Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
The Helmet Update
Volume 40 - #4 - October 31, 2022
All issues index
CPSC announces recall of 3,400 Punisher bike helmets.
CPSC has announced that Bike USA's Punisher adult helmets have been recalled. "The recalled helmets do not comply with
the positional stability and impact attenuation requirements of the U.S. CPSC federal safety standard for bicycle
helmets." That means that the helmets flunked the basic impact tests and the straps could not be adjusted well enough to
keep the helmets on a test headform. The Punisher brand was aptly chosen!
Only about 3,400 of the helmets were sold online at Amazon, Fingerhut, Kmart, Sears, Overstock , Kohls, Walmart and
premium incentive companies from July 2020 through December 2021 for between $26 and $30. The helmets are road helmet
style and have an elongated shape. They were sold in multiple colors; white, black, red, blue, pink/black, green and
orange. They were made in China. A white label on the inside of the helmet contains the Ref/Lot# 2020TC015 or 2020TC025.
There is no indication on the Bike USA website that there might have been other lots not recalled, but all helmets for
sale on the Bike USA site today are skate-style models.
Consumers should contact
Bike USA Inc. at 800-225-2453 or
customerservice@bikeusainc.com. The company requires a photo of the label inside the helmet and proof of purchase for a
refund.
The helmets may have been originally designed for the European market, where they might pass the impact tests. The
retention system failure is significant, since the CPSC test for retention is very easy to pass.
Details
on
the CPSC site.