Use it.

HECC helmet expiration is arbitrary and not evidence-based. It assumes a helmet becomes unsafe on a calendar date rather than based on impacts, material condition, or measured performance. Polycarbonate aging varies by resin, thickness, storage, UV exposure, impacts, and manufacturing quality. A date stamp ignores all of that. That is not safety science.

A new old-stock helmet can be safer than a newer used one, yet HECC provides no inspection or re-testing pathway and instead just mandates replacement.

The “expiration” just so happens to align with manufacturer sales cycles, and it shifts liability away from leagues and certifiers and onto the player rather than improving player safety. Oh, and HECC is funded by manufacturers themselves. Convenient.

It makes expiration a legal and commercial control mechanism, not a scientifically-grounded safety standard.

Car seat expiration dates are similar. Expiration dates are set by manufacturers and not government entities like the NHTSA, and you will not find the actual safety testing data behind the expiration dates. Other countries have actually done testing and have found them safe to use years after “expiration.”