Helmets........need your opinion

My advise would be to get a Snell certified helmet. DOT "certification" is a joke. I spent a half day at the Snell lab and they test the helmets quite extensively. I know a lot of people think Snell certification is some type of money making scam being that manufactures have to pay to get their helmets tested. I used to as well until I took the tour and got a thorough understanding of what they did and how they did it. And not all Snell approved helmets are super expensive. Unfortunately though as of when I took the tour a half year ago there were no modular helmets that had the cert. This is bc they are considered full face and are tested as such and pop open during some of the tests.

 

Sadly testing seems a bit of a dark art with some strange results. Once manufacturers know the testing regime it can encourage designers to focus on achieving "good test results" - simply by stuffing a big shell with loads of cheap materials which may pass the test fine but won't last in regular use, meaning riders end up with heavy and materially worse quality helmets. Take this example



The lid on the left ( A ridiculously cheap Viper RSV131) cost around £130 new and literally fell apart in about 18 months. Its a rebadged clone of the 121 which got a 3* Sharp rating and secured a full UK racing Gold approval, but it is very heavy, noisey, and the padding which felt great when brand new - compressed and deteriorated very quickly. Within a few months it felt loose, after a year the liner had unstitched at the back and was torn in several places, the release button started to fall off and the mechanism failed to lock/release on several occasions. You can get replacement visors, but it seems impossible to obtain most other spares/replacement bits. The peripheral view is quite limited requiring a lot of head rotation to carry out a fully confident over shoulder check, and meaning longer spent with your attention looking the wrong way. The visor scratches easily and I went through three visors within 18 months. There is an integral Bluetooth module - which works OK, and included in the price!

The lid on the right (Schuberth C3 Pro Flip front) cost £475 (after haggling) and feels secure, light, quiet and so much nicer with a better peripheral view. BUT it still only gets the same 3* Sharp rating and does not have UK racing Gold approval (perhaps never been tested?). So for track days I have to abandon the expensive helmet and wear the cheap one If you want the add on Bluetooth collar its officially another £295 - but again a significantly lower price can be achieved if you haggle

I don't know how the Snell rating system works so won't comment on it. But personally I think there is no substitute for personal input from other riders, so its worth spending time reading reviews on sites like Revzilla. Just be wary of manufacturer inspired posts. If you also review the manufacturers website you may find some posts copy over chunks of text word for word.

Fit is crucial and I find that the head-shape used by some manufacturers never feels right so rather than shopping on price alone I would suggest you find a dealer(s) with a wide range of helmets and be prepared to spend several hours trying on pretty much every helmet they have in you size. If nothing feels right, move on to the next shop. You can perhaps reduce the task by focusing on just helmets with specific features - like integral sun visors, or flip fronts. Don't look at the price ticket first - just try things on without that influence. You may find that a cheap or mid price helmet feels just right, whilst an much more expensive brand may feel uncomfortable, just keep going until you find something which feels right - only then look at the price. Sadly for my wallet in my case I found I had selected a Schuberth. Even so over time I think it will prove to be better value for money, as its a quality product which I can get full replacement linings for, so it should last me way longer than the previous cheapo one I purchased.



SkiMad

 

Cheers Scubalong, was also wondering about clearance and if any distortion ?

 

Is there still some controversy about the Snell vs DOT testing? I know there was some years ago, but haven't heard much recently.

 

+1 for Webbikeworld reviews

Check out the review of the HJC CL-17
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/hjc/cl-17/review.htm

According to the review, they can be had for as little as $125.

I have the Shoei X-12 and an old Arai Signet GTR. The X-12 feels a bit heavy, compared to the Signet GTR, and the Arai is a slightly better fit for me (plus better ventilation). If I were buying a replacement, I would be looking at the HJC helmet.

 

I have had a lot of helmets, I have a X12Glory at the moment that moves an incredible amount of air but is also very noisy. I got my girlfriend a Nexx carbon that is very light and comfortable with excellent rating and I often borrow it for track days as it has a very wide field of view, especially the top which helps when hanging off, keeps the neck from getting sore. The Shark's have one of the highest ratings, very light and a decent price. Might be my next one. Just make sure you get a good fit.

 

You have at least half inch to an inch clearance depend on your face and nose ound:
As for distortion not really as long as you keep it clean. Be advise the sunvisor is acrylic not glass so no effect there
.

 

On my flip front C3 I have had no problem wearing prescription glasses. If you want to move the internal sun visor up or down, there is still plenty of clearance around the glasses frame. I doubt Edna Everage frames will fit (Google it), but based on the ample space around my own glasses, then I guess that even pretty large frames with very thick lenses should be fine. But that is why its important to try a helmet on.

There is cut out section in the sun visor ensuring ample clearance around your nose. The padding around the ear seems softer than the rest of the shell padding, so presumably designed for riders who need to wear prescription glasses. Its easy to put glasses on whilst wearing the helmet and the arms of the glasses don't end up being pinched by the helmet where they pass behind the ear.

I have had the helmet for a couple of months and done a fair bit of long distance riding. The primary visor has remained crystal clear with no distortions. Despite being caught in torrential rain the helmet remained bone dry and the visor did not mist up. When it came to crazy hot temperatures I did have to read the manual to figure out the best ventilation options, but it then coped well. I have not encountered any really cold conditions yet so can't say whether misting will be an issue then.

The integral sun visor is a sort of dark smoked tint, but once its down, it has no other impact on vision but to significantly cut down on glare. I found it very effective hurtling down the autobahn recently when I crested a hill and found the road disappeared towards the setting sun. To be honest once the helmet is shut, you quickly forget the visor/sun visor is there.

On my old Viper 131 the sun visor swung right down covering the entire forward view - but annoyingly this was enough to press down on my nose, meaning I always had to fiddle around with the mechanism to slightly back the sun visor open a bit to avoid it rapidly becoming sore. You get used to it but it was annoying. On the C3 the internal sun visor does not drop down quite so far, meaning that when it is fully down it occupies pretty much the same place - so no pressure on the nose and no messing about trying to get the placement right. Initially I was not sure about the slight gap at the bottom, but find it is actually quite helpful, allowing you a clear view of the tank bag to find toll tickets/money and also view the instruments through clear plastic whilst the main view field remains protected from glare.


SkiMad

 

I have a shoei neotech and an arai RX-Q freddy spencer replica - both are awesome helmets.
Fairly quiet and comfortable.

 

Holy shit batman...thanks fer all the info boyz.....

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

I am due for a new helmet and am looking at the Bell RS-1 mostly for the transitions visor (as mentioned in the other thread) I am limited by sizing to certain brands. I can't fit my head into a Shoei or Arai, but HJC and Scorpion fit me well. I love the graphics on Icon's but I am yet to find a review on many of them that don't indicate a large amount of noise.

 

Unfortunately any helmet at this time with the internal drop down sun shade will not have SNELL approva if that's what you are looking for. Aparently Arai only makes helmets that meet SNELL testing procedures (according to one source), so they built an external sun shade for their helmets instead. Kind of clever actually as it's a shield assembly that can be retrofitted onto certain Arai helmets.

I think you'll also be hard pressed to find a modular helmet that has a SNELL approval on it, for both helmet types, internal sun shade and modular, I believe it's the shell's construction is what can't pass their testing standards. The GT-Air only has a DOT rating but I wouldn't toss it to the curb because of the lack of a SNELL sticker, but that's just me.

 

D.....

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

I heard it somewhere but can't remember where probably STG or Revzilla, that Bell is losing its exclusive on the transitions lenses and that other manufacturers will be coming out with their version soon but don't hold your breath.

 

I have a really nice AGV. I hope someday to have one of those "mine is bigger than yours" helmets.

 

Had one. Quietest helmet I've ever used (alarmingly so) but sadly that comes at the expense of ventilation. And the split screen drop down shade sucked imo. The bottom of the shield is still no tint so it lets in lots of light. Looking forward it's split screen, 3/4 tinted, and 1/4 pure light. Sold it.

OP, go with a RF1200. On the quiet side, priced right, speaker cut outs for a Bluetooth headset system (I prefer the Sena SMH-10R). Best do it all helmet out there in my opinion. It's also quite light. I also have an AGV Corsa and I don't use it much.

I think I can get you a RF1200 for less than $400 if you stick to a solid color.

 

FYI: The Arai Pro Shade is currently $100.00 +/_ , so factor that in if your on a budget. It can be used with or retrofitted to any Arai that uses the SAI-Type shield. Which is most of their current helmet line & a quite a few of their previous models.

 

Here's my $0.02...
The difference in relative protection level offered in different models and makes is not great enough to negate the effects of a poorly fitting helmet. In other words, fit is way more important than letters on the back of it. I happen to have a head shaped exactly like a Bell Star, not a Shoei or an Arai or a Scorpion or a Schuberth. I tried on all of the others when I was buying a new helmet a few weeks back and I did a motion test with each model I tried on. Simply put on the helmet, keep your neck as rigid as possible and then grab the chin piece, try to move the helmet straight forward & backward, side to side, up & down, twist, yaw, pitch Etc. The one that makes good, tight contact with your entire head and allows minimum movement without feeling like its pushing on weird pressure points, It should still feel like your entire head got stuck in a hydraulic press, but that feeling will go away as it breaks in. The helmet that meets those fit descriptors will be the one that will protect you best. They're all loud past about 40MPH and I haven't seen one yet that I though didn't need earplugs.

That said. The helmet that protects you best will always be the one you happen to be wearing vs. not wearing one at all.

 

I looked at those, do you know if the sun shield is UV coated?