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A £700 motorcycle helmet must protect your head better than one costing £150. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? You pay more, so you get more protection. Case closed. Except it isn’t. The latest figures from SHARP have dropped a fairly large spanner into that idea. After testing more than 50 helmets approved to the newer ECE 22.06 standard, SHARP says it still sees no clear link between the price of a helmet and its star rating. In plain English, a costly helmet does not automatically protect your head better than a cheaper one. Before anyone starts getting twitchy, I am not saying expensive helmets are a waste of money. We sell premium helmets, and some of them are cracking bits of kit. They can be lighter, quieter, better vented, more comfortable and far nicer to live with. What I am saying is simple: The price tag is not a safety rating. What Did SHARP Find in 2026? SHARP is the UK Government’s motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme. It takes road-legal helmets and puts them through more impact testing so riders can compare the protection offered by different models. By June 2026, SHARP had tested more than 50 helmets carrying ECE 22.06 approval. The good news is that most of them achieved four or five SHARP stars. That suggests the newer helmet standard has pushed safety in the right direction. The part worth paying attention to is this: Five-star helmets were found across different price ranges. Some budget helmets performed very well. Some fully legal ECE 22.06 helmets achieved only three SHARP stars. Paying more did not guarantee a better SHARP result. That does not mean cheap helmets are always brilliant and expensive ones are a con. It means you need to judge the actual helmet rather than guessing from the badge or the price. Anyone telling you that every costly helmet is safer is talking through their visor. Anyone saying a £100 helmet is just as good as a £700 helmet in every possible way is also talking nonsense. The truth, as usual, sits somewhere in the middle. ECE 22.06 and SHARP Are Not the Same Thing This is where helmet talk often gets muddled. ECE 22.06 is an approval standard. It shows that a helmet has passed the tests needed for legal road use. SHARP is an extra rating system that helps compare the protection offered by approved helmets. Think of ECE approval as getting through the door. SHARP then asks how well each helmet performs once it is inside. A helmet can be perfectly legal and still offer less impact protection than another legal helmet. That is the whole point of SHARP. If every approved helmet performed exactly the same, there would be no need for a one-to-five-star rating system. SHARP does not just give the shell a tap, nod wisely and stick a few stars on the box. Each helmet model goes through 32 impact tests using at least seven separate helmets in different sizes. The tests include impacts at different speeds and against flat, kerb-shaped and rough surfaces. SHARP also tests at up to 8.5 metres per second, which is higher than the top 8.2 metres per second impact speed used for ECE 22.06 approval. So yes, it is a proper test. Not Dave from the pub hitting one with a teaspoon. Is ECE 22.05 Still Legal in the UK? Yes. At the time of writing, current UK law still lists both ECE 22.05 and ECE 22.06 as legal standards for motorcycle helmets used on the road. You do not need to throw a sound ECE 22.05 helmet in the bin just because ECE 22.06 now exists. That said, ECE 22.06 is the newer approval, and new helmet ranges entering the market now use it. It brought tougher testing and raised the standard manufacturers have to meet. There is also a difference between something being legal and it still being sensible to use. A helmet that is loose, damaged, badly worn or has taken a serious impact has not suddenly become a good idea because the approval label is still stitched inside it. Legal does not always mean wise. Plenty of questionable decisions are legal. A Five-Star Helmet Still Has to Fit Your Head This is the bit that gets pushed aside when everyone starts arguing about brands, shell materials and star ratings. A helmet needs to fit properly. Not nearly properly. Not “it’ll do once I’ve got my balaclava on”. Properly. A five-star helmet that slides around your head is not a five-star choice for you. Heads come in different shapes. Some are rounder, some are longer and some look like they were built late on a Friday afternoon. That is why one brand can feel perfect while another presses against your forehead or leaves space at the sides. The size label is only a starting point. A medium from one manufacturer may not fit like a medium from another. A correctly fitted motorcycle helmet should: Feel snug and even around the whole head. Hold your cheeks firmly without causing pain. Move your cheeks and scalp when you turn the helmet. Stay in place when you try to move it forwards, backwards or sideways. Have no sharp pressure points that get worse after a few minutes. Have a chin strap that can be secured firmly and correctly. Wear it in the shop for a while. Five seconds in front of a mirror tells you very little. The helmet may feel firm when it is new. That is normal. The lining will settle with use. What you do not want is sharp pain, a headache building across your forehead or enough spare room to keep your sandwiches in there. SHARP’s own advice is to try several helmets within your budget, find the ones that fit correctly and then choose the highest-rated option from that group. This is also where buying a helmet in-store has a real advantage. Here at RaceLeathers in Darwen, we can help you try different brands, models and sizes to find the one that actually suits your head. We will check how securely it sits, look for unwanted movement and help spot pressure points before you part with your money. We do not just measure your head, point at a box and hope for the best. The size on the label is only the starting point. That is far better than choosing a five-star helmet online, discovering it does not suit your head and convincing yourself it is fine because returning it is a nuisance. So What Are You Paying Extra For? Quite a lot, in some cases. A premium helmet may give you: A lighter shell. Better ventilation. More shell sizes across the size range. A softer and better-made lining. Improved aerodynamics. A better visor seal and opening system. Easier visor changes. Better preparation for an intercom. More choice of replacement cheek pads and liners. Better access to spare visors and other parts. Higher-quality paint, trim and finish. Less bulk around the head. Better comfort on long rides. Those things matter. A heavy helmet that rattles your head about on the motorway, steams up every time someone mentions rain and feels like a bucket after an hour is not much fun. A good premium helmet can make riding more comfortable and less tiring. That can be well worth paying for, especially if you ride long distances or spend most of the year on the bike. Noise is another reason riders spend more, but even that is not as simple as reading the price. The same helmet can feel quiet on one bike and noisy on another. Your height, riding position, screen, mirrors, jacket collar and helmet fit can all change the airflow around your head. That is why I become suspicious when anyone declares one helmet to be “the noisiest helmet ever” as if every rider has the same physical dimensions and rides the same bike.  Do Not Just Buy the Cheapest Five-Star Helmet Once riders hear that price does not guarantee safety, there is a risk of charging off in the other direction. “Fine, I’ll just buy the cheapest five-star helmet I can find.” Not so fast. The SHARP rating is important, but it is not the only thing you need to consider. A helmet still has to: Fit your head correctly. Suit your type of riding. Be comfortable for the length of time you normally ride. Give you the field of view you need. Work with glasses if you wear them. Have ventilation that suits you. Accept your chosen intercom if you use one. Have replacement visors and parts available. Be a helmet you are happy to put on every time you ride. There is little point saving £100 if you hate wearing the thing after 40 minutes. There is also little point spending £700 just so the logo matches the bike parked outside the café. Buy the helmet that gives you the best mix of fit, protection, comfort and features for your budget. The order matters too. Fit first. Protection next. Features after that. Fancy graphics come last. I like a smart helmet as much as anyone, but the tarmac has never been impressed by a limited-edition paint scheme. Buying a Flip-Front Helmet? Check More Than the Stars Flip-front helmets are popular with touring riders, commuters, instructors and anyone who enjoys being able to speak at a petrol station without removing half their kit. When checking a flip-front helmet on the SHARP website, look at the chin-bar latch percentage as well as the star rating. SHARP records how often the lower face section stayed fully locked during its impact tests. A score of 100% means the chin bar remained locked through every relevant impact test. A lower percentage means it opened during some of them. The latch score is not included in the main star rating, so it is worth checking separately. That does not make every helmet with a lower percentage useless, but it is information I would want before putting my face behind it. What If a Helmet Has No SHARP Rating? No SHARP rating does not mean the helmet failed. It normally means SHARP has not tested that model. There are far more helmets available than SHARP can test at once, and new models appear all the time. A new ECE 22.06 helmet may be on sale for some time before a SHARP result appears—or it may never be selected. Do not let anyone tell you that an unrated helmet has “zero stars”. That is not how it works. It is simply untested by SHARP. You can still check its legal approval, fit, construction, features, manufacturer and intended use. If a SHARP result is published later, you can then add that information to the picture. How Should You Choose a Motorcycle Helmet? Forget the idea that one helmet is automatically best for every rider. There is no single helmet that fits every head, every bike, every budget and every type of riding. Start by setting a sensible budget. Then try helmets from several brands rather than walking in with your mind fixed on one particular logo. Check the approval label. Look up the SHARP result if one is available. Spend time checking the fit. Think honestly about the type of riding you do. A racer, a daily commuter, a weekend sportsbike rider and someone touring Europe have different needs. Ask yourself: Will I still be comfortable after two hours? Can I operate the vents with gloves on? Is the visor easy to remove and replace? Can I get a replacement visor without starting an international search party? Does my intercom fit without the speakers crushing my ears? Can I wear my glasses comfortably? Does the helmet stay secure when I move it around? Am I paying for useful features or just a paint job? There is nothing wrong with buying a helmet because you love how it looks. We all like nice kit. Just do not let the graphics talk you into the wrong fit. The Straight Answer So, are expensive motorcycle helmets safer? Not automatically. The 2026 SHARP results show that five-star protection can be found at both budget and premium prices. They also show that a legal ECE 22.06 helmet is not guaranteed to earn five SHARP stars. A higher price can buy better materials, less weight, greater comfort, improved ventilation, nicer fittings and features that make riding more enjoyable. Those are good reasons to spend more. The mistake is assuming the extra money always buys extra impact protection. According to SHARP, it does not work that way. Look at the approval. Check the SHARP result where one exists. Most importantly, buy a helmet that fits your actual head rather than the head you apparently think you have. Your helmet is the one bit of kit protecting the part of you that made the decision to get on a motorcycle in the first place. It deserves more thought than picking the nicest colour and clicking “medium”. Call into RaceLeathers in Darwen and let us help you find the correct fit. We stock helmets across a wide range of prices, styles and brands, so you can try different options and compare them properly. We would rather spend the time helping you find the right helmet than simply hand you the most expensive box in the room. You can also browse our motorcycle helmets online, but for fit advice, nothing beats getting the helmet on your actual head. Frequently Asked Questions Does a more expensive motorcycle helmet give better protection? Not always. SHARP’s latest findings show no clear link between helmet price and SHARP star rating. Some lower-priced helmets achieve five stars, while some more expensive models receive lower ratings. Is ECE 22.06 the same as a five-star SHARP rating? No. ECE 22.06 is a legal approval standard. A SHARP rating compares the impact protection offered by approved helmets. Some ECE 22.06 helmets receive five stars, while others receive three or four. Is an ECE 22.05 helmet still legal in the UK? Yes. Current UK motorcycle helmet law still lists both ECE 22.05 and ECE 22.06 as accepted standards for road use. Should I only buy a five-star SHARP helmet? A high SHARP rating is worth looking for, but the helmet must also fit correctly. A badly fitting five-star helmet is not a better choice than a properly fitted helmet that stays secure on your head. Does no SHARP rating mean a helmet is unsafe? No. It usually means that SHARP has not tested that particular model. It does not mean the helmet has failed or received zero stars. How tight should a new motorcycle helmet feel? It should feel evenly snug and should move your cheeks when you turn it. It should not slide around, rotate freely or have obvious gaps. Firm pressure is normal, but sharp pain and strong pressure points are not.