Originally Posted by
bulgie
You're kidding, right? (I can't tell.)
Well no... exaggerating maybe. Certainly all helmets were bad in the early 80's. My first was a V1 Pro (late 80s') which was actually OK.
SkidLids had a reputation for fitting so badly that they'd fall off before your head could hit the ground. Also like you said, they had a funny squishy foam instead of hard styrofoam designed to crack on impact.
Leather hairnets were not intended to absorb an impact but the better ones would at least help with abrasions on a long skull skid.
I never knew anyone with a Brancale, but they had a lot of ads. Did you know the photo you posted was from American Flyers? Brancale probably paid them to use it.