I bought the best helmet I could afford when I started street riding my bike. Less than five years later, after never being on the ground, or hitting a roll bar, it was "no good".
When I stopped riding, I bought the cheapest, newest snell rated hat I could find, for the exact same reason I buy the cheapest belts I can find.
If I have to throw away perfectly good safety stuff cause of "rules" I'm spending as little as I can!
