Caring for your ATV helmet

Your ATV helmet is almost as precious of a piece of equipment as your ATV itself. Your ATV helmet should be DOT inspected and approved. But that's not all. There are some things you need to know about what to do with your ATV helmet when you're not riding that can make all the difference in the world in the quality of safety and use out of your ATV helmet.

A big no-no for ATV helmets is to never store them around gasoline or cleaning fluids. The fumes can cause a reaction in the resins and padding of your helmet and cause a breakdown of the fibers. This will cause much faster deterioration of your helmet.

Never place your helmet near any hot engine parts of your ATV or any place it could get heated up. The heat can corrupt the integrity of the padding in your helmet and if you have the unfortunate situation of being involved in an impact, your helmet will be useless to protect you.

Accidents happen, and your ATV helmet is good for only one impact. If you suffer an accident that involved your helmet taking any shock for you, best to replace the helmet now. There may be micro-scratches or breaks in the integrity of the helmet that are not even visible to the naked eye, but your helmet can no longer protect you as before. Then you do a routine maintenance check on your ATV and give it the once over, check your safety equipment too. You'll have a much safer ride on your ATV.