Hi all
Following a conversation between Soulman and Velvetsky on the Christmas thread (
http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=47045.msg755146#msg755146) a comment was made regarding steel Vs titanium. "Nope not that bothered by a few extra grams on a steel grill"
This got me thinking, what is the actual weight difference between a steel and titanium grille, and what difference does it make in the real world.
I decided to crudely test this out, not wanting to dismantle any helmets to weigh just the grille I've tried to do this as "fairly" as possible. Of course there are manufacturing tolerances, so these weights will not be the same for every helmet Masuri make, but it does give a ballpark figure.
Both helmets weighed are OS2s, large size and have the standard padding that came in the box. I don't know if the colour has any meaningful impact on the weight, but for clarity the steel one is blue and the titanium one is green, and both have a colour matched stem guard. I removed the stem guards and weighed them seperately.
OS2 steelWeight of the helmet: 980 grams
Weight of the stem guard: 95 grams
Total weight: 1075 grams
OS2 titaniumWeight of the helmet: 817 grams
Weight of the stem guard: 98 grams
Total weight: 915 grams
The verdictThe difference between the 2 helmets is 163 grams. While this sounds a lot on paper, when wearing the helmets you can't tell the difference.
I believe the OS2 is now called the T Line. With Masuri selling the steel version for £90 and the titanium version for £150, you're not gaining an awful lot in real terms for the additional cost.
Is the titanium worth it compared to the steel? It comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.
Is it worth paying £60 to save approximately 165 grams? I'd certainly think twice about the cost and consider the steel helmet if I needed to replace my lid...