About The Lid Test
An independent motorcycle helmet and gear review site built on one idea: compare the products on what the spec sheet and the certifications actually say — and be honest about what we do and don't do.
Why this site exists
Buying a motorcycle helmet is high-stakes and confusing. The marketing is loud, the certifications are alphabet soup, and half the “we tested 20 helmets” roundups can’t prove they tested anything. The Lid Test takes a different approach: we compare helmets and gear on the published specifications—certifications (DOT, ECE 22.06, Snell), weight, shell material, features—and a live price, and we say plainly when a cheaper or lighter option is the better buy. Every figure traces to the source we read it from, on a dated visit. Where a maker doesn’t publish a spec, we write “Not published” rather than guess.
What we do—and don’t do
We’ll be direct about it, because it’s the whole point. We do not run a test lab, and we do not own the products we write about.We have not crash-tested a single helmet, and you won’t find an “in our testing” claim, a fabricated star rating, or an invented testimonial anywhere on this site. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty helmets; we haven’t tested any, and we say so.
What we do instead is publish a transparent, reproducible method: we compile the manufacturers’ published specs, check each helmet’s certifications against the standards, pull live prices daily, and reason from that to honest buyer-fit recommendations. It’s all checkable against the sources we cite. Our how-we-review page shows exactly how the spec score is built.
Who writes it
The Lid Test is written by Stephen V.. Stephen is an enthusiast who's genuinely into bikes and gear — the kind who reads the owner's manual, compiles the published specs, and does the math. He is not a certified helmet tester and The Lid Test runs no lab. What he brings instead is a habit of checking each helmet's certifications and manufacturer figures against each other, pulling live prices, and saying plainly when a cheaper or lighter option is the better buy. No lab coat, no hype.He is framed honestly as an enthusiast, not a certified expert—because that’s what he is, and pretending otherwise would break the one promise this site is built on.
How it’s funded
The Lid Test is free to read because some of the product links are affiliate links: if you buy through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It never changes which helmet we recommend—the reasoning is identical whether a link earns us anything or not. Full details are on our affiliate disclosure page.
Get in touch
Found an out-of-date spec or a factual error? Tell us—we’ll check it against the source and, if you’re right, fix it and say so. Reach us at info@thelidtest.com or through the contact page. The Lid Test is published by Type 5 Marketing LLC.