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iYRe

A sort of Comparison: 1Tonne Modular helmet vs SHOEI Raid II

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by
iYRe
, 18th June 2013 at 15:47 (14028 Views)
I call this a "sort of" comparison, because the 2 helmets are quite dissimilar. However, I had my hands on both and thought it an interesting comparison between a $160 helmet and a $500 ish helmet.

The 1Tonne modular helmet is my own, and I have been using it for about 2 years. The Shoei Raid is a friend who was unable to use it, so I thought I would test it out and see if I needed to upgrade. So.. my impressions were these:

1Tonne:
- service is good.
- helmet is fairly decently made
- visor clips for changing visor are a bit fiddly
- visor doesnt go up out of my field of vision.
- visor stays up till about 100kmh then closes (no issues for me actually, I like this "feature")
- vents are not great
- rarely fogs up.
- seems quite noisey
- I like the strap clip
- modular nature means it is good for glasses (even without flipping it up, there is plenty room for glasses)
- replacement visor = $30
- all insides are removable and washable.
- has an awesome internal sunvisor

Shoei:
- seems fairly large
- vents work well
- fogs up easily
- dont like the d-ring
- the visor clicks are stiff and require some force to move but will stay in place at speed.
- the "brow" of the opening seems to be at the top of my vision and is annoying.
- found it annoying getting my glasses in and out.
- replacement visor = $50-70
- insides are removable, washable, and replaceable.
- I found it slightly quieter, in a sort of muffled way, which I didnt actually like much.
- visor change mechanism is easy to use
- no internal sunvisor.

The upshot is, I'd like a better helmet, but I am not sure that something worth $500 gives me much benefit, in fact, unless I could get it in modular form with an internal sun visor, I probably wouldnt bother. The 1tonne helmet it turns out, is great value for money. One of the big differences I have noticed is how they react to airflow. The SHOEI is quite directional. If you turn your head at all, it seems to be noisier and harder to control, where the 1tonne does not change much at all.
If I had less than $500 I think I would buy another 1tonne helmet and use the difference to buy a better jacket/pants/gloves/boots - this is where I think I would notice the real value. I have a NERVE (cnell) jacket which has been good, but when I compared it to a REVIT jacket (same price difference as the helmets) there was no comparison. The revit jacket was lighter, thinner, warmer, better looking and more comfortable (particularly under the dririder rainsuit). HUGE difference.

I'd like to compare now to a helmet in the next range up.. $700 up.

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Comments

  1. nerrrd's Avatar
    Sure it's a Raid II? 'Cos the lining in mine definitely wasn't removable, which is why I retired it after a couple of years of sweating into it's plush lining (got quite stinky). I tried 'spongeing' it clean once, I think Shoei suggest immersing the whole thing in soapy water (their definition of 'washable'?)

    Still felt much more 'solid' than either of the cheaper helmets I've had since (Givi and Caberg.)
  2. Dreama's Avatar
    Have you considered the possibility that the more expensive helmet may be constructed to do it's job a tad better .. ie absorb impact. Cheap helmets don't do that.
    Poor quality helmets may have some user friendly thingys to make them sell but those features wont save your melon. You may need to spend more than $500 to get a helmet that has the ability to save you from brain injury plus has the trick/better features you described. I suspect the $500 unit is a 'budget' higher quality helmet
  3. bluninja's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dreama
    Have you considered the possibility that the more expensive helmet may be constructed to do it's job a tad better .. ie absorb impact. Cheap helmets don't do that.
    Poor quality helmets may have some user friendly thingys to make them sell but those features wont save your melon. You may need to spend more than $500 to get a helmet that has the ability to save you from brain injury plus has the trick/better features you described. I suspect the $500 unit is a 'budget' higher quality helmet
    All helmets must absorb impact to a minimum level, period. Some cheap helmets perform substantially better than more expensive branded ones. I had a very cheap LS2 that had good protective qualities but no real comfort and usability features. I now have a more expensive LS2 that is much nicer to wear, but has the same safety rating as the cheap one.

    Try looking here for a safety test comparison
  4. Devil's Avatar
    I have to point out, being a habitual product researcher and tester that it's just that you dont find that THAT $500 helmet is going to be much of a perceived benefit to you. Helmets designs are so varied even within one manufacturer. Using Shoei as an example (since I have the most experience with them) the Raid line doesn't even fit me properly, by I love my trusty old XR1000 to bits. It's likely that if I were to upgrade that helmet i'd head for the XR1100 which does fit.
    The new GT Air does have one of those internal sun visors (which i'm personally not interested in), and the fit seems very snug and muffling, but again doesn't feel like an Xspirit, or Xspirit II.

    You really need to try as many as you can get your grubby hands on.
  5. Countyman's Avatar
    I am very pleased with my new helmet.