***Story first aired in June 2012

A helmet can be the difference between life and death in a bicycle crash. Consumer Reports just tested helmets to see which ones deliver the protection you can count on.

Brent Mather learned firsthand just how important it is to wear a bike helmet.

"I was hit by a car several years ago and if it wasn't for the helmet, I'm pretty positive my injuries would have been far worse," he said.

Bike helmets in both adult and youth sizes were tested to see how well they protect your head in an accident.

Because a helmet can't do any good if it doesn't stay in place, testers first perform the chinstrap test, which assesses whether the chinstraps will stretch, break or open upon impact. All 13 bike helmets passed this test.

To see how well a helmet will protect your head upon impact, Consumer Reports performed an impact test.

"The impact test simulates what happens when a helmet impacts different surfaces, like a flat surface like a street, a rounded triangle like a curb, and a hemispherical surface, which simulates hitting a rock," said Consumer Reports tester Rich Handel.

Two adult helmets did poorly: the Nutcase Street Sport 8 Ball and the Bern Brighton Thin Shell EPS for Women.

Nutcase called the reviews "concerning" and it is evaluating the findings. Nutcase helmets comply with US federal Consumer Product Safety Commission standards (CPSC) and European standards. 

"We put our helmets through rigorous safety checks to ensure all helmets meet CPSC standards. We voluntarily carry out batch testing at the manufacturing level, which carries CPSC certification, and then again thru testing at...an independent third-Party testing agency with a global network of certified testing facilities," the statement reads.

On the plus side, two helmets rated very good for impact resistance: the Specialized Echelon for adults ($60), and the Bontrager Solstice Youth for children ($45).

But a helmet can only protect when it's worn properly:

  • Make sure it's level on your head, with no more than one or two fingers' width above the brow.
  • The straps should form a "V" under each ear with the buckle centered under the chin.
  • Lastly, when you open your mouth, the helmet should pull down.

All this will help ensure your next ride is a safe one.

Julie Bischoff, co-owner of Vancouver's Denman Bike Shop, says a lot of times people don't realize they're wearing their helmet incorrectly.

"I see a lot of people wearing it tilted back on the back of their heads and they're not actually protecting their frontal lobe," she said.

It's a good idea to try on a bike helmet before you buy it. You want it to be comfortable, and it should fit snugly. You should be able to shake your head back and forth without the helmet moving even before you strap it on.

If you have one of the helmets that didn't do well in the Consumer Reports impact test, don't stop wearing it until you replace it. That's because wearing any helmet is better than no helmet at all.

Bischoff said as a general rule helmets should be replaced every three to five years because of general wear and tear.

She said it's dangerous to wear helmets where the interior foam has deteriorated.

"When you hit the pavement it could actually smash into smithereens," she said. "Some of the things we do with the old helmets that customers turn in is we'll actually smash them with a hammer so they don't get recycled out of the garbage bin."

Bischoff said most companies put the manufacturing date on the inside of each helmet.  If you're still unsure of how old your helmet is you can always take it in to your local bike shop, she added.