Hello everyone,
Im from california. Ive been to VN every year since 2008. Ive been lurking on this site for about a year and now decided to join the fun. The amount of info ive gathered on this forum is invaluable. I would love to meet some expats and locals and hang out when i return in Feb. If anyone wants to meet and have a drink alcoholic/coffee the first cup/glass or two is on me. On to my question.
Several years ago while in VN i bought an electric bike for get around town. While it did its job the lack of acceleration sometimes put me in mortal jeopardy. This past year I finally bought a used motorbike though w/o a license. Havent received a ticket yet. What bugs me is the lack of quality and variety of the helmets. I brought a modular helmet from the US but its just too big and bulky for my preference. Anyone knows of a helmet store in HCMC that sells western style helmets that fits the Asian size? Preferably modular.
Ill be in HCMC in Feb to attend school and hopefully get a Tesol/Tefl certificate and volunteer for a couple of years before searching for work. Any input is deeply appreciated.
Local quality helmets
http://www.saigonscootercentre.com/
They should sell western quality helmet. Id prefer to buy one from USA or Europe and bring it here because even the best one in Vietnam would barely pass the test we have in Europe. I dont feel safe with those toys helmets although I have a Protect.
Im free in Feb so drop me a message. We can go for Sinh to and Coffee
thanks for the info missmae. i do like the helmets on this site but for some odd reason they dont show the prices. if its comparable to US prices then ill buy it there. im hoping the sizes are made to fit asian heads. i would love to meet with you for drinks next month and thank you again for the assist.
Hmm I dont know either. I read somewhere that they are really price so I guess 80 USD upwards? Maybe just ring them 
When I first came to Vietnam, I brought my American-made helmet with me (drifter type). It was a pain keeping the thing away from the Vietnamese helmet thieves. After about a year with it, I just gave the thing away and shifted my focus to more important things, my motorbike skills and freedom.
I have been using one of the Thai helmet and it has been really good to me.
Along those lines:
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/page … -rule.aspx
Make sure that your helmet has a halogram seal sticker (tem CR) on it. This means the helmet passes the local quality control. 
It does not mean much whether you buy a top quality helmet (or buy it from the US). No sticker --> fine from the police.
Wear a fake helmet, but have a sticker and you (can) get away scot-free.
Wild_1 wrote:It was a pain keeping the thing away from the Vietnamese helmet thieves. After about a year with it, I just gave the thing away and shifted my focus to more important things, my motorbike skills and freedom.
ive also lost several quality helmets fortunately not the US one-knock on wood. i travel twice a week on stretches of road that share with semis and tour buses. those drivers scare the shit out of me. thus i need the best protection provided by western helmets. going around town i use the high quality Viet helmets but they are easy target for thieves. with the modular helmet i use a small chain with a combination to lock it up if i have to make a side visit on my longer trips.
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