Tinted pinlock inserts

[slofox]

Recently I bought a new lid - Arai Quantum 2. After initial misgivings about shape, I'd have to say it fits way better than I expected. And better than most of its predecessors.

To the point though: The visor that came with it was the usual clear sort. I prefer dark visors (in the day anyway). So I looked to see what was what. And came across the concept of tinted pinlock inserts. Much cheaper than a visor and quick enough to swap out.

On the negative side, the insert is not as dark as I am used to with a dark smoke visor, although it does the job just as well, so no real down there. But I find that under certain light conditions, the dark insert can produce quite a lot of light scatter - usually when the sun is up front somewhere. Not bad enough to limit vision, but not really what I would have chosen if I had an option.

Anyone else noticed this?

[eldog]

slightly off topic, did you think about getting one of those helmets with a drop down sun visor? brillant for me, no worries about day-night rides. But still some probs with looking directly into sun as usual.
Got one that you can adjust up and down and it holds it position-good for some circumstances.

Not wanting to have different visors for different conditions.

Also have the pinlok insert, installed, good for those foggy mornings.
Would recommend pinloks

[Asher]

My clear one scatters light really badly when the suns at low angles.
Also i wouldnt suggest taking it in and out, will just make it dirtier and worse to see through.

[nzspokes]

I had a photocromatic one a while back which seemed to work well. Didnt go real dark but helped.

Drop down visors suck if they are not good quality, the one in my LS2 was average at best. The one in my Shoei is very good.

[Tazz]

Didn't even think of a tinted pinlock, will try it. Are they good at stopping fogging from your breath? I have one helmet that doesn't got around my nose which is a pain at night/when cold unless I wear a balaclava and breath slowly out my nose. I have my visor up more and more because of it but after being hit by some sort of dragon sized bird I'm trying to put an end to that.

slightly off topic, did you think about getting one of those helmets with a drop down sun visor?

Concept is cool, but sunglasses are better I've found. You have to bend the arms right though so they don't start hurting after a few hours.

[eldog]

Didn't even think of a tinted pinlock, will try it. Are they good at stopping fogging from your breath? I have one helmet that doesn't got around my nose which is a pain at night/when cold unless I wear a balaclava and breath slowly out my nose. I have my visor up more and more because of it but after being hit by some sort of dragon sized bird I'm trying to put an end to that.



Concept is cool, but sunglasses are better I've found. You have to bend the arms right though so they don't start hurting after a few hours.

IMHO pinlocks help a great deal, not always but a lot. i have a balaclava too which helps too.
heavy breather that i am, i still fog but only about 10% or less of what i used to
I buy the best gear i can afford, optics etc as thats important.
Been hit by birds to so much fun there. Funniest thing i have had is a cockroach climbing all over the inside visor while i was riding.

you should try a good quality drop down sunscreen, but not all are the same, different shapes, different optics, some only have 2 positions up/dn, mine can hold any place. some hit the bridge of my nose.

try before you buy

pinlocks must have a clean inside visor before fitting, the seal is quite delicate but worth it.

[slofox]

Are they good at stopping fogging from your breath?

They are excellent. I have never had a fogging problem when using one.

[ckai]

I thought about getting a tinted pinlock when I was looking at replacing my last tinted visor. Then I saw the condition of pinlock and thought better of it. Put it this way, my pinlock for my day visor wasn't that bad, but if I was switching it from visor to visor it wouldn't last nearly as long. They're not as tough as the actual visor either so would be more incline to scuff with changing.

Me, I'll be sticking with my, clear with pinlock for night, and shiny mirror with pinlock for day. A lot easier switching visors than pinlocks as well.

[pritch]

But I find that under certain light conditions, the dark insert can produce quite a lot of light scatter - usually when the sun is up front somewhere.

Yeah, and I whinged about it on KB and the replies basically all said nah. Some of the inserts are less good than others, my current one is fine. If I got another dud I'd send it back.

ckai, you are halfway there with deciding that it's better to change visors than pinock inserts. Buy another helmet and fit a different shade visor so you just pick a helmet according to weather, time of day etc. Simple, and probably more hygenic as well.

[Tazz]

Cheers for the pinlock feedback guys, and sorry for the thread jack

Buy another helmet and fit a different shade visor so you just pick a helmet according to weather, time of day etc. Simple, and probably more hygenic as well.

Thats what I did. Getting home at 11pm in a couple of hours worth of lashing rain (hint:visor up) has made me reassess my planning and impulse inadequacies though, back to the drawing board For just fanging around town tinted is badass though, plus from a pervvy point of view no one knows where you're looking

[Katiepie]

I changed to my clear visor last week after riding with tinted visor over summer and I had forgotten how rubbish it was. Visor scratched and well overdue to be replaced, as well as a very scratched clear pinlock insert.

A buddy brought me a gift over the weekend - new clear visor with one of the tinted pinlock inserts. Gotta say - what a difference! Yes yes, I know no scratches sure do help, but the tinted insert is awesome compared to non tint. Looks to not be a removable insert also so less chance of it getting loose and fogging in between. Only rode this morning with it, riding home in this awesome Wellington rain in the dark will be a good test tonight. Hadn't seen them before, so far I like it better than clear inserts

[slofox]

Some of the inserts are less good than others, my current one is fine.

Hmmm...that might be relevant to me. I got one from somewhere in angleterre and the other from CT (CT was marginally cheaper in fact and quicker to deliver too! One up for local suppliers!). I should compare the light scatter of the pair. One is dark, the other clear. Now I have to remember which came from where...sheeeeezzzz. I can't even remember this morning, let alone last year...

[vifferman]

I've got two (2) visors for my Shoei, one tinted, one clear, both with pinlocks. Really makes me wonder why it took so long to get them - they're brilliant. (And why I wore AGVs for so long ).
The first time I wore the visor with a pinlock (in pouring rain), I was absolutely astounded that I didn't need to worry about leaving my visor and vents open to avoid fogging - it just does NOT happen. No problems with distortion; there are minor 'chromatic anomalies' at night, but not enough to be annoying, let alone alter visibility.

[Laava]

Check this out, not sure about availability at this stage but no doubt they will get here and cheapen up in time.
http://e-tintproducts.com

[Katiepie]

Yup - tinted pinlock insert (in clear visor) was pretty mint riding home tonight - heavy rain and dark, was thankful to not be fogging up in the low visibility. It was a fair bit darker though than I expected in my rural area with no street lights in the rain, took just that extra bit out that I am used to with no tint on the insert. But all in all, pretty happy with it.