Based upon the extreme weather conditions we have been facing I am sure extreme cold played a role. Wonder what the temp was when this happened. I feel many people are a bit skeptical of the timing of Stallions release and the recall of the Cascade and Warrior helmets. Smells a bit fishy to me. The fact that this helmet cracked the way it did is in my opinion not a good indicator. There are a lot more Cascade R's out there and I have never seen one shatter that way. I am sure there will be some photos popping up of cracked Cascade helmets in the near future from anonymous sources.