From: Kags
Hey Jessica!
Your site and articles are *amazing* resources, both my horse and I thank you and if you ever manage to come down under, please come to Perth so I can let you bask in awe ;)
Now, sorry to end a compliment with a quick question, I was just reading through your helmet archives and one of them mentioned how helmets can sustain damage by leaving them in the car during hot times.
Now I live in Perth, Australia which, in summer, can reach temperatures of up to 40C (I think its about 104F according to my little temperature calculator). I keep all my tack at my adjistment (boarding) centre in a little metal wardrobe thingy.
I was just wondering what I should do if heat affects my helmet to a large degree. My horse is a bit mad at the moment and I've just started teaching her to jump over combinations and I would really prefer to have a helmet that functions properly :P Especially with the energy that she's jumping with at the moment ;)
Love, Kags
Modern equestrian helmets have shock-absorbing liners, generally made from one or another form of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam is one form of this material). The liner needs to maintain its structural integrity so that it will be able to compress if and when the rider's head hits the ground (or anything else). Extreme heat can damage this liner, but unless it actually MELTS, the damage won't be obvious to your eyes, as you don't normally see the helmet's liner, but only the outer shell, the harness, and the soft interior padding. Equestrian helmets are typically heat-tested and cold-tested, and you should be able to get the details by writing to the manufacturer. You can also get information from the leaflet that you got with your helmet, assuming that kept it, and assuming that you can remember where you put it. Contact the manufacturer and ask about the testing of your helmet - and also ask for storage and maintenance suggestions.
In the meantime, I don't think you need worry about your helmet, if the temperature in the metal wardrobe is only a comfortable, balmy 40C (yes, I'm joking, and for our US readers, that does indeed translate to 104F).
Yes, it's in a hot environment, but it doesn't come close to the heat that can build up in a closed car. THAT is what is most likely to damage your helmet. On a hot summer day, the temperature in a closed car can quickly build up to 60C (140F) or higher.
A parked car heats up frighteningly fast - most of the increase in temperature takes place in the first five minutes. FIVE MINUTES! That's no time at all. Here's a real-time example. Let's say that it's a hot summer day, with the temperature at an uncomfortable 36C (97F). At lunchtime, you park your car on the street for five minutes - just long enough to run into the post office, pick up your letters, throw away the advertising circulars, and return to your car. When you stepped away from your car at 11:45, the temperature inside it was the same as the outside temperature. When you returned at 11:50, the temperature inside your car had already reached 55C (131F). If you'd stopped for another ten minutes to talk with a friend or to weigh and send a few parcels, the temperature inside your car after ten or fifteen minutes might have been 60C (140F) or higher.
Is there a way to avoid this? Not really. If the car windows are opened slightly - "cracked" - the temperature builds up almost exactly as fast. If your car has an excellent air-conditioning system, and was considerably cooler than the outside temperature when you left it, the same heating-up process would have taken only a few seconds longer.
If you wouldn't care to store something in a hot oven, don't leave it in your closed car, even on a "mild" day. The interior temperature rises rapidly, and rises high. Most people (sadly, not all people) know that they must never leave a pet or a child in the car, even "just for five minutes". But most people do NOT realize that the same conditions that will kill a pet or child will effectively "cook" and ruin other items left in the car, such as your bottle of wine, your guitar, and, yes, your riding helmet.
Jessica
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