JUST UPDATED (click to read) – Samshield Admits Recall Issue, Asks Customers to Return Unsafe Helmets
Information provided by Gianluca Caron, CEO of Parlanti USA.
Our post “Samshield Recalls All Helmets in France for Failed Safety Inspections” has received a large number of views as well as criticism for “brand-bashing” without factual information. However, this is not the case.
After further research, this is not the first time this has happened. In 2010 they were cited for putting SEI North American Certification marks on their helmets by accident, when in fact, they were not certified. They had to recall the items for this “error”. A link to the correspondence from Samshield regarding the matter can be found on the official SEI website HERE.
The safety and protection of riders worldwide is our #1 concern, and if we develop a serious lead about a product we will not hesitate to inform the public of the issue. As the safety of all riders alike is far more important than saving face with a well-known brand.
To set the record straight, we would like to clarify to all readers that the helmet in question is Samshield Model #2, and is being recalled in France only as of now. Because of the severity of this issue, we are reaching to the public for more leads regarding further recalls in other countries and/or with other Samshield helmet models.
Below you will find the following items:
- An Email from the French Distributor to a French Tack shop explaining the recall.
- An English translation of the Email.
- French Lab results done in November 2015, proving the non-conformity of Samshield #2 to French safety standards.
The English translation is below:
“dear client
our models helmets # 02 04/15 products are in accordance with the American ASTM 1163-a (exceeding the requirements of the CE-EN 1384 standard) but we recently found that they could sometimes cause a dune mounting error will not be conform to the new CE-VG1-040 when this label appears on the headset. This is considered as representing a risk to the safety of its user. The security and transparency being a priority for Samshield we ask you to kindly send us your helmets # 02 concerned (date of manufacture 04/15) to you the gift against a model does not represent any doubt about that it has certification claims on its labeling. thank you kindly give us a precise inventory, a carrier will collect the box then you will receive in exchange the products within 10 days. Although this procedure is completely free. thank you kindly also inform prospective purchasers by displaying the following message on the ray exposing Samshield products. thank you for your cooperation.”
As you can see, this email is the correspondence between the Samshield French Distributor and a French tack shop. The distributor begins claiming that their helmets meet the safety standards, and then immediately claim that a production error caused the helmets to not meet safety standards and represent a risk to their users. They then begin asking for the products back in exchange for other products.
Because we find it hard to believe that a “production error” would cause a security feature such as helmet to all of sudden break standards, we did some further digging. After further investigation and with the help of our contributors who are very dedicated to the safety of other individuals, we have taken the case to the next level.
We have received physical reports where the Samshield #2 helmets do not pass safety regulations for France on a variety of levels, and guess what? The tests were done in November 2015….5 months after the “production error” occurred.
The lab reports are posted below in French (can be translated).
Without being able to understand the French language, you can first see that the date of the test was November 2015 (4 months before the recall emails were sent).
The second thing you will notice is that the helmets tested from Samshield fail standards and regulations in a variety of categories including Absorption Tests, Visor Deflection, and User Manuals.
The absorption tests are a major risk factor when it comes to the safety of their users, and could result in the injury and/or fatality of the user. If a helmet cannot properly absorb a collision or a fall, then the helmet poses a major risk. As noted above in the laboratory results, the Samshield #2 failed both of the absorption tests.
The visor deflection test was also failed when sampling the Samshield #2. The visor on the front of the helmet is supposed to bend or break at a specific pressure to prevent a neck injury to the rider, should they hit the ground with the visor. According to the lab reports, the helmet does not conform to standards.
The question we have is that how was Samshield able to pass the initial safety and regulation standards to France, when in fact the Samshield #2 helmet is a far cry from conforming to the set standards. What are the odds that a production error would throw off the helmet standards so far that they would fail inspections tests on multiple levels? What are the chances that this sample was from that specific production on 04/15 as Samshield claims? Why didn’t Samshield release a statement about these helmets in November instead of March 2016; almost a year after the production was sold to the public.
Why didn’t Samshield release an official statement regarding the failed safety tests?
Are the safety standards in France tougher than that in the US?
Is the US going to be the next to find out about the recall?
The health and safety of our riders is the most important issue, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that your friend, your daughter, your son, your mother, or your teammates are not at risk by using a helmet that has failed safety inspections tests.
We would like to thank all of those dedicated individuals who are concerned with the safety of other riders enough to investigate this issue and contribute their information. We will disclose more information as this story continues to unfold.
Do you have more information on this issue?
Have you been injured using a Samshield helmet?
Email us at info@equestrianempire.com
