To be Tinted or not to be Tinted?

[Sniper]

Hey all,

Im after some advice on tinted visors. MissSniper (Yes she is now a member of KB) bought her helmet the other day and one reason she did was because it had an iridium tinted visor thrown in for free. Now she did get the clear visor with the helmet so we don't need to buy one, but my question is this...

Is it OK to let a new rider (she isn't ready to graduate from the driveway yet) wear a tinted visor or should we stick the clear one on till she has more experience?

I shall start wearing a silver tint soon, once I pick up the new helmet, but until then I cannot comment because I have never worn one. All comments will be greatfully appriciated. (Except for those asking for her number HDT :argh: )

[Motu]

I already have her number - I just need to confirm what nights you aren't home....

[Back Fire]

Is she going to be doing night riding? If so chuck the clear one on. Not to much diff in the day but at night she's going to need all the light she can get to see properly... But once your used to it you don't notice much...

[Bonez]

Thought tinted visors were cool untill I started to do a bit of night riding. :mellow:

[Sniper]

I already have her number - I just need to confirm what nights you aren't home....

Mondays, wednesdays and saturdays when Im at my other girlfriends.

[**R1**]

They dont take fukal to change, and at this time of the year ya dont want to go blind riding in2 the sun at the end of the day, so I would go for the Iridium, not sure what helmet you got her but My iridium is fine for night time Akoroa GP's...and if ya plan to go on a night ride.....change to the clear.

[dawnrazor]

got an iridium visor on the arai, which is fantastic in the summer as i find it less distracting then sunglasses as it doesn't cut down my peripheral vison. And that in its self is worth every penny. Needless to say it is useless at night , but the way it cuts down sun glare and allows all round vision is without doubt a summer saver.

[Gremlin]

I spoke to a couple of guys about tint vs. iridium on Waylander's cruisy ride. They said that if you touch the iridium coating it would leave visible streaks... so if you are commuting or doing a lot where the helmet may be exposed a bit, perhaps might be wise to give the iridium a miss.

I'm using a smoke (light tint) on my HJC at the moment, definitely makes a difference, and OK at dawn and dusk. For bright sunshine it is not enough, and I'm busy pricing a dark smoke.

Using the tint means I don't have to use sunnies which is good because you can feel the sunnies, and the frames do cut down vision a bit (mine are wrap-arounds).

Only problem with a darker visor is I have found that trying to fit it to the HJC, it is difficult to see the points to line up (doesn't help that the helmet is black).

I use a clear visor (that came with it) for any intended night riding.

[rudolph]

I have a cheep arse tint

[**R1**]

Arai ones are. No idea about any others tho

[Hitcher]

Only ever wear clear at night.

[TwoSeven]

I have photochromatic lenses on my glasses - so no need for tinting. Had them custom made, so they go almost jet black in bright light/high uv. Thinking about getting contacts made the same at some stage.

[curious george]

My only comment is the iridium one will show noticeable scratches easily, the smoke coloured ones less so.

[SuperDave]

I have photochromatic lenses on my glasses - so no need for tinting. Had them custom made, so they go almost jet black in bright light/high uv. Thinking about getting contacts made the same at some stage.

You can get contact lenses that tint when exposed to bright light then go back to being clear when in low light conditions?

[cowpoos]

the tinted visor I have for my shoei....is better optically than my sunglasses...which are oakely's...I always carry both if I'm traveling close to dusk or dawn...takes five sec's to make a change...

[mini_me]

i have both iridium and clear for my shoei, and i carry both with me whenever i ride my bike anywhere unless im going out for a quick blast then i take whichever is the appropiate one.
m/m

[Lou Girardin]

Unless it's sunny, she should wear the clear so that she can clearly see changes in road surface, debris, etc. Newbies need all the confidence building they can get.

[TwoSeven]

You can get contact lenses that tint when exposed to bright light then go back to being clear when in low light conditions?

Yes, they are made as a prosthetic hard lense, not the foldable normal optic ones sold in the shops. Havn't seen them here yet - also havnt seen the polorised lenses either.

[Hitcher]

Yes, they are made as a prosthetic hard lense, not the foldable normal optic ones sold in the shops. Havn't seen them here yet - also havnt seen the polorised lenses either.
Polarised contact lenses would need to be toric, and would therefore be quite expensive. Photochromatic contacts would suffer the myriad of problems associated with all photochromatic eyewear.

[inlinefour]

Tried that as a teenager. Realised pretty quick that a tinted visor was not much chop after dark :mellow:

[TonyB]

Tried that as a teenager. Realised pretty quick that a tinted visor was not much chop after dark :mellow:
Agreed. Or even in heavy rain.

[Sniper]

So if she is going to ride after dark, I should tell her to take it off, but otherwise its fine?

[Beemer]

Perfectly fine in daylight unless it's one of those wet murky days when a clear one is definitely the better option. As for UV protection, I'm pretty sure the Shoei one doesn't provide any. I find it uncomfortable to wear sunnies with a helmet (the Goose is a naked bike so I find the wind comes up under the helmet and pushes them into my face - not nice!) and I noticed that I had really dry eyes after our ride on Sunday, and also my face was a bit pink. My husband doesn't own a tinted visor, he much prefers sunnies and a clear one as he often does long distance riding and can't be sure he will be home in daylight.

As long as the tint isn't too dark (and most aren't), she won't notice a big difference, but if she is worried, throw the clear one on.

[Mattyc]

what sort of price would i expect to pay for one for my hjc cl-14 ?

Chur

[Gremlin]

what sort of price would i expect to pay for one for my hjc cl-14 ?

Chur
Just under $60. You have a choice of clear, smoke, dark smoke. Surprised Lou didn't see this... AMPS and Motomail sell them for something like $59.91 or $59.95

I have clear (for night), smoke (for daylight) and soon going to get a dark smoke for summer riding. Smoke I find is not dark enough for bright light... maybe my eyes are sensitive...

That said, dark smoke isn't much darker, but every little bit counts.

[Mattyc]

Jesus, i thought a 20$ would get me a new one.. they aren't that cheap are they

60$, thats 3 tinnies !! :P

[Gremlin]

First helmet, so I can't really compare. That said, try riding in rain or at speed without a visor...

Suddenly, they are worth a lot :2thumbsup

[Mattyc]

i have a clear one but was thinking about a tinted for the early morning commutes, i try to not touch my visor to keep it scratch and crap free. 60$ tho, might wait for a sale, i can just wear sunnies for now, i got other things id rather spend 60$ on at the moment