A couple weeks ago I went down to OG Racing in VA to buy my first helmet. Amy got me a gift card for Christmas and with autocross season fast approaching, it was time to get down there and buy. I was a little hesitant to buy an SA2010 with the SA2015s coming out next Winter, but Amy convinced me to go ahead and buy one now. Since it's my first helmet, I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two about what I need in a helmet and what things I might do differently for my next helmet purchase.
I ended up getting a white Bell M4 SA2010 in medium. The M4, compared to some other more karting-focused helmets I looked at, had a nice large eyeport that should be better for looking at gauges and things when racing in my car. The size was the biggest question mark and I'm still not 100% positive that medium was best choice. The helmet is pretty snug. It's hard to get my ears into the thing without them folding up in the helmet, and I really have to jam the helmet down on my head to feel like it's far enough down around my chin. But, supposedly as I use it more the cushioning is supposed to compress a little and the helmet will loosen up a little. I don't think it's quite tight enough to be painful, but boy it's close.
Tonight I got to try the helmet out for the first time at Autobahn with a couple friends from work. The place was super busy and it took forever to actually get on the track. And then on track, some of the traffic was really slow and others were spinning out so frequently that they'd have to slow all the cars down to get people pointed in the right direction. I need to stick with weeknights and mid-day trips to avoid the big crowds in the future.
Still despite the crowds, some of the racing was definitely fun. I managed to get some clean laps here and there and post the 31st best time of the week on one track and the 37th best time of the week on the other. Not stellar, but okay for having been away from the track for so long. I also finished with the best time in all three of my races, so that's always fun. My friends from work were also faster than most of the rest of the random drivers we were with, so that was fun too.
It was great using my new helmet for the first time. No loaner helmet or mandatory head sock. The helmet still feels just a little on the tight side. I never noticed it on track, but by the end of the afternoon, as we were sitting on the grid waiting to race, I was starting to feel the pressure of the helmet around my head. If it turns out the helmet is too tight and doesn't break in, then I'll be shopping for an SA2015 next winter. :-)