> Rocky, just finished your article in Sports car. Were you able to get a
> first hand look at the devices?
No, I did not get my hands on the devices. As this article's point was to
describe what was out there (using the SCCA Pro list as a reference base)
but not to indicate any recommendation of any system, what you saw was the
result of more-than-superficial Internet research (more than 100 pages of
printout) plus a couple of quickie interviews for items that left questions
in my mind, plus a slightly longer interview with Dr. Melvin.
Basically, I did the hours of web surfing for you (the generic "you") that
you'd have to do to get an idea of what all was out there, then summarized
it. (I love the Internet for my work -- 15 years ago this story would have
taken two weeks to put together instead of two days).
That said, my personal impression seems to mirror yours. I don't like all
those strap dealies, and the Isaac seems a lot less cumbersome than the
HANS. Melvin really did not like that the Isaac attached the helmet to the
shoulder strap - something else to disconnect beside the belt buckle -- but
since a lot of drivers nowadays also have to disconnect radio, drinking
straw, forced-air inlets, coolsuit/coolhead, etc. etc. a couple of quick
release pins beside your head are a little thing it seems. Actually, since
you will release it every time you exit the car it the routine will quickly
become habit. Also, the Isaac is the only system that needs no replacing of
anything (assuming, like the helmet, you don't "use" it) while everything
else, at least in part and for many of them in whole, need replacing every
other year. In that, Dr. Melvin's point was well taken -- if you plan to
race for any length of time, the HANS (or, IMHO, the Isaac) is cheaper in
the long term.
My plan now -- my helmet is a Snell 95, so I will likely need a new one next
year. I'll get an Isaac then and attach the helmet anchors before I paint it
(the anchors may change the design), which also means not having to un-paint
the current helmet where the anchors go.
About the only practical way to test drive the things, it seems, would be to
borrow someone else's system *and* helmet for a session. Or maybe even just
a few autocross runs with the system on would do it, so you could
concentrate on the system and not also be trying to qualify or something.
--Rocky
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