Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Helmets Dual Certified to Both
Bike and Skateboard Standards

Summary: A partial list of the helmets certified by the manufacturers to meet both the CPSC bicycle helmet standard and the ASTM F1492 Skateboard helmet standard. The field is growing, and you may well find dual-certified helmets that are not on this list.

The list:

• American Safety ASHP Safeguard 11
• Bell Local, Trans, Surge, Exodus, Shield, Maniac, Psycho, Injector, Bike Candy, Segment, Full Flex, Reflex, Ramble full face for kids
• Helmets R Us Model 17
• POC Receptor +
• S-One Lifer, Kid
• Shred Bumper Light
• Top Gear Model 18
• Triple Eight Gotham, Brainsaver Dual Certified, Lil 8
• Vigor Sports Audio helmets

Consumers have to take special care when selecting a skateboard helmet. Some "skate style" helmets are not actually certified to a skateboard standard. If they meet the CPSC bicycle helmet standard they can legally be sold for bicycling and roller skating. Some manufacturers label their helmets for skateboarding and extreme or trick roller skating as well, but do not use the ASTM F1492 designation, so you do not know what you are getting. The ASTM skateboard standard requires a multi-impact helmet.

In-line skating is similar to bicycle riding--fewer crashes, and more violent ones when they occur. So our advice on skateboard helmets differs from that on inline skating helmets. Check our page on skate helmets for the difference. CPSC has a very useful chart of helmets matched to various activities on their website.

By law a bicycle helmet must meet the CPSC standard to be sold in the US market. But that law is unique to bicycle helmets, and there is no US law that says a helmet being marketed only for skateboarding has to meet any standard whatsoever. The manufacturers and retailers are mostly afraid of lawsuits if they don't meet a skateboard standard, but in fact they can sell anything at all as a skateboard helmet as long as they don't market it for bicycling. So for skateboard use look for the ASTM F1492 sticker. Until 2011 the ASTM standard had a loophole that permitted the manufacturer to leave out the F1492 on the helmet sticker, but that loophole has been eliminated.

Note that some helmet models may be certified only to F1492 in some sizes, and not in others. If the manufacturer makes one shell size and just uses thinner foam inserts for larger size heads, for example, the large may not be certified. Or it may be the other way around and the small is not certified. That sticker in the helmet is the only thing you can rely on. It must be there, or all bets are off.

Note also that S-One and some other manufacturers use the term dual-certified, and Pro Tec uses the term "dually certified" for helmets certified only to the CPSC bicycle and CEN European bicycle/skate helmet standards. They are not certified to the ASTM F1492 skateboard standard. Almost any CPSC-certified helmet will pass the easier CEN standard, so their "dually certified" models are not passing tougher standards.

One of the significant advantages to a dual certified helmet is that the CPSC bicycle helmet standard test line is lower in front than the F1492 skateboard standard, even though the skateboard standard has a lower test line in the back. So the helmet has to protect in front to a lower point on your head. It only has to offer bicycle protection (single impact) in that area, but at least it is tested at the lower point for one hard hit.

Our page on helmets for the current season has information on the models. If this page is stale, search that one for "dual certified".