Adventure helmets?

[bart]

It's about time to retire my old Arai helmet. It's been very faithful, but after a wee spill, I managed to scratch the scratch proof (or is that resistant) visor. I was quoted $160 for a new visor so thought bugger it. New helmet time.

I'm a stronge believer in the "you get whet you pay for" moto, so I'm looking for something mid range of $400 - $700. (Any prices here are only indications, and may vary). There are only really 3 stipulations, it must have a removable lineing (man I can sweat), black is my favoured colour, and...... oh yeah, I'd like it to save my head in a crash.

I'm after any advice from people who have tried some of these helmets, or have anything useful to say (or useless, it doesn't really bother me).

The Arai X3 is probably the ultimate adv helmet. $1049 (+ $200 if you want to look like Ewan and Charlie). A wee bit out of my price range. I have a family and mortgage.



Shoei Hornet $999 (I've been offered one of these a LOT cheaper)



Rjays Dakar $249 (not fussed on the fighter pilot look)



HJC CL-XS $229 (looks like a good helmet for not much more than an Arai visor, but a bit ugly)



Are there any I'm missing. There must be more adventure helmets out there. These are all above or below my price range also.

What advantages do adventure style helmets have over road helmets. It's not often that I've thought 'I wish I had a peak'. I can understand the ventilation thing with the chin piece.

Also, how do the visors for these things compare. Being quite different to road visors, are they much more expensive?

I'll run through some road helmet options later.

[bart]

As for road options, there's heaps. Here are some I kind of like:

Arai Chaser - Base model Arai $899. I really liked my last one, but I'm put off by the price of the visor ($160). Would buy another one if I was doing serious road work.



Shoei Raid 2 - Real good mid range helmet at $549



Shark RSF3 - $549. some of my mates swear by Shark helmets.



HJC FS-10 ($769) and HQ1 ($699) - Carbon jobs. I like the look of these, and the price. Looks like great value for money.





AGV Stealth ($649) - Love this........but I'd have to buy an R1 to go with it. Might look a bit silly on a DR650. I've had a good run out of an AGV in the past.



Your thoughts....

edit: I've missed out open face and flip front jobs because I gave up smoking years ago.

[Sidewinder]

shoei or arai only bro!
rest are all shit, you jsut have to find what head you have to what brand you get. i have a shoei head, which is good because there road helmets are sexy.

[Kokopelli]

The Shoei Hornet has had a huge jump in price since I've bought mine. Paid $630 and now they want $999. I wonder why? Can't be the exchange rate.

Love mine though. It's very comfortable, reasonably light and the pin lock visor works as advertised.

[JATZ]

I have one of those HJC cl-xs thingys, I might by another, depends how I feel on the day.
Do you REEEALy need to spend all that coin on a helmet ? After all, 1 good knock and you should replace it anyway.
My $250 LS2 is more comfortable than the $800 shoei I tried on

[Fluffy Cat]

I have a Hornet and its not bad at all. Light weight and excellent vents. The visor fits perfectly. I would guess that the Arai would be totally comparable. Those would be my choices.

[.chris]

I went with the try em on and pick the one that feels best.
I ended up with a BMW Enduro helmet which was around the ($900 mark).

The major benefit with the dual sport style helmets is the visibility, periferal vision is far better with the ones I have experienced.
Infact when I use my road helmet (AGV S4, similar to the stealth you have pictured) it feels very restrictive and the chin part is much larger and visibility towards the front wheel is pretty restricted, where the curved mx shape of a dual sport helmet gives much better visibility.

Another cheap option to consider is the AFX FX37ds. I got one imported from the USA for my brother for about $200nzd

[Waihou Thumper]

Replace the visor, get two, if that's all that is damaged...
Still saving, right?

I have an X3, awesome lid! I will have it forever...AND, it even has a decal on it....
Oh no, is that bad?...

[george formby]

I have been thinking of a peaked helmet with visor too. My Caberg has an internal sun visor which is brilliant but I do get a bit of buffeting at higher speeds, obviously not the helmets fault. Other TDM owners with the same problem have said a peaked helmet stops the buffeting, also, when you tip your head down, the peak goes a long way to minimise sun strike.

[warewolf]

I'm a stronge believer in the "you get whet you pay for" moto,

Unfortunately, in terms of helmets and safety, you'd be wrong.

webBikeWorld has some really good helmet info, start at: Motorcycle Helmet FAQs.

[Kokopelli]

Unfortunately, in terms of helmets and safety, you'd be wrong.

webBikeWorld has some really good helmet info, start at: Motorcycle Helmet FAQs.

There is more to a helmet than just its safety rating, but I specifically bought a Hornet that met the ECE 22.05 standard, because in my mind this standard makes the most sense. I could have bought the same helmet with a Snell rating.

I see it like this, no helmet will be perfect for every situation. However, any helmet that I buy will have to fit me, be light, have good ventilation, a wide field of view, have an interior that doesn't upset my sensitive skin and lastly, look good to me. I will buy the helmet that comes closest to this ideal, at a price I can afford.

I'd love one of those super light carbon helmets that's not black, but so far, that's where I've drawn the line.

Thankfully there are lots of helmets out there, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one you like. I wouldn't be put off If my ideal helmet was also cheap. At the same time I am quite happy to pay more for one that looks good to me.

The next thing I'll have to look at is one of those neck braces. As a relatively clumsy rider it's easy to justify spending money on gear that works.

[bart]

I have one of those HJC cl-xs thingys, I might by another, depends how I feel on the day.
Do you REEEALy need to spend all that coin on a helmet ? After all, 1 good knock and you should replace it anyway.
My $250 LS2 is more comfortable than the $800 shoei I tried on

I know what you mean. The guy in the shop said a modern $200 helmet has more features and may be safer than what $1000 helmets were 10 years ago.

For me it's a peace of mind thing. You want to know you're wearing something that's going to give you the best chance of survival if the shit does hit the fan.

[bart]

The major benefit with the dual sport style helmets is the visibility, periferal vision is far better with the ones I have experienced.

Good point. Perhaps the adv style is better.

[dino3310]

well ive jus bought me a zues for $180 and im most impressed with the comfort, removeble liner aswell, turns into a nice road helmet to. not as light as my grex but more comfy and quieter

[tri boy]

I talked to a helmet design engineer in the late eighties about cost and performance. (He had been designing them for many years).
Bottom line is, almost all helmets will withstand any impact that cause brain damage, but other injuries like broken neck/spinal cord etc cannot be prevented.
You pay top price for Arai/Shoei/Bell etc, because they constantly redesign, and that swallows huge amounts of R+D funds.
I own Arai, Shoei, Nolan, Grex, and several others. They all do exactly the same job..............restrict my peripheral vision,, but do stop the rain stinging my eyes, and the road shaving flesh off my bonce if/when I have an accident.
Find one you feel most comfortable with, and wear it.................most of the time.