As part of its five-year cycle of issuing new racing helmet standards, the Snell Foundation has published the Snell SA2025 standard, which took effect on October 1.

Snell SA2025 standard is more stringent than previous Snell auto racing standards, the organization said. By reducing the peak G-force criteria from 300g set in SA2020 to 275g in SA2025, the new standard allows less peak G-forces to reach all sizes of test head forms. SA2025 also calls out more impact severity by increasing the impact energy on the first of the two impacts at each impact site, which is more demanding especially for helmets in larger sizes that are tested in heavier test dummy head forms. 

In other words, Snell SA2025 requires tougher pass/fail criteria (lower peak G-force limit) while subjecting helmets to a harder impact test (higher impact energy). Helmets with the SA2025 label will be on the market starting October 1. Manufacturers will stop production of SA2020 helmets by the end of 2026.

In 1959, the Snell Foundation published the first helmet standard in the United States to evaluate helmet performance. Since then, each new Snell standard has been setting a higher bar for the helmet industry to strive for the best head protection by using available manufacturing technology and materials.

For more information, smf.org.

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