcycle Helmet Fit?

A correctly fitting motorcycle helmet should:

• Feel firm and even around the whole of your head.
• Hold your cheeks securely without causing pain.
• Sit level rather than tipping forwards or backwards.
• Stay in place when you try to rotate it.
• Move the skin on your face and scalp as the helmet moves.
• Remain secure when the chin strap is fastened.
• Have no sharp or painful pressure points.

SHARP advises that the helmet should contact the whole head without uncomfortable pressure points or red marks. It should not slide or rotate independently when moved from side to side or front to back.

Firm cheek pressure is normal, particularly with a new full-face helmet. Pain across the forehead, temples or crown is not something you should simply put up with.

Signs That a Helmet May Be Too Tight

Your helmet may be the wrong size or shape if you experience:

• A headache after wearing it for several minutes.
• A sharp pressure point on your forehead, temples or crown.
• Numbness or tingling.
• Pain around your jaw rather than simple cheek pressure.
• Strong red marks that remain after the helmet is removed.
• Discomfort that becomes steadily worse the longer the helmet is worn.
• Difficulty getting your head fully into the correct position inside the helmet.

Being difficult to remove is not, on its own, proof that a helmet is too small. A properly fitted helmet may grip around the neck and cheeks, especially when it is new. What matters is how it feels once it is fully seated on your head.

Will a New Helmet Loosen Naturally?

The soft comfort padding and cheek pads will normally settle a little with use. That does not mean the helmet’s shell or EPS liner should change shape.

Wearing the helmet indoors for several minutes can be a useful fit test. Sit down, watch television or wander around looking slightly ridiculous. The important thing is to leave it on long enough for any pressure points to become obvious.

This is not a method of stretching the helmet. It is simply a way to check whether the initial firmness becomes comfortable or turns into actual pain.

Do not buy a painfully tight helmet on the assumption that it will eventually become bearable. Cheek pads may soften slightly, but a hard pressure point against the forehead, temples or crown may indicate that the helmet’s internal shape does not suit your head.

Safe Ways to Improve Helmet Fit

Check That the Helmet Is Properly Seated

When putting the helmet on, pull the chin straps apart and draw it down fully over your head. Make sure the crown of your head is properly seated inside it.

A helmet that is sitting too high can feel tight in the wrong places and may also give a misleading impression of its true fit.

Check the Removable Lining

If the helmet has a removable liner, make sure it has been installed correctly. A folded edge, misplaced fastening or twisted cheek pad can create an uncomfortable lump.

Remove and refit the comfort lining only according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Use Approved Replacement Pads

Some helmet manufacturers offer alternative cheek pads or centre pads in different thicknesses. These can be used to fine-tune the fit where the manufacturer specifically allows it.

Only use pads approved for the exact helmet model. Do not install random aftermarket foam, cut pieces out of the existing pads or ride without the required lining in place.

SHOEI and AGV, for example, offer different approved cheek-pad thicknesses for selected helmet models. This is a controlled replacement of the comfort padding, not an alteration to the EPS liner.

Remember that thinner cheek pads will mainly relieve pressure around the face. They are unlikely to fix a painful spot on the forehead or crown.

Try a Different Helmet Shape

Two helmets carrying the same size label can fit completely differently. Different makes and models use different internal shapes, and every rider’s head is slightly different.

A rider may measure as a medium but find one medium painfully tight at the temples while another fits perfectly. Moving up to a larger size is not always the answer, because the larger helmet may then move around too much.

Sometimes the correct solution is simply a different model.

Ask a Proper Helmet Retailer

A knowledgeable motorcycle clothing shop can check:

• Whether the helmet is the correct size.
• Whether it suits your head shape.
• Whether it is sitting correctly.
• Whether approved alternative pads are available.
• Whether the helmet is simply firm or genuinely too tight.

A professional fitting should involve assessing the helmet and using approved replacement parts where appropriate. It should not involve cutting, heating or crushing the impact liner.

Never Use These Methods

Do not attempt to loosen a motorcycle helmet by:

• Heating it with a hairdryer.
• Leaving it on a radiator.
• Pouring hot water over the lining.
• Using a helmet stretcher or expander.
• Forcing a ball, weight or solid object inside it.
• Sanding, shaving or cutting the EPS.
• Pressing dents into the EPS with your fingers or tools.
• Removing required padding and riding without it.
• Installing unapproved foam or padding.

Damage to the EPS liner may not be obvious from looking at it. That does not mean the helmet has not been weakened. Helmet manufacturers specifically warn that mistreatment, heat and modifications can reduce the protection provided by the helmet.

Choosing the Right Size Next Time

Start by measuring around the widest part of your head using a soft tape measure. Run the tape across the forehead, just above the eyebrows and ears.

That measurement gives you a starting size, but it is not a guarantee of fit. Manufacturer size charts differ, and the internal shape of the helmet matters just as much as the number on the label.

Try several helmets and keep each one on for a few minutes. Fasten the chin strap, rotate the helmet from side to side and try moving it forwards and backwards. It should remain firmly in position without creating painful pressure points.

Do not automatically choose a larger size because the cheek pads feel firm. First check whether the pressure is coming from the removable cheek pads or from the main crown area of the helmet.

Firm Is Good. Painful Is Not.

A correctly fitting motorcycle helmet should feel secure, stable and comfortably snug. It should not wobble around, but neither should it leave you counting the minutes until you can tear it off your head.

Allow the normal comfort padding to settle naturally. Use approved replacement pads where the manufacturer permits them. If the helmet still causes pain, change the size or try another model.

Most importantly, never use heat or force to make a motorcycle helmet fit. Your head is rather fond of the EPS being left in the condition the manufacturer intended.

At RaceLeathers in Darwen, we can help check your helmet size, head shape and overall fit before you leave the shop. We can also advise whether approved replacement pads are available for your particular helmet.

Browse our full range of motorcycle helmets online or visit us in store. For fitting advice, call RaceLeathers on 01254 704000.