India’s premier performance helmet brand, SMK Helmets, has achieved a significant milestone in helmet safety, with its top selling full-face helmet Typhoon receivinga 4-Star safety rating from SHARP (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), the UK’s independent, government-funded helmet safety body. The achievement makes SMK the first Indian helmet manufacturer to secure a 4-Star SHARP rating.
Run by the UK’s Department for Transport since 2007, SHARP was created to give riders safety information that goes beyond the pass/fail minimum required under regulatorycertification such as ECE 22.05/22.06. Helmets are bought directly from UK retailers rather than supplied by manufacturers, so the models tested are the same ones available to riders. For every model, SHARP runs 32 impact tests across seven helmet samplesof varying sizes, striking each helmet at five head zones under three linear impact speeds – 6, 7.5 and 8.5 metres per second, to measure the force transmitted to the head. And then, the helmet is rated out of a maximum 5 stars. The resulting star rating is one of the most closely watched independent safety benchmarks in the global helmetindustry, and the Typhoon’s 4-Star score sits alongside ratings earned by decades-old global helmet brands tested under the same protocol.
Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Sidhartha Bhushan Khurana, Managing Director & CEO at SMK said, “SMK has engineered helmets around top protection for years – The SHARP rating is simply independent, public validation of that approach. The Typhoon’s score reflects a standard we’veheld ourselves to well before any external test came along to measure it: materials, construction and design built to perform, not just to pass. Indian riders deserve helmets tested to the same yardstick as the world’s best-known brands, and this is a steptoward making that the norm rather than the exception.”
The full-face SMK Typhoon is built of Energy-Impact-Resistant Thermoplastic (EIRT) shell weighing ~ 1.6kg, and features a quick-release buckle, drop-down sun visor, Pinlock30® Lens, anti-scratch visor coatings,and multi-point ventilation. It is certified to the ECE 22.06 standard set by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and is sold in seven sizes from XS to XXXL. The model is available across SMK’s authorized dealer network and online channels in India,starting from ₹5,200 (MRP).
The Typhoon’s SHARP rating and this year’s entry into international motorsport, as technical helmet sponsorof the Moto4 Latin Cup, are two sides of the same effort – years of engineering work behind a brand that’s begun to compete globally, not just sell globally. Across its helmet range, that shows up as a consistent emphasis on materials, constructionand testing that goes beyond what regulation requires.
SMK helmets are already sold in more than 40 countries. The SHARP rating is a testament to the fact that Indian helmet engineering can now compete with long-established internationalbrands on measured safety performance, not price alone.
