G'day Mitch
I have no doubt that the larger manufacturers have done the R&D, though the smaller operations are taking the already developed products & improving on them.
ie. Draggin Jeans did not have a CE approved product for quite some time, though the smaller operators could see a need for more kevlar coverage for protection.
Yes, the quality control might be a little better with the name brands, though I bet you any money that the name brands have had a fair share of their products returned
to them due to one defect or another.
Quite often the smaller operators can improve on the bigger, check this out
http://www.crash.org.au/ratings.php for helmet comparisons.
I hope that I with my BGA kevlar jeans & anyone else for that matter what ever brand that they are wearing do not have to ever test the QC or R&D.
There are also various manufacturers out there who make items for different companys, ie. for Dririder & for Rjays, a little bit like putting a Toyota motor into a Holden to getting
a Lexcen.
I don't necessarily not believe that the bigger companys have not got the better products, I just think that sometimes paying more will not necessarily get you more than the
the smaller operations has to offer.
Cheers