Types Of Full Face Motorcycle Helmets: User Tried & Tested

There are four types of motorcycle helmets but which is the right one for you?

Types Of Full Face Helmets

• Street Bike Full Face Helmets
• Modular Full Face Helmets
• Off-Road Full Face Helmets
• Dual-Sport Full Face Helmets

Today we are going to discuss the different types of full face helmets, what you can expect from each, what riders are going to be into with each kind of motorcycle helmet and a couple of key things to look for from each category.

We’ll start with that, keep going through it and later on we’ll get to the different sections so let’s get started.

Street Bike Full Face Helmets

So right off the bat, we’re going to start with the full face. This is probably what you have in mind when you think of a motorcycle helmet, it basically refers to full coverage.

So you have full coverage on the top of your head, the back, on both sides and most importantly on the front with the chin bar. This is what really makes it a full-face helmet.

Forty-five percent of motorcycle crashes are going to involve an impact at some point on the chin bar, so if you are concerned about safety it’s important to have that for sure.

Full face helmets are going to vary a lot depending on the riding position you choose, so if you’re an ATV rider, if you’re a tour or a cruiser rider you have that upright stance, the helmets going to have to complement that.

One thing that these types of full-face helmets are going to have is a chin bar that extends a little bit lower just to get that exposure portion of your neck covered. The I port is going to extend basically neutrally straight ahead as you would be looking and you’re going to get ventilation towards the front of the helmet which is where the most airflow is going to be.

If you bent your head forward that what’s called the tuck position, this is your really really aggressive sport rider. Again, you’re going to see the opposite of what we had before so the chin bar is probably going to be a little bit higher on your face just because you’re going to be bent over like that.

The I port is going to be extended towards the top of the helmet in relative terms because you’re going to be looking ahead and you’re going to get more ventilation on the top of the head as well because that’s where most of the airflow is going to be coming in.

The other thing that’s really important about full-face helmets is the face shield. Choosing the color for this is really really important. Clear ones are going to be great for anyone who does a bit of night riding, the yellow and rose-tinted visors are great for anyone who’s in cloudy conditions or if you ride in a lot of fog, if you’re an ATV rider and you do a lot of mountain riding this is something you might be thinking about.

The dark sort of a light smoke color visor is great for someone who rides in bright conditions. The really dark mirrored or pitch-black sort of blackout visors have to be taken with caution.

They’re great for bright conditions but you have to be aware of things like tunnels because if you go into a tunnel it can get suddenly dark and you could just smack into a wall because you’ll be going in blind as you enter the tunnel.

One way to get good versatility like on the Shoei helmet is with a drop-down Sun visor. This is one way that you can get a little bit of the best of both worlds. You may also want to pay attention to UV protection, these will often have a rating that goes along with it so if you have sensitive eyes it could be something to look for.

Obviously the benefit of a full-face helmet is the protection and the downside to them is going to be the heat.

You’re locked in there so it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be stuffy especially in warm temperatures. So if you live in a hot climate be sure to look for something that’s going to have a lot of ventilation with it.

If you’re a really really sweaty guy and you tend to sweat a lot in your face then find a visor that’s going to have an anti-fog and coating on it as well, that could be really important.

---

Modular Full Face Helmets

The next type of motorcycle helmet we’re going to look at is a modular helmet. This helmet looks similar to the last one, it looks like we’re talking about the exact same thing and in many ways we are, but of course, it is going to be a transformer.

Some riders open the face portion fully and ride around with it open but you’re not supposed to ride in this position, this will turn your head into a windsock If you try to do it.

It looks kind of dorky if you ride with it fully open but when you’re pulled over at a traffic light or if you want to stop on the side of the road, read a map, have a smoke talk to your friends, whatever you got to do this type of helmet can be an option for that.

Modular helmets are very popular with ATV riders, sports tours and cruisers with a lot of people who sit in that upright position. It’s really common to see them designed to be ridden with the head level and looking straight forward.

It’s rarer to find a modular helmet that’s meant to be in that aggressive tuck position we discussed previously although there are a few options. The bell revolver would be a really really good one to look at if you are looking for a sporty or modular helmet.

The last thing to note with these is that they’re inherently just a little bit less safe than a full-face helmet and that’s just because the hinge mechanism just introduces a little bit of a break in what would otherwise be a totally uniform one-piece structure.

So it’s a little bit less strength in this but obviously is going to be way better than like an open-faced helmet or a half helmet or you have no lower face coverage at all.

---

Off-Road Full Face Helmets

The next type of full-face helmet we’re going to look at is the full-on dirt helmet which is best for that off-road environment.

The dirt bike helmet comes with a really really pronounced Sun Visor, this keeps the sun out of your eyes it’s going to prevent that mile-high roost from coming down towards your eye-port as well.

The chin bar is way out there, it’s totally angular and this is great for allowing airflow to come up inside. This full-face helmet is really geared towards two ends and that’s minimizing weight and maximizing airflow.

The whole design is really geared towards that and that’s important because off-road riding is really really physical. It’s really aggressive, you’re going to be sweating a lot, it’s used in really really hot temperatures normally and its relatively slow speeds. So it’s important to have that lightweight and it’s important to have that airflow.

You’ll notice in the eye-port that it’s meant to be used with goggles, one thing to know what this is that if you want a really perfect interface between your goggles and your helmet, it would be a great idea to buy the same manufacturer for each.

For example, if you purchased a Thor helmet they’re big-time dirt manufacturer and of course, they also make goggles.

So if you’re going to buy the Thor lid and then get the Thor goggles that the OEM suggests to go with that helmet because you’re going to get like a really flawless fit from that, that’s an important thing to note with dirt helmets.

These types of full-face helmets will often be a little bit cheaper than the other ones just because there’s less going on and they don’t have to worry about soundproofing and all that stuff.

---

Dual-Sport Full Face Helmets

We go towards the dirt side with the dual sport helmet. These helmets are also called crossover helmets, Enduro helmets and basically they’re meant to be ridden sort of 50% on the road 50% off, and you can really see that just by looking at them.

It looks kind of like the lovechild between a full-face helmet and an off-road or motocross helmet. You have a Sun Visor but it’s not quite as pronounced and it’s going to be aerodynamic to avoid helmet lifts at highway speeds.

In the same way, you have the angular chin bar but it’s a little bit truncated, it’s brought in a little bit and that’s going to add to the warmth. It’s going to decrease the airflow a little bit and bring better soundproofing to it.

It’s right in the middle of the range and you know you’re going to have soundproof and you’re going to have warmth but not as much as you would get from a standard on-road full-face helmet.

In the same way, you’re going to have airflow it’s going to be lightweight, but not as much as a traditional motocross helmet. One thing to note with this helmet that is particularly important is with the visor up you can use goggles beneath it as well, so that gives you great versatility.

If you’re just doing a ride where you ride to the trailhead and you’re going to be off-road all day, then it’s a great option to be able to put goggles under this and you’re going to get closer to that true motocross feel.

And if you’re doing more 50/50 riding the visor down you have a great functional helmet for that as well.

---

So that’s the last type of full-face helmet we will be looking at today. That’s a way to tell the difference between them all, a couple of things to look for and with that information, you should be well-armed to go out and decide what type of full-face helmet you want to look for.

Types Of Full Face Motorcycle Helmets: User Tried & Tested

There are four types of motorcycle helmets but which is the right one for you?

Types Of Full Face Helmets

• Street Bike Full Face Helmets
• Modular Full Face Helmets
• Off-Road Full Face Helmets
• Dual-Sport Full Face Helmets

Today we are going to discuss the different types of full face helmets, what you can expect from each, what riders are going to be into with each kind of motorcycle helmet and a couple of key things to look for from each category.

We’ll start with that, keep going through it and later on we’ll get to the different sections so let’s get started.

Street Bike Full Face Helmets

So right off the bat, we’re going to start with the full face. This is probably what you have in mind when you think of a motorcycle helmet, it basically refers to full coverage.

So you have full coverage on the top of your head, the back, on both sides and most importantly on the front with the chin bar. This is what really makes it a full-face helmet.

Forty-five percent of motorcycle crashes are going to involve an impact at some point on the chin bar, so if you are concerned about safety it’s important to have that for sure.

Full face helmets are going to vary a lot depending on the riding position you choose, so if you’re an ATV rider, if you’re a tour or a cruiser rider you have that upright stance, the helmets going to have to complement that.

One thing that these types of full-face helmets are going to have is a chin bar that extends a little bit lower just to get that exposure portion of your neck covered. The I port is going to extend basically neutrally straight ahead as you would be looking and you’re going to get ventilation towards the front of the helmet which is where the most airflow is going to be.

If you bent your head forward that what’s called the tuck position, this is your really really aggressive sport rider. Again, you’re going to see the opposite of what we had before so the chin bar is probably going to be a little bit higher on your face just because you’re going to be bent over like that.

The I port is going to be extended towards the top of the helmet in relative terms because you’re going to be looking ahead and you’re going to get more ventilation on the top of the head as well because that’s where most of the airflow is going to be coming in.

The other thing that’s really important about full-face helmets is the face shield. Choosing the color for this is really really important. Clear ones are going to be great for anyone who does a bit of night riding, the yellow and rose-tinted visors are great for anyone who’s in cloudy conditions or if you ride in a lot of fog, if you’re an ATV rider and you do a lot of mountain riding this is something you might be thinking about.

The dark sort of a light smoke color visor is great for someone who rides in bright conditions. The really dark mirrored or pitch-black sort of blackout visors have to be taken with caution.

They’re great for bright conditions but you have to be aware of things like tunnels because if you go into a tunnel it can get suddenly dark and you could just smack into a wall because you’ll be going in blind as you enter the tunnel.

One way to get good versatility like on the Shoei helmet is with a drop-down Sun visor. This is one way that you can get a little bit of the best of both worlds. You may also want to pay attention to UV protection, these will often have a rating that goes along with it so if you have sensitive eyes it could be something to look for.

Obviously the benefit of a full-face helmet is the protection and the downside to them is going to be the heat.

You’re locked in there so it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be stuffy especially in warm temperatures. So if you live in a hot climate be sure to look for something that’s going to have a lot of ventilation with it.

If you’re a really really sweaty guy and you tend to sweat a lot in your face then find a visor that’s going to have an anti-fog and coating on it as well, that could be really important.

---

Modular Full Face Helmets

The next type of motorcycle helmet we’re going to look at is a modular helmet. This helmet looks similar to the last one, it looks like we’re talking about the exact same thing and in many ways we are, but of course, it is going to be a transformer.

Some riders open the face portion fully and ride around with it open but you’re not supposed to ride in this position, this will turn your head into a windsock If you try to do it.

It looks kind of dorky if you ride with it fully open but when you’re pulled over at a traffic light or if you want to stop on the side of the road, read a map, have a smoke talk to your friends, whatever you got to do this type of helmet can be an option for that.

Modular helmets are very popular with ATV riders, sports tours and cruisers with a lot of people who sit in that upright position. It’s really common to see them designed to be ridden with the head level and looking straight forward.

It’s rarer to find a modular helmet that’s meant to be in that aggressive tuck position we discussed previously although there are a few options. The bell revolver would be a really really good one to look at if you are looking for a sporty or modular helmet.

The last thing to note with these is that they’re inherently just a little bit less safe than a full-face helmet and that’s just because the hinge mechanism just introduces a little bit of a break in what would otherwise be a totally uniform one-piece structure.

So it’s a little bit less strength in this but obviously is going to be way better than like an open-faced helmet or a half helmet or you have no lower face coverage at all.

---

Off-Road Full Face Helmets

The next type of full-face helmet we’re going to look at is the full-on dirt helmet which is best for that off-road environment.

The dirt bike helmet comes with a really really pronounced Sun Visor, this keeps the sun out of your eyes it’s going to prevent that mile-high roost from coming down towards your eye-port as well.

The chin bar is way out there, it’s totally angular and this is great for allowing airflow to come up inside. This full-face helmet is really geared towards two ends and that’s minimizing weight and maximizing airflow.

The whole design is really geared towards that and that’s important because off-road riding is really really physical. It’s really aggressive, you’re going to be sweating a lot, it’s used in really really hot temperatures normally and its relatively slow speeds. So it’s important to have that lightweight and it’s important to have that airflow.

You’ll notice in the eye-port that it’s meant to be used with goggles, one thing to know what this is that if you want a really perfect interface between your goggles and your helmet, it would be a great idea to buy the same manufacturer for each.

For example, if you purchased a Thor helmet they’re big-time dirt manufacturer and of course, they also make goggles.

So if you’re going to buy the Thor lid and then get the Thor goggles that the OEM suggests to go with that helmet because you’re going to get like a really flawless fit from that, that’s an important thing to note with dirt helmets.

These types of full-face helmets will often be a little bit cheaper than the other ones just because there’s less going on and they don’t have to worry about soundproofing and all that stuff.

---

Dual-Sport Full Face Helmets

We go towards the dirt side with the dual sport helmet. These helmets are also called crossover helmets, Enduro helmets and basically they’re meant to be ridden sort of 50% on the road 50% off, and you can really see that just by looking at them.

It looks kind of like the lovechild between a full-face helmet and an off-road or motocross helmet. You have a Sun Visor but it’s not quite as pronounced and it’s going to be aerodynamic to avoid helmet lifts at highway speeds.

In the same way, you have the angular chin bar but it’s a little bit truncated, it’s brought in a little bit and that’s going to add to the warmth. It’s going to decrease the airflow a little bit and bring better soundproofing to it.

It’s right in the middle of the range and you know you’re going to have soundproof and you’re going to have warmth but not as much as you would get from a standard on-road full-face helmet.

In the same way, you’re going to have airflow it’s going to be lightweight, but not as much as a traditional motocross helmet. One thing to note with this helmet that is particularly important is with the visor up you can use goggles beneath it as well, so that gives you great versatility.

If you’re just doing a ride where you ride to the trailhead and you’re going to be off-road all day, then it’s a great option to be able to put goggles under this and you’re going to get closer to that true motocross feel.

And if you’re doing more 50/50 riding the visor down you have a great functional helmet for that as well.

---

So that’s the last type of full-face helmet we will be looking at today. That’s a way to tell the difference between them all, a couple of things to look for and with that information, you should be well-armed to go out and decide what type of full-face helmet you want to look for.

Motorcycle Helmet Brands To Avoid Like The plague

There is a slew of different motorcycle brands out there and I think I have had them all, and to be honest, I don’t think I have found a helmet brand that I would avoid.

You can buy all sorts of helmets from different manufacturers and I think over the years I have tried them all. If I was to give you any advice it would be to avoid buying any branded motorcycle helmet from any auction sites like E-Bay.

Anyone knows that a Shoei helmet that costs $700 from a reputable motorcycle helmet retailer can not be found for $100 on these auction sites.

Helmet for that price are probably fake and to be avoided at all costs, after all, why would you buy a motorcycle for $10,000 and then spend $50 on a helmet that could at some point save your life?

Rather than put together a list of motorcycle helmet brands to avoid I have put together a shortlist of helmets I consider to be safe and at different prices, first up is the Shoei Qwest

Helmets Mentioned In This Video

Scorpion EXO-ST1400 Carbon Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qhH46E
Shoei GT-Air II Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MNOQNo
Icon Airform Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qmv7wE
AGV K1 Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MOMw8J
Klim Krios Pro Helmet – https://amzn.to/2VQSwSy
Nolan N70-2 X Helmet – https://amzn.to/32oofNp
Bell Eliminator Helmet – https://amzn.to/2oPZGue

Shoei Qwest

Right off the bat, we have a simple full phase motorcycle helmet, there’s maximum coverage for your face, there’s no flip-up chin bar that’s going to weaken the structural integrity and there’s no angular Sun peak that could catch on the ground and impart some kind of torque to my neck.

Safety

If we’re talking about plain old impact protection then the Shoei Qwest (available from Amazon) is going to be exceptionally safe too. I mean, unlike polycarbonate helmets they’re going to crack on impact. This is a composite fiberglass helmet and so it’s going to crackle.

There’s going to be tiny fractures spreading across a large surface area of the helmet dispersing the impact which absorbs a lot of the force in the helmet before the EPS film underneath even comes into play.

So fiberglass is good, but even better is that Shoei wove some organic fibers into the mix. These natural fibers are extremely elastic and that’s going to bring the crackling effect to a whole new level.

They want to bend and stretch and hold on to one another, spreading the crackle across more and more surface area the helmet rather than letting anything puncture through. It’s a very safe helmet and that’s probably why the Shoei Qwest scored a perfect 5 out of 5 on the UK’s sharp safety ratings.

Sun Visor

There are other things that make this helmet safe too, The visor is anti-scratch, Anti Fog and 99.9% protected from UV rays so my eyesight is in good hands. The visor does lockdown as well and I really like that because face shields do have a tendency to pop open if you slide off your bike.

Weight

My main worry with the Shoei Quest is its size and weight. I mean, it’s one point six five kilograms for the size large that’s not really obese, but every gram in a crash comes as more force that can be transmitted onto my neck.

Another thing with this helmet is it’s not the slimmest helmet out there, the surface of the Shoei actually sits pretty far away from the surface of my head.

That means that the rotational torque this helmet couldn’t part on my neck if it were to catch on something in a crash is actually fairly high. Even still, this is a top-notch motorcycle helmet when it comes to safety.

Fitment

It is a round head shape by the way which you should really be mindful of fitment as it is one of the most important things when choosing a safe motorcycle helmet, so there’s not really any point in cramming an oval noggin into this round Shoei, that would just negate most of its safety benefits.

I should also mention this is one of my top five quietest motorcycle helmets if you care about that kind of thing.

We all know the old adage right? “A $50 helmet for a $50 head”. Well, it’s kind of ironic because only $50 heads would believe something like. Price does not equal to safety when it comes to motorcycle helmets, I know some thousand dollar helmets that are almost useless in a crash and I know some cheap helmets that will protect like a pro. The case in point is the HJC IS-17.

HJC IS-17

By all accounts this is a budget helmet, I mean at around $200 it’s a comfortable fairly well-ventilated, fairly quiet lid and it has a drop-down Sun Visor and a quick-release pin lock ready face shield.

It’s a cheap helmet and yet the HJC IS-17 available from Motorcycle House.com scores a perfect 5 out of 5 on the sharp safety ratings. Plus the IS-17 is 50 grams lighter than that Shoei Qwest we just discussed, so it’s a bit safer for your neck.

Safety

I mean no disrespect to Shoei because the HJC IS-17 also trumps a bunch of AGVs rise and Schubert’s when it comes to safety. The face shield on the HJC does lockdown and you know that I really like that, the other thing is that there is going to be some safety benefit to this drop-down Sun Visor.

I mean, being able to see is somewhat important when piloting a motorcycle. I do just wish the HJC had given us a darker tint on the sun visor because this is like a light smoke at best.

The other thing is that those of you who read my other articles will know I really hate the protraction mechanism. I mean to cut a long story short, this doesn’t work as soon as the spring gets dusty or worn out.

Fitment

The IS-17 is an intermediate head shape and you’re going to have to have an intermediate noggin if you’re going to get the most out of those safety features.

I should probably mention this helmet is only DOT rated but that doesn’t really put out any doubts in my mind. The snell and EEC stickers are certainly meaningful but they’re not the whole story.

The first two helmets we’ve seen have been pretty good general-purpose full faces helmets, but what if I want something sportier? Then I’ll take AGV’s Corsa as my first choice for a safe sport helmet.

AGV Corsa

Yes, it achieves a 5 out of 5 safety rating from sharp, and yes it’s Pista GP older brother does too. I chose the Corsa (available from Amazon) because it’s about $700 cheaper than the GP, and the GP uses a carbon fiber helmet to shave OFF a few grams.

That’s going to be the main difference because this one is a composite fiber, but to be honest, there isn’t really any safety difference between the two and at 1570 grams the Corsa is plenty light, to begin with.

Ventilation

Another thing I really like is that this one actually has closable ventilation ducts and the GP doesn’t, that’s very nice because I don’t spend every waking minute on the track. In my opinion, getting a precise fit is just as important as choosing a safe motorcycle helmet.

Sizes Available

The Corsa makes that really easy because the Corsa comes in seven different sizes for different helmet constructions which really optimizes the size relationship between my specific head, the padding of the helmet and the shell of the helmet.

AGV even gives us two different mediums, medium-small, and medium-large to better cater to those most common head sizes. And if that weren’t enough, I also get some padding customization options in the box.

Visor

By the way, have a look at the locking mechanism on the visor, I mean it’s like a metal deadbolt screwed directly into the face shield, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so sturdy.

The Corsa is a killer track day helmet, I mean, one look at the massive rear spoiler is going to tell you that it’s meant to be ridden like this. We also know that the Corsa steals its helmet shape, its aerodynamics and its ventilation from the more races older brother.

The Pista GP, in turn, was designed in conjunction with the doctor, so what I’m saying is this Corsa that actually has some of Valentino Rossi’s DNA.

Safety

My only complaint with the Corsa is that it’s not Snell certified. I mean that’s no comment on its safety level, Snell and the European certifications just have slightly different ideas on what makes a helmet safe and so AGV probably built the Corsa to ace the European standards and probably didn’t even bother sending it to Snell.

I have no problem with that at all but some track-day officials, they might still balk at the DOT sticker.

Scorpion EXO-R410

I chose this last helmet to prove a point, it’s the circa two hundred dollar Scorpion EXO-R410 (available from Amazon) and it has two massive safety features that are often overlooked. The obvious one first is the high vis colorway.

I’m always amazed how people will spend so many hours and dollars trying to find out the safest possible motorcycle helmet, and then they’ll get it in black.

I mean yeah, black is cool but if safety is your primary concern then the neon colorway probably does more than all the fancy fibers and safety ratings of your black helmet.

Let me put it this way. In most motorcycle crashes the difference between a 3-star safety helmet and a top-of-the-line five-star safety helmet is not actually going to affect how you walk away.

It’s only a certain percentage of accidents where the head trauma is within a very specific range that you actually see the benefit of that five-star helmet.

On the other hand, the neon helmet decreases your chances of getting into all accidents in the first place, that’s why I choose to ride in my white variant. Neon is just a tad too lame for my personal vanity but white helmets, I can handle.

The main thing is that it’s reflective, it’s bright and it doesn’t blend into the road. The other safety feature that this helmet displays which is often overlooked are emergency quick-release cheek padding.

Safety

Now, heaven forbid you do get into an accident where you have a neck injury but you really don’t want the paramedics having to yank and pull on the helmet to get it off.

Instead, they can grab the red tabs and quickly removes the cheek pads on either side, then they’ll be able to take the helmet off without imparting too much force onto our neck. So those are the points I wanted to make with the EXO-R410.

Sharp gave it a 4 out of 5-star safety rating but between the neon colorway and the emergency quick-release cheek pads, I actually feel safest in this helmet out of all the ones on my list.

It does have a Snell and DOT safety rating, it weighs 1670 grams, has a locking face shield and it’s an intermediate head shape.

That’s it for my safest motorcycle helmets please feel free to disagree with me in the comments below and thank you very much for reading.

Motorcycle Helmet Brands To Avoid Like The plague

There is a slew of different motorcycle brands out there and I think I have had them all, and to be honest, I don’t think I have found a helmet brand that I would avoid.

You can buy all sorts of helmets from different manufacturers and I think over the years I have tried them all. If I was to give you any advice it would be to avoid buying any branded motorcycle helmet from any auction sites like E-Bay.

Anyone knows that a Shoei helmet that costs $700 from a reputable motorcycle helmet retailer can not be found for $100 on these auction sites.

Helmet for that price are probably fake and to be avoided at all costs, after all, why would you buy a motorcycle for $10,000 and then spend $50 on a helmet that could at some point save your life?

Rather than put together a list of motorcycle helmet brands to avoid I have put together a shortlist of helmets I consider to be safe and at different prices, first up is the Shoei Qwest

Helmets Mentioned In This Video

Scorpion EXO-ST1400 Carbon Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qhH46E
Shoei GT-Air II Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MNOQNo
Icon Airform Helmet – https://amzn.to/2qmv7wE
AGV K1 Helmet – https://amzn.to/2MOMw8J
Klim Krios Pro Helmet – https://amzn.to/2VQSwSy
Nolan N70-2 X Helmet – https://amzn.to/32oofNp
Bell Eliminator Helmet – https://amzn.to/2oPZGue

Shoei Qwest

Right off the bat, we have a simple full phase motorcycle helmet, there’s maximum coverage for your face, there’s no flip-up chin bar that’s going to weaken the structural integrity and there’s no angular Sun peak that could catch on the ground and impart some kind of torque to my neck.

Safety

If we’re talking about plain old impact protection then the Shoei Qwest (available from Amazon) is going to be exceptionally safe too. I mean, unlike polycarbonate helmets they’re going to crack on impact. This is a composite fiberglass helmet and so it’s going to crackle.

There’s going to be tiny fractures spreading across a large surface area of the helmet dispersing the impact which absorbs a lot of the force in the helmet before the EPS film underneath even comes into play.

So fiberglass is good, but even better is that Shoei wove some organic fibers into the mix. These natural fibers are extremely elastic and that’s going to bring the crackling effect to a whole new level.

They want to bend and stretch and hold on to one another, spreading the crackle across more and more surface area the helmet rather than letting anything puncture through. It’s a very safe helmet and that’s probably why the Shoei Qwest scored a perfect 5 out of 5 on the UK’s sharp safety ratings.

Sun Visor

There are other things that make this helmet safe too, The visor is anti-scratch, Anti Fog and 99.9% protected from UV rays so my eyesight is in good hands. The visor does lockdown as well and I really like that because face shields do have a tendency to pop open if you slide off your bike.

Weight

My main worry with the Shoei Quest is its size and weight. I mean, it’s one point six five kilograms for the size large that’s not really obese, but every gram in a crash comes as more force that can be transmitted onto my neck.

Another thing with this helmet is it’s not the slimmest helmet out there, the surface of the Shoei actually sits pretty far away from the surface of my head.

That means that the rotational torque this helmet couldn’t part on my neck if it were to catch on something in a crash is actually fairly high. Even still, this is a top-notch motorcycle helmet when it comes to safety.

Fitment

It is a round head shape by the way which you should really be mindful of fitment as it is one of the most important things when choosing a safe motorcycle helmet, so there’s not really any point in cramming an oval noggin into this round Shoei, that would just negate most of its safety benefits.

I should also mention this is one of my top five quietest motorcycle helmets if you care about that kind of thing.

We all know the old adage right? “A $50 helmet for a $50 head”. Well, it’s kind of ironic because only $50 heads would believe something like. Price does not equal to safety when it comes to motorcycle helmets, I know some thousand dollar helmets that are almost useless in a crash and I know some cheap helmets that will protect like a pro. The case in point is the HJC IS-17.

HJC IS-17

By all accounts this is a budget helmet, I mean at around $200 it’s a comfortable fairly well-ventilated, fairly quiet lid and it has a drop-down Sun Visor and a quick-release pin lock ready face shield.

It’s a cheap helmet and yet the HJC IS-17 available from Motorcycle House.com scores a perfect 5 out of 5 on the sharp safety ratings. Plus the IS-17 is 50 grams lighter than that Shoei Qwest we just discussed, so it’s a bit safer for your neck.

Safety

I mean no disrespect to Shoei because the HJC IS-17 also trumps a bunch of AGVs rise and Schubert’s when it comes to safety. The face shield on the HJC does lockdown and you know that I really like that, the other thing is that there is going to be some safety benefit to this drop-down Sun Visor.

I mean, being able to see is somewhat important when piloting a motorcycle. I do just wish the HJC had given us a darker tint on the sun visor because this is like a light smoke at best.

The other thing is that those of you who read my other articles will know I really hate the protraction mechanism. I mean to cut a long story short, this doesn’t work as soon as the spring gets dusty or worn out.

Fitment

The IS-17 is an intermediate head shape and you’re going to have to have an intermediate noggin if you’re going to get the most out of those safety features.

I should probably mention this helmet is only DOT rated but that doesn’t really put out any doubts in my mind. The snell and EEC stickers are certainly meaningful but they’re not the whole story.

The first two helmets we’ve seen have been pretty good general-purpose full faces helmets, but what if I want something sportier? Then I’ll take AGV’s Corsa as my first choice for a safe sport helmet.

AGV Corsa

Yes, it achieves a 5 out of 5 safety rating from sharp, and yes it’s Pista GP older brother does too. I chose the Corsa (available from Amazon) because it’s about $700 cheaper than the GP, and the GP uses a carbon fiber helmet to shave OFF a few grams.

That’s going to be the main difference because this one is a composite fiber, but to be honest, there isn’t really any safety difference between the two and at 1570 grams the Corsa is plenty light, to begin with.

Ventilation

Another thing I really like is that this one actually has closable ventilation ducts and the GP doesn’t, that’s very nice because I don’t spend every waking minute on the track. In my opinion, getting a precise fit is just as important as choosing a safe motorcycle helmet.

Sizes Available

The Corsa makes that really easy because the Corsa comes in seven different sizes for different helmet constructions which really optimizes the size relationship between my specific head, the padding of the helmet and the shell of the helmet.

AGV even gives us two different mediums, medium-small, and medium-large to better cater to those most common head sizes. And if that weren’t enough, I also get some padding customization options in the box.

Visor

By the way, have a look at the locking mechanism on the visor, I mean it’s like a metal deadbolt screwed directly into the face shield, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so sturdy.

The Corsa is a killer track day helmet, I mean, one look at the massive rear spoiler is going to tell you that it’s meant to be ridden like this. We also know that the Corsa steals its helmet shape, its aerodynamics and its ventilation from the more races older brother.

The Pista GP, in turn, was designed in conjunction with the doctor, so what I’m saying is this Corsa that actually has some of Valentino Rossi’s DNA.

Safety

My only complaint with the Corsa is that it’s not Snell certified. I mean that’s no comment on its safety level, Snell and the European certifications just have slightly different ideas on what makes a helmet safe and so AGV probably built the Corsa to ace the European standards and probably didn’t even bother sending it to Snell.

I have no problem with that at all but some track-day officials, they might still balk at the DOT sticker.

Scorpion EXO-R410

I chose this last helmet to prove a point, it’s the circa two hundred dollar Scorpion EXO-R410 (available from Amazon) and it has two massive safety features that are often overlooked. The obvious one first is the high vis colorway.

I’m always amazed how people will spend so many hours and dollars trying to find out the safest possible motorcycle helmet, and then they’ll get it in black.

I mean yeah, black is cool but if safety is your primary concern then the neon colorway probably does more than all the fancy fibers and safety ratings of your black helmet.

Let me put it this way. In most motorcycle crashes the difference between a 3-star safety helmet and a top-of-the-line five-star safety helmet is not actually going to affect how you walk away.

It’s only a certain percentage of accidents where the head trauma is within a very specific range that you actually see the benefit of that five-star helmet.

On the other hand, the neon helmet decreases your chances of getting into all accidents in the first place, that’s why I choose to ride in my white variant. Neon is just a tad too lame for my personal vanity but white helmets, I can handle.

The main thing is that it’s reflective, it’s bright and it doesn’t blend into the road. The other safety feature that this helmet displays which is often overlooked are emergency quick-release cheek padding.

Safety

Now, heaven forbid you do get into an accident where you have a neck injury but you really don’t want the paramedics having to yank and pull on the helmet to get it off.

Instead, they can grab the red tabs and quickly removes the cheek pads on either side, then they’ll be able to take the helmet off without imparting too much force onto our neck. So those are the points I wanted to make with the EXO-R410.

Sharp gave it a 4 out of 5-star safety rating but between the neon colorway and the emergency quick-release cheek pads, I actually feel safest in this helmet out of all the ones on my list.

It does have a Snell and DOT safety rating, it weighs 1670 grams, has a locking face shield and it’s an intermediate head shape.

That’s it for my safest motorcycle helmets please feel free to disagree with me in the comments below and thank you very much for reading.

Are Expensive Motorcycle Helmets Safer?

You should ask yourself this question. Do Moto-GP riders wear cheap $70 helmets when they are racing at over 200Km per hour? There is a reason and here is why.

Are Expensive Motorcycle Helmets Safer? Helmets are a piece of gear that I don’t skimp on and trust me, I’ve been in the position where I really don’t have the money to buy all the gear I needed, much less high-quality stuff but I have always bought the best helmet I can possibly afford at the time.

Today I’m asking the question is this $700 Shoei X-14 better than this $70 G-Max GM 38, and if so by how much?

So guys, a couple of weeks ago I did the first fit article of a Shoei X-14 and in that article, I basically said that this is pretty much the best helmet that I have ever worn.

The Shoei-X14 is available from Motorcycle House.com for you guys who want to check it out. I started thinking if a $700 helmet can feel this nice, what would a helmet on the opposite side of the spectrum feel like?

When I started riding I was waiting tables and going to college so to say that money was tight was a massive freaking understatement.

I’m sure there’s some ton of you guys out there they can’t afford to put a $700 lid on your head, what I want to figure out today is what are you sacrificing by going with a more budget-friendly head bucket.

First off let’s talk safety

Shoei X-14 v G-Max GM 38

Both helmets have the exact same DOT certification, though the $700 Shoei also has Snell approval. If you’re not familiar with a DOT on Snell are, they’re just different certifications for the safety of helmets.

All helmets to be road-legal at least in the US do need to be DOT certified and that’s done through a government agency. Snell rating is voluntary for manufacturers and is a much more rigorous process to get done by the helmet companies.

Now, as far as weight goes in these helmets I was actually surprised, the $70 G-Max comes in at three-point four pounds while the showing weighs slightly more at three point six two pounds.

Comparing the looks of the helmet the G-max doesn’t take up quite as much space as the Shoei X-14 does, so that’s probably where the added weight comes from. Regardless I was pretty surprised the weight is so similar.

Style

Since we’re looking at the helmets let’s talk about the looks for a second.

We all know that looks are obviously an opinionated subject and we won’t all agree, but my personal opinion is that the G-Max looks dull and boring.

It kind of reminds me of one of those crappy helmets you’re given when you go to ride go-karts or something, this is compared to the Shoei helmet that has a beautiful shape with the aggressive line’s running along with the helmet.

Aerodynamics

I personally love the aerodynamic look, and after riding with that Shoei I was able to understand that not only did the lines in the shape of the helmet look good, but they also helped tremendously with wind buffeting.

When you ride at upper highway speeds around 80 miles an hour, you sometimes forget that you’re flying through there at that speed and going faster than that you can still barely tell that there’s any wind at all.

The G-MAX on the other hand, I could start feeling in my head buffing around the 65 to 70 mile per hour mark. Again if you look at the shapes of each helmet the G-Max isn’t really shaped to cut through the air like the Shoei is.

Build Quality

This is where I saw the biggest difference between these two helmets. The first thing that jumped out to me when I got the G-Max was the vents. they seemed to be made out of super cheap plastic, they don’t feel solid at all.

When I move them around there seems to be next to no rigidity to them at all, while I was testing the helmet I never had them open up after closing them, but I can’t see these lasting very long at all.

Whereas on the Shoei the vents seem solid and have a really satisfying fill when you opening and closing them. They also seemed to click into place at the open and close points better than the G-Max.

Interior

Padding on the inside was also a huge difference between the two. The G-Max felt more spacious on the inside which I’m not convinced is a good thing.

But it felt like that because instead of holding my entire head inside of it, I felt like there were about five areas of my head that were actually being held.

This definitely leads to a feeling of unsafety but it also puts a pressure point on my forehead after riding around for a little while. Now granted, I might just have a big forehead or something but this is something that I wasn’t really happy with.

Comparatively, the Shoei held my head much more evenly in the material of a liner was an entirely different level of comfort and feel.

This is also gonna sound really weird but the G-Max has a lot of mouth room. Now I know this is probably something that only a person that rides around and talks to himself on a daily basis would probably notice but, it is an observation so I figured it would be important to tell you.

Visors

Surprisingly both helmets have visor removal systems that don’t require any tools. Similar to the air vents though this is another situation where I could really tell the cheaper plastic was used on the G-Max as opposed to the seemingly carbon-fiber on the Shoei.

I do have to give the G-MAX credit though the visor did come on and off relatively simple and the release mechanism worked fine, I would just worry about its integrity over time and many uses.

Speaking of the visor I know having a pin lock system is also very important to a lot of people. The Shoei includes this while the G-MAX does not, but I feel that’s pretty expected for a budget lid. I will say I wasn’t happy with the opening and the closing of the visor on the GMAX.

Opening and closing it multiple times you can feel that it lacks a correct amount of rigidity that you find on the Shoei X-14 when you move the Shoei visor up and down especially if you click it into the closed position you know that thing is not going anywhere.

That being said, while riding a round of the G-Max I never had the visor come open or move from where it was, so, I guess it’s not too bad.

For visibility while wearing the helmets I have to say they are both extremely similar, both helmets had just a bit of helmet that I could see the edges of my vision and other than that, it was all open road ahead of me.

Anti-Fog

Surprisingly both helmets come with anti-fog visors with them. I found this to be relatively true though the Shoei was a little harder to make fog if I could even get the Shoei to fog up it was normally gone in less than a second whereas the G-MAX would typically stay fog for a couple of seconds.

To be fair, the Shoei has about twice as many air vents as the GMAX does so it’s able to push a ton more air through, which even includes the cheek pad cooling that the X-14 does which I have to say I absolutely love.

In my test of the G-MAX, I didn’t have the best weather for testing how it performed on a hot day, but the air being pushed through the GMAX was barely even noticeable where the X-14 felt like tiny little fans in front of your face while riding.

Accessories

Something else to keep in mind with these helmets is not only the price of the actual helmet itself but actually the price of the accessories that you can buy for it. I found that the prices mirrored that of the helmets.

For instance, to get a new visor for the X-14 is going to set you back around 60 bucks after shipping where a visor on the G-Max will cost you less than 20 bucks. These are things to keep in mind when purchasing either of these guys.

For my biggest reason why I cannot recommend the G-Max 38 for you guys and that is the strap.

Straps

On the X-14 like most helmets, it has a Deary metal loop that you thread the strap through and it clicks in on the other side. There’s also a nice red lanyard to help you remove the helmet while you’re wearing gloves.

The G-max has no red lanyard and button to clip the end of a strap into, and the piece of bungee cable that I can only assume is to hold this strap in place. For me personally this is unacceptable for riding a motorcycle.

Remember how I said earlier that the G max reminded me of a helmet you’re given when you go ride go-karts? Well, this is probably why because those people at the end of the day don’t really care about the safety of your head, and that’s the feeling I had while riding with this.

Now again to be fair, while riding with the G-Max never had the strap come undone, but I did not feel comfortable while riding the motorcycle knowing there was a flapping strap under my helmet that wasn’t secured into anything and that’s not a feeling I want while I’m riding.

In Conclusion

So without listing out all the specs of the Shoei has that the G-Max doesn’t I’m gonna go ahead and assume that my point is made. At the end of the day, I don’t think you have to ride with a Shoei helmet, having recently spent some time with one, I can tell you it’s totally worth the money and a pleasure to ride in but the reality is not everyone has seven hundred dollars to spend on a helmet.

What I can personally do is recommend when you buy a helmet make sure it has what I would consider the bare minimums, and a clicking strap is included in that.

We all know a $700 helmet is going to be heads and tails better than a $70 helmet but I would recommend you spend a little more money on what you’re gonna put your head in.

I’m not of the mentality that you have to ride in a Snell rated helmet 24/7 but I would recommend you spend as much as you can on what is going to eventually save your brain when you come off your bike while riding.

but guys, at the end of the day what you ride in is your decision, these are just my opinions.

I appreciate you reading this article, hopefully, you found it interesting and it helped you out.

Are Expensive Motorcycle Helmets Safer?

You should ask yourself this question. Do Moto-GP riders wear cheap $70 helmets when they are racing at over 200Km per hour? There is a reason and here is why.

Are Expensive Motorcycle Helmets Safer? Helmets are a piece of gear that I don’t skimp on and trust me, I’ve been in the position where I really don’t have the money to buy all the gear I needed, much less high-quality stuff but I have always bought the best helmet I can possibly afford at the time.

Today I’m asking the question is this $700 Shoei X-14 better than this $70 G-Max GM 38, and if so by how much?

So guys, a couple of weeks ago I did the first fit article of a Shoei X-14 and in that article, I basically said that this is pretty much the best helmet that I have ever worn.

The Shoei-X14 is available from Motorcycle House.com for you guys who want to check it out. I started thinking if a $700 helmet can feel this nice, what would a helmet on the opposite side of the spectrum feel like?

When I started riding I was waiting tables and going to college so to say that money was tight was a massive freaking understatement.

I’m sure there’s some ton of you guys out there they can’t afford to put a $700 lid on your head, what I want to figure out today is what are you sacrificing by going with a more budget-friendly head bucket.

First off let’s talk safety

Shoei X-14 v G-Max GM 38

Both helmets have the exact same DOT certification, though the $700 Shoei also has Snell approval. If you’re not familiar with a DOT on Snell are, they’re just different certifications for the safety of helmets.

All helmets to be road-legal at least in the US do need to be DOT certified and that’s done through a government agency. Snell rating is voluntary for manufacturers and is a much more rigorous process to get done by the helmet companies.

Now, as far as weight goes in these helmets I was actually surprised, the $70 G-Max comes in at three-point four pounds while the showing weighs slightly more at three point six two pounds.

Comparing the looks of the helmet the G-max doesn’t take up quite as much space as the Shoei X-14 does, so that’s probably where the added weight comes from. Regardless I was pretty surprised the weight is so similar.

Style

Since we’re looking at the helmets let’s talk about the looks for a second.

We all know that looks are obviously an opinionated subject and we won’t all agree, but my personal opinion is that the G-Max looks dull and boring.

It kind of reminds me of one of those crappy helmets you’re given when you go to ride go-karts or something, this is compared to the Shoei helmet that has a beautiful shape with the aggressive line’s running along with the helmet.

Aerodynamics

I personally love the aerodynamic look, and after riding with that Shoei I was able to understand that not only did the lines in the shape of the helmet look good, but they also helped tremendously with wind buffeting.

When you ride at upper highway speeds around 80 miles an hour, you sometimes forget that you’re flying through there at that speed and going faster than that you can still barely tell that there’s any wind at all.

The G-MAX on the other hand, I could start feeling in my head buffing around the 65 to 70 mile per hour mark. Again if you look at the shapes of each helmet the G-Max isn’t really shaped to cut through the air like the Shoei is.

Build Quality

This is where I saw the biggest difference between these two helmets. The first thing that jumped out to me when I got the G-Max was the vents. they seemed to be made out of super cheap plastic, they don’t feel solid at all.

When I move them around there seems to be next to no rigidity to them at all, while I was testing the helmet I never had them open up after closing them, but I can’t see these lasting very long at all.

Whereas on the Shoei the vents seem solid and have a really satisfying fill when you opening and closing them. They also seemed to click into place at the open and close points better than the G-Max.

Interior

Padding on the inside was also a huge difference between the two. The G-Max felt more spacious on the inside which I’m not convinced is a good thing.

But it felt like that because instead of holding my entire head inside of it, I felt like there were about five areas of my head that were actually being held.

This definitely leads to a feeling of unsafety but it also puts a pressure point on my forehead after riding around for a little while. Now granted, I might just have a big forehead or something but this is something that I wasn’t really happy with.

Comparatively, the Shoei held my head much more evenly in the material of a liner was an entirely different level of comfort and feel.

This is also gonna sound really weird but the G-Max has a lot of mouth room. Now I know this is probably something that only a person that rides around and talks to himself on a daily basis would probably notice but, it is an observation so I figured it would be important to tell you.

Visors

Surprisingly both helmets have visor removal systems that don’t require any tools. Similar to the air vents though this is another situation where I could really tell the cheaper plastic was used on the G-Max as opposed to the seemingly carbon-fiber on the Shoei.

I do have to give the G-MAX credit though the visor did come on and off relatively simple and the release mechanism worked fine, I would just worry about its integrity over time and many uses.

Speaking of the visor I know having a pin lock system is also very important to a lot of people. The Shoei includes this while the G-MAX does not, but I feel that’s pretty expected for a budget lid. I will say I wasn’t happy with the opening and the closing of the visor on the GMAX.

Opening and closing it multiple times you can feel that it lacks a correct amount of rigidity that you find on the Shoei X-14 when you move the Shoei visor up and down especially if you click it into the closed position you know that thing is not going anywhere.

That being said, while riding a round of the G-Max I never had the visor come open or move from where it was, so, I guess it’s not too bad.

For visibility while wearing the helmets I have to say they are both extremely similar, both helmets had just a bit of helmet that I could see the edges of my vision and other than that, it was all open road ahead of me.

Anti-Fog

Surprisingly both helmets come with anti-fog visors with them. I found this to be relatively true though the Shoei was a little harder to make fog if I could even get the Shoei to fog up it was normally gone in less than a second whereas the G-MAX would typically stay fog for a couple of seconds.

To be fair, the Shoei has about twice as many air vents as the GMAX does so it’s able to push a ton more air through, which even includes the cheek pad cooling that the X-14 does which I have to say I absolutely love.

In my test of the G-MAX, I didn’t have the best weather for testing how it performed on a hot day, but the air being pushed through the GMAX was barely even noticeable where the X-14 felt like tiny little fans in front of your face while riding.

Accessories

Something else to keep in mind with these helmets is not only the price of the actual helmet itself but actually the price of the accessories that you can buy for it. I found that the prices mirrored that of the helmets.

For instance, to get a new visor for the X-14 is going to set you back around 60 bucks after shipping where a visor on the G-Max will cost you less than 20 bucks. These are things to keep in mind when purchasing either of these guys.

For my biggest reason why I cannot recommend the G-Max 38 for you guys and that is the strap.

Straps

On the X-14 like most helmets, it has a Deary metal loop that you thread the strap through and it clicks in on the other side. There’s also a nice red lanyard to help you remove the helmet while you’re wearing gloves.

The G-max has no red lanyard and button to clip the end of a strap into, and the piece of bungee cable that I can only assume is to hold this strap in place. For me personally this is unacceptable for riding a motorcycle.

Remember how I said earlier that the G max reminded me of a helmet you’re given when you go ride go-karts? Well, this is probably why because those people at the end of the day don’t really care about the safety of your head, and that’s the feeling I had while riding with this.

Now again to be fair, while riding with the G-Max never had the strap come undone, but I did not feel comfortable while riding the motorcycle knowing there was a flapping strap under my helmet that wasn’t secured into anything and that’s not a feeling I want while I’m riding.

In Conclusion

So without listing out all the specs of the Shoei has that the G-Max doesn’t I’m gonna go ahead and assume that my point is made. At the end of the day, I don’t think you have to ride with a Shoei helmet, having recently spent some time with one, I can tell you it’s totally worth the money and a pleasure to ride in but the reality is not everyone has seven hundred dollars to spend on a helmet.

What I can personally do is recommend when you buy a helmet make sure it has what I would consider the bare minimums, and a clicking strap is included in that.

We all know a $700 helmet is going to be heads and tails better than a $70 helmet but I would recommend you spend a little more money on what you’re gonna put your head in.

I’m not of the mentality that you have to ride in a Snell rated helmet 24/7 but I would recommend you spend as much as you can on what is going to eventually save your brain when you come off your bike while riding.

but guys, at the end of the day what you ride in is your decision, these are just my opinions.

I appreciate you reading this article, hopefully, you found it interesting and it helped you out.

Can You Wear A Motorcycle Helmet With Glasses

Wearing glasses with a motorcycle helmet can be uncomfortable but there are helmets that can help

I’ve been wearing glasses with my motorcycle helmet for a very long time. I have contacts but let’s be serious after a while contacts get uncomfortable. Here’s the problem, glasses suck when you are wearing a motorcycle helmet. But they needn’t, and here’s why.

Wearing my glasses with my motorcycle helmets can be really uncomfortable, I would say they are most of the time but there’s really only a couple of times I find it difficult for me to wear glasses.

The first is if you’re trying to fit your head in a helmet that’s too narrow. So, if you really love that beautiful bell race star helmet but you have a very rounded shaped head, then, of course, you’re sizing up to fit the width of your head but then it’s still very very tight and then it’s too long.

If your helmet is too narrow then that’s going to make wearing your glasses very challenging, the other times are, and I would hate to say this but usually, in the lower price point helmets the liners aren’t as soft and aren’t as forgiving to allow you to slide your frames in without any friction.

Most of the time when you’re hitting the $350-400 helmet price point the liners are really soft, they are really smooth and there’s usually plenty of room for you to slide your eyeglasses in.

The other time it can be an issue is when your glasses don’t have a standard plastic frame, mine is very light and very thin which is why I love them.

If you wear Oakley’s and I know a lot of their sports glasses have little silicone tips on the end so that they grip the side of your head better which makes absolute sense, especially if you’re really active in other sports and you’re wearing these glasses where you need that grip.

The other times I’ve seen it is when a few people wear really old-style wiry framed glasses. With these glasses, you literally curl the frames around the back of your ears and they’re really thin and super light but they’re too bendy.

They’re so bendy you can’t slide them in because the frame isn’t stiff enough to actually push them into your helmet.

How To Wear Motorcycle Helmet With Glasses

My glasses are just a nice standard plastic frame and when I put them in I start by pushing the arms toward the top of my ears and then inside my helmet. I can actually shimmy them down a little bit once the arms are over the top of my ears.

For those of you who are buying new helmets keep in mind that you may either need to change your cheek pad or you may need to wait until you break that helmet in before you can actually wear your glasses.

If your frames are really fashion frames and they’re just a little too thick then hopefully you can change the liner, the top liner or the end of the cheek pads to accommodate your glasses.

If you do spend a little more money on your helmet you will find yourself being able to wear glasses in a little bit nicer helmet. The liners will just be far more forgiving and smooth and soft.

If you are purchasing a helmet because you need to wear glasses the question is which is the best motorcycle helmet for glasses wearers?

Best Motorcycle Helmet For Glasses Wearers

Best Motorcycle Helmet For Glasses Wearers

There are lots of different types of helmets you can use with your glasses. There are open-face touring, ADV, sport, racing and modular. The first one we will look at is the scorpion Belfast open face helmet.

Scorpion Belfast Open Face Helmet

The Scorpion Belfast available from Amazon is my retro cruiser of choice because there’s something it doesn’t have. There’s lots of padding on your cheeks but scorpion didn’t stuff foam into the top of the cheek pads and that’s brilliant.

Obviously it leaves room for the temples of my glasses so they can sit on my face without any pressure points. What’s special about this design is that I can actually adjust how my glasses sit.

So many helmets carve eyeglass channels into the liner which is only good if you want your glasses to sit at the precise angle of the channel. But with the Belfast, I have a hollow patch rather than a hollow line so my glasses are comfortable in almost any position.

I will say that it’s still a squeeze to put the glasses on and off inside this helmet just because of the way 3/4 lids are designed. they tend to squeeze a little bit more on the sides.

What else should you know about the Scorpion Belfast?

The main thing about this helmet is hand craftsmanship. The fiberglass shell is hand made and the napa leather is hand-stitched it’s a lovely place to stick your head as long as you don’t mind paying 250 dollars to do so.

Unfortunately, the weather liner cannot be removed for washing and the rear goggle straps are far too low but at least you get a drop-down Sun Visor, that’s kind of rare on open-faced lids.

Pro: Easy fits lining – Drop Down Sun Visor
Cons: Can’t remove weather liner

Note: The Scorpion Belfast runs a full size small. If the size chart suggests a size LG, order an XL instead.

Features:

• The fiberglass shell is individually hand laid to ensure it meets the top industry standards
• Retractable and interchangeable internal SpeedView sun visor
• Nappa leather accents
• Kwikfit cheek pads allow easy on and off of the most common styles of eyeglasses and eliminate temple pressure found on most helmets
• Plush hand-stitched liner
• 3 shell sizes
• DOT approved
• 5-year warranty

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Scorpion EXO-T510 Touring Helmet

My second choice is the Scorpion EXO-T510 available from amazon. In my opinion, it is the best touring helmet for wearing glasses, that’s because it has something called a quick fit and air fit.

Quick fit is scorpions super fun word for a standard eyeglass channel. There’s nothing special going on here and as I already mentioned, it’s kind of annoying that it forces your frames to a certain angle, but air fit is special.

A lot of visually challenged riders will choose a helmet that’s too wide for them because it makes it easier to take their glasses on and off. Of course, the downside of that is that having a helmet that’s a little bit too loose on the sides so is bad for safety.

With air fit, you can have the best of both worlds. In the resting position, the EXO-T510 is loose enough to slip glasses in and out but then it’s also designed to be pumped which inflates a bladder behind the cheek pads and that snugs the helmet in on each side.

When you want to take the glasses off you just deflate the bladder and you regain your wiggle room.

The pros and cons are easy.

The EXO-T510 is way too loud for a touring helmet, that’s a con. But then it does have emergency quick-release cheek pads and a visor lock. Scorpion always seems to remember those little safety features, that’s a pro in every other way.

The EXO-T510 is just some helmet, it is 1640 grams and for this size medium neither light nor heavy considering the shell as a polycarbonate. It has a drop-down Sun Visor, it vents okay, it comes through the air, okay and the 270 dollar price tag is okay.

I used this lid for the can-am Spyder review last year and it left no impression whatsoever, it’s just some helmet. Unless you have eyeglasses, in which case the EXO-T510 and it’s air fit system, is brilliant.

Features

• Premium polycarbonate shell is engineered to minimize weight and disperse impact
• EverClear No-Fog face shield optically-clear with anti-scratch hardened coating and 100% UV protection
• SpeedView SunVisor with 3 positions setting also features EverClear anti-fog coating on all surfaces
• AirFit Liner Inflation System inflatable cheek pad system for a superior personalized fit.
• KwikWick II Liner Fabric anti-microbial fabric keeps you cool and dry in warm weather, warm in cool weather and easily removable and washable KwikFit cheek pads allow easy on and off of the most common styles of eyeglasses
• Emergency Release System tabs located on the neck roll allow easy removal of the cheek pads by trained emergency medical personnel
• Ellip-Tec Ratchet System is the easy, Secure, tool-less face shield that changes in seconds and also pulls the shield back against the eye port gasket during closing to ensure a proper seal
• Aero-Tuned Ventilation with four intake ports across the front of helmet force cool air in while one MEGA exhaust vents maximize movement of hot air out
• Face Shield Lock/Vent System securely locks the shield in place or turn down the lever to allow light airflow into the helmet
• 3 shell sizes
• DOt Approved
• 5-year warranty

---

Arai XD-4 Adventure Helmet

The best AVG helmet for wearing glasses is the Arai XD-4 (available from amazon), in fact, this is the best eyeglass helmet in my entire article. The padding falls away above each ear-opening into an expansive free space.

This is the only helmet I have worn that does not inhibit glasses. They go on without pressure points they, stay on without pressure points and there are oodles of room to adjust without pressure points.

It’s hard to show but easy to describe. Wearing glasses in the Arai XD-4, It’s like wearing glasses with no helmet at all.

The other thing is that Arais padding has 5 millimeters of peel away foam, so even if you don’t get a perfect fit for your glasses off the factory line you can just make like the card and make it so.

The Arai XD-4 might be the best for the IED helmet in the world but it is also one of my favorite adventure lids.

The XD-4 is a true 50/50 helmet. It’s reasonably light, 1,650 grams for a size medium and breezy with rear visor vents and four-way chimneys.

The XD-4 is an airy helmet to float around the trail but it’s also brilliant on the pavement. It has better soundproofing than almost anything in its class and idiot-proof aerodynamics.

I mean no matter what Toula system you have, ratchets, thumb screws, whatever nothing is going to be easier than the smoosh down pull up Sun peak.

On the XD-4 idiot-proof safety is a whole other discussion for a whole other article, in short, though the XD-4’s external parts, the Sun peak the vent cowls they’re all designed to snap off in case of a crash rather than transferring torque to your neck.

The helmet also passed snow and it has emergency quick-release cheek pads so yeah, it’s safer than almost any other ADV lid.

Two things I don’t like about the XD-4.

The I port is too small for large frame goggles and I can’t afford one at $700. When it comes to wearing goggles under a supersport helmet I got screwed, that’s because the most comfortable option is also the most expensive.

Features

• Comfort headliner, with micro fitting 5mm, peel away temple pads
  Fully removable/replaceable/washable Interior: Comfort headliner, Cheek pads, Chinstrap covers
• Dry-Cool technology keeps you dry and cool for greater comfort
• FCS (Facial Contour Support) cheek pad design with a 5mm peel away layer Improved shell shape for better aerodynamic stability at higher street speeds
• Exhaust ports added to the top diffuser vents
• Chin vent with more intake ports
• Larger sculpted side cowl vents improve ventilation
• Snell M2015 approved

---

Arai Corsair-X Race Helmet

The Arai Corsair-X available from Motorcycle House.com costs a thousand dollars, so nobody wants to buy one. It’s too bad really because the thing is remarkable, it looks small and slippery from the outside but once you get your head in here it feels hugely spacious and precise, it’s like an optical illusion.

Just like the XD-4, that means your glasses can slide and stay in without any pressure points. It also has that five-millimeter peel away from foam customizable padding, if you need to make even more room.

Plus the visor lock can double as a leaver, opening the shield the cracks or your glasses don’t fog. That’s a good thing too because otherwise, this chin curtain locks in way too much humidity.

Arise big thing is glancing blows which I already touched on a bit and these cowls are designed to snap off. These side pods are sunk flush with the shell, even the visor was designed with a sliding pivot point. and that just allows the hinge to sit lower so more of the upper shell can be perfectly round.

The result is one of the safest snell helmets out there and like I said easily the best racing helmet for wearing eyeglasses.

I love the Corsair-X, and there’s no way in hell I can afford one. So I threw on my glasses and scoured the shelves for a cheaper alternative. I tried every Bell star.

I tried the ARF-10 and 11. I tried HJC’s and LS 2s and Schubert’s and scorpions and what was the second-best option I found? the 650 dollars Shoei RF-1200.

Features

• VAS (Variable Axis System) shield and side pods are exclusive to the Arai Corsair X Helmet
• Dual function lever releases both the side pod and the face shield for quick and simple face shield removal
• VAS shield latch system captures and holds the face shield closed and provides a de-mist position to slightly crack the shield open
• VAS MAX Vision face shield provides excellent visibility in all seasons thanks to the included Pinlock insert
• Neckroll is removable and has additional exhaust channels to remove interior heat
• Cheek pads have the Emergency Release Tab feature
• IC Duct5 forehead vent provides 11% more airflow than the Corsair V, features 3 positions and is overall large and easy to operate with gloves
• PB SNC2 Shell has superb tensile strength due to a variety of carefully-positioned materials and lightweight resin
• Arai’s R75 shell shape creates a rounder, smoother helmet to enhance energy and impact dispersion
• Includes clear Pinlock insert
• Snell 2015 and DOT approved

---

Shoei RF-1200

So the Shoei RF-1200 available from Motorcycle House.com ain’t exactly cheap but it is roomy and comfy to wear with glasses. I will say that the on/off maneuver is just a little bit finicky in here, the sport helmets are made to fit snug so I guess that’s hardly surprising.

Odds are you’ve already heard the deets on this helmet, every one of their grandmothers has one. It’s one thousand five hundred and seventy-five grams for a size medium which is actually 25 less than the Arai course Rx thanks to a clever weave of organic and glass fibers.

Now, this helmet passed Snell ratings and it has this height rimmed racers cut, which poses less risk of breaking your clavicle. It also frees up neck movement to go into that full tuck position or to shoulder check on the losers behind you.

The last big benefit of the Shoei RF-1200 is quietness. Shoei threw in more soundproofing and a tighter visor spring since the last iteration, and so this helmet locks out road noise better than most.

It also ventilates worse than most, especially at close speeds and that is the definition of karma.

Features

• Four shell sizes
• Dual-density EPS liner
• Superior ventilation
• 3D Max-Dry System II Liner
• E.Q.R.S. (Emergency Quick-Release System) CWR-1 Shield System
• Neatly secures chin strap
• Includes Pinlock pins and lens insert
• Includes breath guard and chin curtain
• Snell M2015 and DOT Certified

---

HJC RPHA-Max Modular Helmet

Finally, the best modular helmet to wear with glasses is the HJC RPHA-Max and is available from amazon.com.

To be honest most modular helmets are pretty easy to wear with glasses. They don’t wrap the face as tight as a standard helmet, and they flip up, so it’s really easy to put your glasses on and off in the open position.

The HJC RPHA-Max has an extra advantage, partially because it’s roomy in the temples with eyeglass channels that are deeper than average, and partially because of the RPHA-Max vents so well. So fogging on your glasses is rarely an issue.

I was secretly hoping the RPHA-Max would prove most comfortable to wear with glasses because it’s such an easy helmet to recommend. The carbon aramid and fiberglass shell bring the way down to 1580 grams, which is wetter than pretty much everything in its class.

It just feels nice., it feels premium, it feels more expensive than the five hundred and fifty dollar price tag.

This wouldn’t be a review without some negative feedback, so here we go.

The Sun Visor is shit. For one it’s nowhere near dark enough, for two you have to press the button and the lever at the same time to reach that third in the lowest position which is only really easy if you’re using both hands, and then whoa, what the hell am I piloting the motorcycle with.

The third problem is HJC uses such a wimpy spring that it barely retracts fully when it’s new, let alone two years down the road.

Features

• One-Touch integrated three-position adjustable smoke tinted sun shield; optional tinted sun shields available
• Superior fog resistant clear Pinlock max vision shield comes complete with a clear Pinlock insert; extremely quiet helmet at even high speeds
• Superior fog resistant clear Pinlock max vision shield comes complete with a clear Pinlock insert; RapidFire ii shield replacement system: simple and secure shield ratchet system provides ultra-quick, tool-less removal and installation
• 2-Stage shield closure mechanism; compresses shield into eye port gasket providing an extremely secure seal; ACS advanced channeling ventilation system; full front to back airflow flushes heat and humidity up and out
• Cool4Ever interior; lightweight, moisture-wicking, odor-free and antibacterial, premium soft feel with ginkgo extract; innovative new fabric offers self-cooling properties, cooling faster than other major fabrics

That’s it for the best eyeglass motorcycle helmets, thanks for reading and safe riding.

Can You Wear A Motorcycle Helmet With Glasses

Wearing glasses with a motorcycle helmet can be uncomfortable but there are helmets that can help

I’ve been wearing glasses with my motorcycle helmet for a very long time. I have contacts but let’s be serious after a while contacts get uncomfortable. Here’s the problem, glasses suck when you are wearing a motorcycle helmet. But they needn’t, and here’s why.

Wearing my glasses with my motorcycle helmets can be really uncomfortable, I would say they are most of the time but there’s really only a couple of times I find it difficult for me to wear glasses.

The first is if you’re trying to fit your head in a helmet that’s too narrow. So, if you really love that beautiful bell race star helmet but you have a very rounded shaped head, then, of course, you’re sizing up to fit the width of your head but then it’s still very very tight and then it’s too long.

If your helmet is too narrow then that’s going to make wearing your glasses very challenging, the other times are, and I would hate to say this but usually, in the lower price point helmets the liners aren’t as soft and aren’t as forgiving to allow you to slide your frames in without any friction.

Most of the time when you’re hitting the $350-400 helmet price point the liners are really soft, they are really smooth and there’s usually plenty of room for you to slide your eyeglasses in.

The other time it can be an issue is when your glasses don’t have a standard plastic frame, mine is very light and very thin which is why I love them.

If you wear Oakley’s and I know a lot of their sports glasses have little silicone tips on the end so that they grip the side of your head better which makes absolute sense, especially if you’re really active in other sports and you’re wearing these glasses where you need that grip.

The other times I’ve seen it is when a few people wear really old-style wiry framed glasses. With these glasses, you literally curl the frames around the back of your ears and they’re really thin and super light but they’re too bendy.

They’re so bendy you can’t slide them in because the frame isn’t stiff enough to actually push them into your helmet.

How To Wear Motorcycle Helmet With Glasses

My glasses are just a nice standard plastic frame and when I put them in I start by pushing the arms toward the top of my ears and then inside my helmet. I can actually shimmy them down a little bit once the arms are over the top of my ears.

For those of you who are buying new helmets keep in mind that you may either need to change your cheek pad or you may need to wait until you break that helmet in before you can actually wear your glasses.

If your frames are really fashion frames and they’re just a little too thick then hopefully you can change the liner, the top liner or the end of the cheek pads to accommodate your glasses.

If you do spend a little more money on your helmet you will find yourself being able to wear glasses in a little bit nicer helmet. The liners will just be far more forgiving and smooth and soft.

If you are purchasing a helmet because you need to wear glasses the question is which is the best motorcycle helmet for glasses wearers?

Best Motorcycle Helmet For Glasses Wearers

Best Motorcycle Helmet For Glasses Wearers

There are lots of different types of helmets you can use with your glasses. There are open-face touring, ADV, sport, racing and modular. The first one we will look at is the scorpion Belfast open face helmet.

Scorpion Belfast Open Face Helmet

The Scorpion Belfast available from Amazon is my retro cruiser of choice because there’s something it doesn’t have. There’s lots of padding on your cheeks but scorpion didn’t stuff foam into the top of the cheek pads and that’s brilliant.

Obviously it leaves room for the temples of my glasses so they can sit on my face without any pressure points. What’s special about this design is that I can actually adjust how my glasses sit.

So many helmets carve eyeglass channels into the liner which is only good if you want your glasses to sit at the precise angle of the channel. But with the Belfast, I have a hollow patch rather than a hollow line so my glasses are comfortable in almost any position.

I will say that it’s still a squeeze to put the glasses on and off inside this helmet just because of the way 3/4 lids are designed. they tend to squeeze a little bit more on the sides.

What else should you know about the Scorpion Belfast?

The main thing about this helmet is hand craftsmanship. The fiberglass shell is hand made and the napa leather is hand-stitched it’s a lovely place to stick your head as long as you don’t mind paying 250 dollars to do so.

Unfortunately, the weather liner cannot be removed for washing and the rear goggle straps are far too low but at least you get a drop-down Sun Visor, that’s kind of rare on open-faced lids.

Pro: Easy fits lining – Drop Down Sun Visor
Cons: Can’t remove weather liner

Note: The Scorpion Belfast runs a full size small. If the size chart suggests a size LG, order an XL instead.

Features:

• The fiberglass shell is individually hand laid to ensure it meets the top industry standards
• Retractable and interchangeable internal SpeedView sun visor
• Nappa leather accents
• Kwikfit cheek pads allow easy on and off of the most common styles of eyeglasses and eliminate temple pressure found on most helmets
• Plush hand-stitched liner
• 3 shell sizes
• DOT approved
• 5-year warranty

---

Scorpion EXO-T510 Touring Helmet

My second choice is the Scorpion EXO-T510 available from amazon. In my opinion, it is the best touring helmet for wearing glasses, that’s because it has something called a quick fit and air fit.

Quick fit is scorpions super fun word for a standard eyeglass channel. There’s nothing special going on here and as I already mentioned, it’s kind of annoying that it forces your frames to a certain angle, but air fit is special.

A lot of visually challenged riders will choose a helmet that’s too wide for them because it makes it easier to take their glasses on and off. Of course, the downside of that is that having a helmet that’s a little bit too loose on the sides so is bad for safety.

With air fit, you can have the best of both worlds. In the resting position, the EXO-T510 is loose enough to slip glasses in and out but then it’s also designed to be pumped which inflates a bladder behind the cheek pads and that snugs the helmet in on each side.

When you want to take the glasses off you just deflate the bladder and you regain your wiggle room.

The pros and cons are easy.

The EXO-T510 is way too loud for a touring helmet, that’s a con. But then it does have emergency quick-release cheek pads and a visor lock. Scorpion always seems to remember those little safety features, that’s a pro in every other way.

The EXO-T510 is just some helmet, it is 1640 grams and for this size medium neither light nor heavy considering the shell as a polycarbonate. It has a drop-down Sun Visor, it vents okay, it comes through the air, okay and the 270 dollar price tag is okay.

I used this lid for the can-am Spyder review last year and it left no impression whatsoever, it’s just some helmet. Unless you have eyeglasses, in which case the EXO-T510 and it’s air fit system, is brilliant.

Features

• Premium polycarbonate shell is engineered to minimize weight and disperse impact
• EverClear No-Fog face shield optically-clear with anti-scratch hardened coating and 100% UV protection
• SpeedView SunVisor with 3 positions setting also features EverClear anti-fog coating on all surfaces
• AirFit Liner Inflation System inflatable cheek pad system for a superior personalized fit.
• KwikWick II Liner Fabric anti-microbial fabric keeps you cool and dry in warm weather, warm in cool weather and easily removable and washable KwikFit cheek pads allow easy on and off of the most common styles of eyeglasses
• Emergency Release System tabs located on the neck roll allow easy removal of the cheek pads by trained emergency medical personnel
• Ellip-Tec Ratchet System is the easy, Secure, tool-less face shield that changes in seconds and also pulls the shield back against the eye port gasket during closing to ensure a proper seal
• Aero-Tuned Ventilation with four intake ports across the front of helmet force cool air in while one MEGA exhaust vents maximize movement of hot air out
• Face Shield Lock/Vent System securely locks the shield in place or turn down the lever to allow light airflow into the helmet
• 3 shell sizes
• DOt Approved
• 5-year warranty

---

Arai XD-4 Adventure Helmet

The best AVG helmet for wearing glasses is the Arai XD-4 (available from amazon), in fact, this is the best eyeglass helmet in my entire article. The padding falls away above each ear-opening into an expansive free space.

This is the only helmet I have worn that does not inhibit glasses. They go on without pressure points they, stay on without pressure points and there are oodles of room to adjust without pressure points.

It’s hard to show but easy to describe. Wearing glasses in the Arai XD-4, It’s like wearing glasses with no helmet at all.

The other thing is that Arais padding has 5 millimeters of peel away foam, so even if you don’t get a perfect fit for your glasses off the factory line you can just make like the card and make it so.

The Arai XD-4 might be the best for the IED helmet in the world but it is also one of my favorite adventure lids.

The XD-4 is a true 50/50 helmet. It’s reasonably light, 1,650 grams for a size medium and breezy with rear visor vents and four-way chimneys.

The XD-4 is an airy helmet to float around the trail but it’s also brilliant on the pavement. It has better soundproofing than almost anything in its class and idiot-proof aerodynamics.

I mean no matter what Toula system you have, ratchets, thumb screws, whatever nothing is going to be easier than the smoosh down pull up Sun peak.

On the XD-4 idiot-proof safety is a whole other discussion for a whole other article, in short, though the XD-4’s external parts, the Sun peak the vent cowls they’re all designed to snap off in case of a crash rather than transferring torque to your neck.

The helmet also passed snow and it has emergency quick-release cheek pads so yeah, it’s safer than almost any other ADV lid.

Two things I don’t like about the XD-4.

The I port is too small for large frame goggles and I can’t afford one at $700. When it comes to wearing goggles under a supersport helmet I got screwed, that’s because the most comfortable option is also the most expensive.

Features

• Comfort headliner, with micro fitting 5mm, peel away temple pads
  Fully removable/replaceable/washable Interior: Comfort headliner, Cheek pads, Chinstrap covers
• Dry-Cool technology keeps you dry and cool for greater comfort
• FCS (Facial Contour Support) cheek pad design with a 5mm peel away layer Improved shell shape for better aerodynamic stability at higher street speeds
• Exhaust ports added to the top diffuser vents
• Chin vent with more intake ports
• Larger sculpted side cowl vents improve ventilation
• Snell M2015 approved

---

Arai Corsair-X Race Helmet

The Arai Corsair-X available from Motorcycle House.com costs a thousand dollars, so nobody wants to buy one. It’s too bad really because the thing is remarkable, it looks small and slippery from the outside but once you get your head in here it feels hugely spacious and precise, it’s like an optical illusion.

Just like the XD-4, that means your glasses can slide and stay in without any pressure points. It also has that five-millimeter peel away from foam customizable padding, if you need to make even more room.

Plus the visor lock can double as a leaver, opening the shield the cracks or your glasses don’t fog. That’s a good thing too because otherwise, this chin curtain locks in way too much humidity.

Arise big thing is glancing blows which I already touched on a bit and these cowls are designed to snap off. These side pods are sunk flush with the shell, even the visor was designed with a sliding pivot point. and that just allows the hinge to sit lower so more of the upper shell can be perfectly round.

The result is one of the safest snell helmets out there and like I said easily the best racing helmet for wearing eyeglasses.

I love the Corsair-X, and there’s no way in hell I can afford one. So I threw on my glasses and scoured the shelves for a cheaper alternative. I tried every Bell star.

I tried the ARF-10 and 11. I tried HJC’s and LS 2s and Schubert’s and scorpions and what was the second-best option I found? the 650 dollars Shoei RF-1200.

Features

• VAS (Variable Axis System) shield and side pods are exclusive to the Arai Corsair X Helmet
• Dual function lever releases both the side pod and the face shield for quick and simple face shield removal
• VAS shield latch system captures and holds the face shield closed and provides a de-mist position to slightly crack the shield open
• VAS MAX Vision face shield provides excellent visibility in all seasons thanks to the included Pinlock insert
• Neckroll is removable and has additional exhaust channels to remove interior heat
• Cheek pads have the Emergency Release Tab feature
• IC Duct5 forehead vent provides 11% more airflow than the Corsair V, features 3 positions and is overall large and easy to operate with gloves
• PB SNC2 Shell has superb tensile strength due to a variety of carefully-positioned materials and lightweight resin
• Arai’s R75 shell shape creates a rounder, smoother helmet to enhance energy and impact dispersion
• Includes clear Pinlock insert
• Snell 2015 and DOT approved

---

Shoei RF-1200

So the Shoei RF-1200 available from Motorcycle House.com ain’t exactly cheap but it is roomy and comfy to wear with glasses. I will say that the on/off maneuver is just a little bit finicky in here, the sport helmets are made to fit snug so I guess that’s hardly surprising.

Odds are you’ve already heard the deets on this helmet, every one of their grandmothers has one. It’s one thousand five hundred and seventy-five grams for a size medium which is actually 25 less than the Arai course Rx thanks to a clever weave of organic and glass fibers.

Now, this helmet passed Snell ratings and it has this height rimmed racers cut, which poses less risk of breaking your clavicle. It also frees up neck movement to go into that full tuck position or to shoulder check on the losers behind you.

The last big benefit of the Shoei RF-1200 is quietness. Shoei threw in more soundproofing and a tighter visor spring since the last iteration, and so this helmet locks out road noise better than most.

It also ventilates worse than most, especially at close speeds and that is the definition of karma.

Features

• Four shell sizes
• Dual-density EPS liner
• Superior ventilation
• 3D Max-Dry System II Liner
• E.Q.R.S. (Emergency Quick-Release System) CWR-1 Shield System
• Neatly secures chin strap
• Includes Pinlock pins and lens insert
• Includes breath guard and chin curtain
• Snell M2015 and DOT Certified

---

HJC RPHA-Max Modular Helmet

Finally, the best modular helmet to wear with glasses is the HJC RPHA-Max and is available from amazon.com.

To be honest most modular helmets are pretty easy to wear with glasses. They don’t wrap the face as tight as a standard helmet, and they flip up, so it’s really easy to put your glasses on and off in the open position.

The HJC RPHA-Max has an extra advantage, partially because it’s roomy in the temples with eyeglass channels that are deeper than average, and partially because of the RPHA-Max vents so well. So fogging on your glasses is rarely an issue.

I was secretly hoping the RPHA-Max would prove most comfortable to wear with glasses because it’s such an easy helmet to recommend. The carbon aramid and fiberglass shell bring the way down to 1580 grams, which is wetter than pretty much everything in its class.

It just feels nice., it feels premium, it feels more expensive than the five hundred and fifty dollar price tag.

This wouldn’t be a review without some negative feedback, so here we go.

The Sun Visor is shit. For one it’s nowhere near dark enough, for two you have to press the button and the lever at the same time to reach that third in the lowest position which is only really easy if you’re using both hands, and then whoa, what the hell am I piloting the motorcycle with.

The third problem is HJC uses such a wimpy spring that it barely retracts fully when it’s new, let alone two years down the road.

Features

• One-Touch integrated three-position adjustable smoke tinted sun shield; optional tinted sun shields available
• Superior fog resistant clear Pinlock max vision shield comes complete with a clear Pinlock insert; extremely quiet helmet at even high speeds
• Superior fog resistant clear Pinlock max vision shield comes complete with a clear Pinlock insert; RapidFire ii shield replacement system: simple and secure shield ratchet system provides ultra-quick, tool-less removal and installation
• 2-Stage shield closure mechanism; compresses shield into eye port gasket providing an extremely secure seal; ACS advanced channeling ventilation system; full front to back airflow flushes heat and humidity up and out
• Cool4Ever interior; lightweight, moisture-wicking, odor-free and antibacterial, premium soft feel with ginkgo extract; innovative new fabric offers self-cooling properties, cooling faster than other major fabrics

That’s it for the best eyeglass motorcycle helmets, thanks for reading and safe riding.