Every head may look the same---generally round, maybe oval---but shave a few and you'll see they're all a bit different. One side might be wider. One might be longer. Many heads are dotted with lumps and bumps---"deformities," technically---but they aren't noticeable enough to get anyone laughed out of a middle school cafeterias.
This makes finding a motorcycle helmet that fits perfectly tricky. The standard sizing of small, medium, large, and extra large, doesn't always cut it because you might be somewhere in between. "People say, 'I can never find a helmet that fits me,'" says Chris Sackett, VP at helmet maker Bell Racing. That's a problem, because a properly fitted helmet will feel more stable, reduce wind noise down, and, most importantly, better protect your melon. Mass-produced helmets don't match well with everyone's cranial oddities, and ill-fitting protection can lead to serious injury in the event of a crash.
Bell has a solution, albeit a pricey one. The company, which has been making helmets for 60 years, spent the past three years making bespoke helmets by 3-D scanning customers' noggins. Bell uses the scan to produce a custom carbon fiber helmet that costs $1,000 and fits perfectly.
Not everyone with a funky dome has that kind of money though. So Bell has an alternative. Its "ProFIT" system offers five shell sizes (that's the hard exterior of the helmet) and six impact liner sizes (that's the soft inside material that keeps your coconut comfortable and holds it in place). It chose those variables based in part on three years' worth of customer head scans (it won't reveal how many people it's got data on).
For $449 to $1,299, depending on the seriousness of the helmet, you can mix and match your shells and liners to create a more personalized protector. It may not be made just for you, but it should make for a snugger, safer ride.
