Yer i have seen his the charly nolimit i think, There a bit more expensive but with the pretty crap dollar in the us i just saw this other helmet in aus for 250 i think that is one of the cheapest if not cheapest around for those kinds i dunno
at your stage, you should get something that will last more than one crash. because you will crash heaps in the early learning phase of your boarding and spending that much money on a helmet that can't take as much thrashing as an MTB helmet is pointless.
All helmets are designed to be single-crash only. The foam in them does not rebound from an impact - it stays compressed and offers no further protection.
skyrunners are the most affordable hang gliding helmet you will buy off the shelf here in aus. I nearly purchased one from an aussie shop, untill i looked into the charly from an american store (when the dollar was like 98c) and it was pretty much the same price as the skyrunner, and i like the shape of the charly alot more.
as they others have said, the helmet you have at the moment will be alot more rugged and hold up to more abuse than the hang gliding ones. if i were you i would wait till you trash the helmet you have now then buy something nice.
the only reason why downhillers buy icaros or sky runners or charlies or whatever is coz they look sick... they are not safe. They offer more protection than wearing no helmet at all or just a regular skid-lid but as far as downhill goes they are not safe... go with a MTN bike helmet or a BMX helmet or something and cover up the vents with duct tape and put on a visor... it will do just the same thing but have more safety... if i had of known that when i first started downhill i would have done the same thing but i have an Icaro at the moment and will use it till it smashes then look for better/safer alternatives
its actually simpler than that, coz the helmets that offer more protection for downhill skateboarding are a lot cheaper than buying an ICARO or skyrunner or one of them really funky looking helmets that everyone seems to be using
One advantage an ICARO has is that it feels good on your head and if it feels good then you skate better and you crash less.
By feels good I mean it feels light the wear so you skate with better balance and avoid severe neck damage in a crash, it is aero so it has less air pockets to distract you and you are less likely to be buffeted sideways or frontways from a gust of wind, and finally it has a factory visor which can be lifted if you lose vision from a dark area or fog up. Jacko is right about a BMX helmet giving you better impact protection for less cost but you will lose out a bit in some other areas.
bang for buck I would recommend getting a BMX helmet. However the skyrunner is a good helmet with a proper visor and I would get it just for the visor alone.