Looking for the best full-face motorcycle helmet? Check out our detailed video review of what we consider to be the top seven full-face motorcycle helmets available today.
The first motorcycle helmet we are going to look at is the Belle Starr MIPS at DLX helmet.
This helmet is equipped with a pano vision face shield and has advanced impact technology, it is a great option for those daily riders or those looking to push the limits at the local track.
How This Helmet Can Benefit Your Ride
This helmet is coming in around that $500 price point, and it’s the latest iteration within the Belle Starr family. This helmet has a pano vision face shield, which means it transitions from clear to dark smoke.
It’s like having two shields in one. You also get the MIPS technology that’s designed for additional impact protection, I’m going to touch on those features a little later.
The first thing I want to touch on is the construction of the helmet. This helmet has a tri matrix shell, it consists of aramid fiberglass as well as carbon fiber and is very strong keeping the helmet nice and lightweight at 3 pounds 11 ounces in a size medium.
It’s DOT certified and you also get that Snell certification as well, so if you want to take this helmet to your local track it is certified for that too.
How The Helmet Fits
This helmet is available in sizes extra small to two XL comes in a few different graphic options as well as a few solids. For reference, my head measures at 22 and a half inches around the circumference and I typically wear a size medium across the board.
The medium fits me true to size but I did want to notate that it’s more of a race fit, it’s a bit more aggressive so it’s going to feel more snug in the cheeks as well as the forehead. That’s something that’s going to relax it’s going to break in with regular use.
The internal shape is more of an intermediate oval, it’s a bit more elongated front to back then it is side to side. You’re going to see it looks a bit more rounded, or a bit longer I should say with the neck curtain but that’s designed to help cut down on some of that wind noise.
Additional Features
Starting at the front of the helmet there is an active chin vent, an active vent above the brow as well as the top of the helmet. As you swing around to the back of the helmet there is an active vent, that’s an active exhaust vent and this combination allows airflow to be pulled through the helmet, through the EPS to keep you nice and comfortable when you’re out there riding.
You will find some exhaust vents towards the back of the spoiler but this also adds some additional centrifugal force to the helmet when you’re riding with some serious speed. When you look at the helmet you can see it is definitely more of race-oriented aggressive shell design.
Speaking of the shell, it actually has six unique shell sizes and six unique EPS liner. What that means for the riders is that it’s a more exact fit within each size within that size range, that extra small to two XL, and not a lot of manufacturers are actually doing that so it’s nice to see that within the bell star family.
Panavision Face Sheild
At the front of the helmet, there is the Panavision facial, it transitions from a clear shield to a dark smoke automatically depending on the number of UV rays that are emitted onto the shield. This is a great benefit because it eliminates the need to carry around an additional shield.
In addition to the transitions technology, this face shield has better optics and it also has a greater field of vision so it actually allows you to see your surroundings much better.
That’s great when you’re checking your head at the track or if you’re riding out on the street, it allows you to see your surroundings more easily so you don’t have to turn your head as far.
Helmet Interior
The interior has a fully removable liner which is an ecstatic liner and is antibacterial and antimicrobial as well so you can take this out. You can wash it, throw it back in the helmet and it will keep everything nice and fresh inside your helmet.
The chin skirt is removable which helps cut down some wind noise and then you also have a fully removable breath guard. On both the left and the right-hand side of the interior there is a recessed area for speakers.
There’s a bit of foam padding you can take out so you can throw in a speaker or add a Bluetooth communication device if you want to do.
That’s a really great benefit to this helmet, it is a more race-inspired helmet, race-inspired design but it does have those creature comforts for that daily commuting.
MIPS Technology
The last thing I wanted to touch on was the MIPS technology as that’s one of the most important pieces of this helmet. MIPS actually stands for a multi-directional impact protection system, this is a great benefit from a safety perspective.
If you were to strip out the interior which is easy to do you will see a yellow section, this is the MIPS technology. What this does is it allows some movement of your head within the helmet.
It was designed for dirt bikes, there’s a lot of different terrains out there, and if your head collides with the ground, it tends to grab, which causes head and neck injuries.
With the MIPS technology, it allows your head to stay stationary and the helmets to rotate which helps prevent neck head and brain injuries.
There are professional riders using it and it’s nice to see this technology trickling down to the everyday rider.
It’s something that every rider out there can truly benefit from whether you’re riding at the track or you’re riding on the street.
It’s something that’s going to help keep you safe and it really separates this helmet from a lot of the competition out there.
Stocked And Loaded
There you have it, a race-inspired helmet from Bell with pano visions face shield as well as excellent impact technology.
2. HJC i70 Full Face Helmet
Table of Contents
2. HJC i70 Full Face Helmet
3. Shoei GT-Air 2 Full Face Helmet
4. AGV K1 Full Face Helmet
5. LS2 Challenger GT Full Face Helmet
6. AGV AX9 Full Face Helmet
In Conclusion
7. Caberg Drift Evo Full Face Helmet
The i-70 is like the small sibling of the HJC R70 ST and I’ll explain that in more detail a little bit later on. First of all, let’s look at the price because that is a major factor with this helmet.
It is an entry-level like I said, so it’s only going to cost around the $200 US dollars mark at the recommended retail price for a single basic color.
Helmet Versatility
Because this helmet is so cheap you can do a bunch of different things with it. You can go touring with it, you can go commuting with this helmet, a little bit of sports bike riding or perhaps a little bit of racing depending on what you want to do.
You can even wear this on a scooter if you want because it has that lower price, the downside is that it’s not going to have as much safety and comfort for racing as a purpose-built racing helmet or a purpose-built sports bike helmet but overall it does give you a lot of versatility.
Helmet Aerodynamics
There are two things that we should really consider and the first one is the aerodynamics and the shape of the shell. HJC claims they have designed the i-70 in a wind tunnel and what that means it is better in terms of aerodynamics, noise isolation, ventilation, and comfort.
There is some evidence of that when you look at the chin of the helmet. On the chin there are some lines that will help to bring air away from the visor, that’s great for noise isolation. On top of the helmet, there is a peak and that helps with stability.
At the back of the helmet, there are a couple of spoilers that help to direct the airflow better which helps with stability. It is quite comfortable in an upright sitting position as well in a tuck position.
Helmet Composition
The shell is made out of an advanced polycarbonate composite material and as we all know polycarbonate is plastic. Plastic and polycarbonate are slightly different, especially with this helmet.
It’s not a cheap throwaway helmet as it is made out of hardened plastic material, and plastic is quite a good material for helmets.
You’re not going to get anything in this price range that’s going to be made of fiberglass let alone carbon fiber but it still provides very good helmet safety overall.
Helmet Sizes
There are a few other plastic components on this helmet like the plastic ring that goes along the bottom part of the helmet. Another cost-cutting method they have used is to only produce two shell sizes, which means someone on the further edge of size is going to have a potential issue with looking and feeling bulky.
For a lot of people that won’t be an issue though and in terms of your actual head size they have everything from XS to double XL so there’s a wide variety of different head sizes and you should be able to get a fit that suits you.
Helmet Visor
The visor of the i-70 gives you a nice wide field of view and that we can open it using this little button where the visor meets the chin at the front of the helmet.
A definitely positive aspect of the visor is it is Anti Fog lens prepared, what’s even better is HJC has given us a free Anti Fog lens and on a helmet of two hundred US dollars of the recommended retail price that is a very nice feature.
If you open up the helmet visor you will see there is an internal Sun Visor, the controls for the sun visor are via a slider on the side, it’s a little bit sticky at times but overall it’s fairly decent and it’s quite easy to use. It’s also quite easy to find with your glove while riding.
Helmet Ventilation
The ventilation of the i-70 is quite good, especially for the price range. The HJC i-70 has five vents on the chin, they’re controlled via a little slider which is between the two larger vents on the chin. They are easy to use and require very little pressure and it’s quite easy to find with your gloves on.
It’s vented directly into the helmet via two vents to the left and right of the mouth area by the chins. The vents direct the air directly onto your visor which helps to defog it, combine that with your anti-fog lens and you have a great combination.
On the top of the helmet, there are two inlet scoops that are controlled by their own independent sliders, the air is drawn into the top of your head which in turn is drawn to the back and released via the exhaust points at the back of the helmet.
The ventilation is quite good, my biggest issue though is the sliders on the inlet vents on the top front of the helmet. That’s because there are two different sliders, I find it annoying to have to open and close two different vents, I would rather just have one that opens and closes both vents at the same time.
It’s a little bit annoying overall, a small thing and I guess this is also another way in which they can reduce the costs.
Helmet Interior
The interior is fully removable so you can wash it, it’s moisture-wicking and it’s antibacterial treated which is a nice feature which helps to keep them nice and fresh. I find thee interior parts are a little bit difficult to remove especially compared to some of the more luxury helmets around but overall it’s not too bad.
The is fabric on the chin straps so that will keep you nice and comfortable and there is a micro ratchet as well.
Once you have removed all the interior padding you will see there are some speaker cutouts on the sides so you can put in your own comm system.
Overall the lining for the helmet is quite decent with the i-70 and relatively comfortable and it’ll last you pretty well over time. The noise isolation is also ok, the visor seals in fine, the ventilation is decent and there and little features like the wind guard by the chin helps to reduce the noise.
Where Does It Fit Into The Range?
There are a lot of different full-face HJC helmets and the i-70 fits somewhere among all the rest. I’ve mentioned many times that this is an entry-level helmet and that is important. The i-70 is the little sibling of the HJC R70 ST which I mentioned previously and the after R70 IS is more of racing focused helmet.
It is a little bit more specialized, it’s got more complex material for the shell, a little bit better features and so it is a lot more focus whereas the i-70 is much less specialized. It is able to do pretty much everything and combined with its lower price that is a very strong feature of this helmet. That is a great feature of this helmet, it fits into so many different places and with its entry-level pricing, it can be used for a bunch of different roles.
In Conclusion
The HJC i-70 is an entry-level full-face helmet from HJC and at around two hundred US dollars it is packed full of different features. There is good ventilation, easy to remove and insert visor mechanism, the liner is antibacterially treated, it is moisture-wicking and they provide an anti-fog lens free of charge.
There is an internal Sun Visor so when you combine them all together it just shows the value of this helmet. It is a very versatile helmet, you can use this helmet if you’re riding a sports bike, a touring bike, a scooter and you know whatever you’re riding you can pretty much take this helmet for it except maybe for off-road which I would highly not recommend this helmet.
If you’re starting out and you just don’t know what kind of helmet you want to pick up and you don’t want to spend a lot of money on something really premium pick up this and you can get a great range of different features.
3. Shoei GT-Air 2 Full Face Helmet
The all-new Shoei GT-Air 2 retails from $599 to $699 depends on if you want solid or if you want to get a graphic helmet.
Who is this helmet right for?
This helmet includes a drop-down inner shield, it also allows for integration direct integration of the Cina SRL2 which is designed to fit this helmet and the Neotech 2 helmet.
If you’re a street rider, touring rider that wants the convenience of having an integrated communicator from of the most reputable brands out there and if you like the option of that drop-down inner screen this helmet is a great option for you.
This isn’t something we would look at for track riding this is a street and Touring focused helmet.
Helmet Standards
The Shoei GT-Air 2 helmet is DOT certified only, this does not have a Snell or an ECE certificate, DOT only helmets do have somewhat of a stigma if you’re into the safety standards. When I look at a company like Shoei who is a high-end company, a great reputation, long history the only DOT helmet that is going to pass that standard.
The DOT standard is actually quite good, the reason they haven’t submitted it for Snell is helmets with a drop-down inner screen typically do not do very well with that Snell standard so I believe this is a good safe helmet.
Helmet Weight
On our digital shipping scale this helmet came in at three point six five pounds in a size medium, given the construction the type of helmet I would say that weight is reasonable when you have it on it wears what I would view very balanced.
Helmet Sizing
I measure 58 centimeters on the money, my head shape is intermediate oval. This helmet that comes in a size medium fits me very well, there’s no pressure points, no hot spots and tons of comfort.
I would rate the shape of the helmet to be intermediate oval which is a little bit longer front to back than it is side to side. At this point coming into the US market, I feel that the majority of the helmets now have really landed on that intermediate oval shape as it fits most people here in the USA quite well. There are certainly exceptions to that but if it’s going to fit most people quite well
Part of the fit of a helmet is the on/off effort. Some people don’t like it when it takes a little bit to get the helmet over the ears and sometimes the ears will fold over depending on the fit of the helmet.
The on/off effort is good, it’s not bad, it’s not too difficult and it’s not too easy because remember, you want it to be hard enough that it seals up well around the neck which helps keep the helmet quiet.
The helmet includes a pretty robust chin curtain and when that is installed the on/off effort for me is a little harder because you feel it around the nose, when you take the chin curtain out the on/off effort becomes much much easier. The distance between the chin bar and your nose is also important, this is something that could be a sensitive point for some people.
For myself there are some helmets that’ll be a little close for me some that I’ll actually even touch, this helmet I would say a good fingers worth of room between the end of my nose and the chin bar of the helmet if that’s something that’s important to you.
Wearing Glasses
Putting glasses on definitely takes a little bit of effort and I would say overall it’s not bad except for I can’t get the glasses down on top of my ears, the helmet is holding them a little high so the glasses aren’t sitting naturally on my face.
For myself, I would say overall it’s not bad but if you’re sensitive to that as a glasses wearer and you want the sides of the glasses to be on top of your ears so they are
resting naturally on your face this may not be the best option for you.
Benefits of The Shoei GT-Air 2
The Shoei GT-Air 2 is shipped with the pin lock insert included, this is a clear shield that fits onto the helmet that provides fog-free technology that actually works.
For ventilation, there are intake vents on the top of the helmet that has two positions, either open or closed. On the chin bar, there is a similar set up with a vent that is either open or closed using just two positions.
Moving to the rear there is the exhaust vent in three positions which pulls cool air from the chin vent and the vent at the top of the helmet, it’ll move a good amount of air and is enough to be comfortable but when you add a drop-down screen into a helmet there is always a little bit of a trade-off when it comes to ventilation.
It’s nearly impossible to get this to ventilate on the same level that they can say an RF 1200 or an X-14 due to the fact that you do have that drop down inner screen that exists in between the outer shell of the helmet and the EPS.
The chin strap has a micro lock adjuster so instead of a D-rings, there is a quick-release mechanism that gives you plenty of adjustment.
It comes in three shell sizes throughout the ranges to try and keep the exterior size of the helmet as small as possible. Even with the medium, it is not a big bulbous helmet and in my opinion, it looks really sleek.
The helmet is shipped with a chin curtain, it is shipped with but not installed a breath deflector it also includes a little tool to help remove the drop-down enter screen.
The drop-down inner screen is a little longer, it drops down really nice so you don’t have that break in your vision, with that said we all have different shaped heads and we all have different preferences.
Shoei understood that so they built into this easy-to-use system that can change the height of the internal sun visor but installing tabs that you will find just on the inside of the helmet in front of where your ears would be. All you need to do to adjust the height is lift a little tab that it locks into place which then limits the travel of the internal visor.
The engineering is an area where Shoei really separates themselves, it’s the fine details with their helmets that you’re paying for. When you move the internal visor it is so buttery smooth then when you get to the very top it gets a little more difficult to pull and then it locks in place, it doesn’t rattle around when it’s open unlike some other helmets with internal visors and that is the Shoei quality, the Shoei engineering.
The main clear shield has a lock on it, you push down on the tab that is near the chin piece and it is locked into place. If you want a little extra ventilation inside the helmet and you want the shield open just a crack they’ve engineered that into the shield as well.
You just pull the shield open a little where you feel the first detent and it’s a really strong detent. It holds it firmly in the crack position and from there you can lift up and there are some other detents to work with.
It comes with a fully removable, washable, replaceable interior. I am not going to go into how to remove the interior here, I will leave that to the video but just to say its really easy once you have done it a few times.
What do I think of the helmet?
Once again Shoei builds a great product, the engineering of the Shoei and the final assembly is just great. It’s those little details where Shoei pulls away from the competition.
They just dial it all into a super high level so if your street rider or a touring rider that is looking for a communicator that installs super clean with the helmet and you like the idea of that drop-down arrow screen so you don’t have to do shield swaps the Shoei GT-Air 2 should be on your shortlist.
4. AGV K1 Full Face Helmet
The AGV K1 Helmet retails from around $179 up to $249, the high end of the spectrum the $249 can get yourself a new kick-ass Valentino Rossi graphic.
When you go down towards the $179 mark your looking at the basic graphics, the solid colors. Before I dive in any deeper I just want to say I’ve had this helmet for over a week, I’ve worn it a ton of times.
I have torn it apart put it back together multiple times and I really like this helmet. I think it provides a tremendous amount of value at this price point which is something that we always look for.
Who Is This Helmet Right For?
This is clearly designed for sportbike rider and Street riders, would we recommend this for the track? Well, it is ECE 22:05 and DOT certified, they’re thermoplastic resin shell helmets like this would typically get four-star ratings which are pretty solid.
If this is in your price range for a track helmet I think this would be a good option for you. It weighs in at three point six five pounds on our shipping scale so it’s relatively lightweight which is similar to other helmets out there in this size.
I measure 58 centimeters on the money with an intermediate oval head shape. This helmet is built to an intermediate oval shape per their size chart I would be in a medium/large. I would say that the size chart was accurate in the head shape, furthermore, they used two different shell sizes
They are using four different EPS to tune the internal shape and size of the helmet. It’s also built as a four density EPS so when we talked about impact management when you’re using that thermoplastic shell instead of maybe a more expensive higher-end fiber-based shell you’re able to do things with the EPS to make sure that it still manages energy quite well.
Glasses Compatibility
This helmet is built as being compatible with glasses, there is a little bit of effort required to get them in there but once I do have the glasses in they are sitting on the bridge of my nose no problem so I would say yes these are compatible with most glasses.
I ask myself how can they charge a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars for one of those AGV Pista GP Helmets when the K1 helmet looks so much similar?
When you look at the KI vs the Pista GP-R Helmet they are very similar, when you put them side by side you will see the difference in overall shell size and that’s what happens when you’re using different materials.
The Pista GP is, of course, lighter but with the K1 it’s just going to take more BPS and more material to manage the energy in a crash. The K1 has a little bit bigger exterior profile than the Pista GP but beyond that, there are a lot of similarities between the two.
They’ve added a spoiler at the rear of the helmet that has exhaust vents integrated into it, most importantly ventilation which is one of the key features of any helmet.
The scheme between these two helmets is very very similar, they both have the two intake vents in the chin and they both have three vents on the front top of the helmet. They don’t have the same exact exhaust ventilation scheme but lots of airflows are what you can expect with this helmet.
Helmet Shield
If you want the shield cracked open just a little to clear a little bit of fog and you don’t want it all the way up just push up on the tab which is just on the top of the front chin vent to switch the vents on and off. To switch the vents on and off in the chin area there is a switch on the inside of the helmet on the chin piece.
Opening and closing the brow vents is very simple with a nice action, everything feels good, feels like it’s quality. The shield detents feel strong, they feel really sturdy so the visor doesn’t rattle if you have it open slightly.
This helmet uses two different sized shields. If you have an extra small through a medium-small you’re going to use the GT2-one shield, if you have the medium/large through the two XL you’re going to use the standard GT2 shield.
The field of vision on this I would also say is excellent, I haven’t had a chance to ride in it yet but it does have a good field of vision.
How To Remove Shield
To remove the shield lift it all the way in the upward most position and then just pull down the red tabs near where the helmet is attached on each side of the helmet. Push the tab down and it just pops right out. To reinstall it once again get it in that upward most position and it just kind of drops right into the channel, a little pressure and it pops right back in.
Anti Fogging
The K1 doesn’t come with a pin lock ready shield but there is one available but is sold separately. If you want that true fog-free performer I would recommend purchasing a pin lock system, they are somewhere in the 30 $40 range but well worth it.
Helmet Interior
The Ki comes with a double D-ring retention system and if you look at the interior fabrics they are really good quality and feel great against the skin. The interior pads are super soft, it’s moisture-wicking and it’s just such a really impressive piece.
It is designed to take Universal Bluetooth communicators with speaker pockets so it really has all the features and benefits that everybody’s looking for. There are differences between the more expensive unit but the price is exponentially different.
Helmet Safety
AGV have learned over the years that one of the common things will break a collarbone in a motorcycle crash is your head hits the ground and it gets pushed over right into your collarbone, it’s the ridge of the helmet oftentimes that will break the collarbone and not just the impact to your shoulder.
What they’ve done is it started shaping their helmets to help prevent it from coming in contact with your collarbone. It doesn’t have any structural effect on the helmet but it can have some real benefit for you in a crash.
What Do I Think About This Helmet?
I think it’s tremendous value for the technology that’s built-in, it’s right in that sweet spot where you invest that $200 ish dollars and you can get yourself a really nice product to be super happy with.
5. LS2 Challenger GT Full Face Helmet
This is LS two’s new sport-touring helmet and it comes in around the three hundred dollar mark. There is a carbon fiber version available as well and at five hundred dollars that will sit at the very top of the LS2 helmet line.
What you’re getting for the base challenger GT at that three hundred dollar mark is a fiberglass composite shell with three different shell sizes and five EPS liners.
Helmet Sizes And Weight
You will get extra small too small for the first shell size, small or medium to large for the second shell size and then extra-large to two XL for the third shell size. DOT EC rated and weighs in at three pounds five ounces for the large and that’s pretty lightweight considering the price point at this price point.
From an internal fitment standpoint, it is intermediate oval to slightly long although a little bit longer front to back and a little bit shorter on the side of the head.
It will works for the majority of the American market especially if you need a little bit more room at the front and the rear of the helmet.
Ventilation
As you work your way through this one of the things that really impressed me is the mass amount of ventilation that we’re getting especially with a sport-touring helmet and is extremely comfortable to use in a wide variety of riding conditions.
If you look at the front you’ve got the actuation for the chin vent, that works really well considering that you have a latch for the face shield which is right in the middle/bottom of the shield.
A lot of the time if you have that middle latch point and you’ve got a vent right below it you end up hitting the vent while you’re trying to get that face shield open and close so I like what they did with this by moving that vent actuation down now the face shield.
The actuation for the top brow vent is kind of a pain in the butt to use when you have a glove on. Keep in mind that when you’re using this it’s probably going to be easier to figure out if you want that vent open or closed before you start riding because it is a lot easier to do when you’re sitting on the side of the road than when you’re riding.
The rest of the vents on top are super easy to use while you’re riding, you have these gnarled tops on the vents and you can easily reach up with a glove on, get those open or closed. The back vents are active which means you can open or close the rear vents as well.
Anti-Fog
This helmet has a pin lock ready face shield with a pin lock insert included in the box, the other cool thing that we’re seeing from LS2 is that the gasket for the face shield is one solid gasket all the way around. There is no reak point the way that we see with some other gaskets so what you get is a really tight secure fit around the gasket so you don’t get a lot of wind noise when this is in the closed position.
Look And Feel
The fit and finish are really impressive for what you’re spending, again around that $300 price point. I like the matte finish on this, it’s similar to what we’re seeing HJC do with some of their other helmets. They are stepping up in quality a little bit and you’re getting into a much nicer feeling helmet than some of the lower levels LS2’s.
Face Shield And Sun Visor
If you open the face shield you’ll notice that there is a drop-down Sun Visor, one thing I will say it’s about 90 millimeters top to bottom and is probably one of the largest drop-down Sun visors that we’ve seen yet.
A lot of times we complain because the drop-down Sun Visor doesn’t go down far enough but this LS2 challenger has a really solid coverage point to it and it doesn’t really interfere with the bridge of your nose. The nitpick with this internal visor control is where the actuator sits. It sits on the bottom ridge to the side of the helmet and is where you would normally place a comm system.
LS2 Comms System
LS2 dos make a proprietary comm system, the lincoln system and that works perfectly with this helmet. If you try to use another manufacturer’s comm system that’s where you can get into problems because there’s no real great place to put a sticky mount on the side.
If you want to mount it like a traditional mount to the side of the helmet you have to go really far to the front or really far to the back so I would have loved to have seen them put this actuator in a different place. The Lincoln system from LS2 is made by Cena so it isn’t a no-name brand
Helmet Interior
The first thing you’ll notice is the ratchet strap and this is divisive. Some guys love this and some guys hate it, it comes down to personal preference. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the ratchet strap, I would much rather have a double D-ring or something like we’re seeing from the fit lock system but there are a lot of people that really like the simplicity of this. Again not a good thing or a bad thing but it is a divisive move depending on what your personal feelings are.
The neck roll on this helmet and the chin curtain is one solid piece. When you have pulled it out you will see you have pops or reflectivities that are working all the way around. It comes with removable cheek pads with emergency tabs making it easier for EMT’s to remove your helmet without causing any damage to your neck.
The internal cheek pads are washable, I will say there’s nothing overly impressive with this it’s just going to be a regular sweat-wicking cheek pad and again easily removed.
Helmet Comms System
I mentioned earlier that I didn’t really enjoy the placement of the sun visor actuators and the reason I didn’t like that is limiting you to using the proprietary comms system for this helmet. What I do like is that they do have the speaker pocket cutouts for speakers, I would have liked to see them a little bit deeper for my personal taste but they do the job.
They have little channel cutouts into the EPS to run the wires all the way down. They have given some thought on integrating the comm system into this helmet much more so than we’ve seen from other manufacturers. To the point where if you look around to the front of the chin bar they actually have a little indentation of the front to allow for easy use of the microphone system.
A lot of times when I place a microphone in the helmet I feel like it’s pushing right against my lips or actually up against my nose depending on where I position it so the fact that they had this little cutout, this little channel really does a great job of allowing you to use the microphone without having the wires get in the way
We talked about the ventilation earlier and the one thing I would have loved to have seen is some deeper channel cut out to the inside of the helmet so you have got some great venting working around.
If there were deeper channels I think that would help to promote airflow a little bit better but considering this is the first step into a premium level sport touring helmet from LS2 I think they did a really good job.
In Conclusion
The Good Bits
Again, just kind of rounding this out you’ve got great aerodynamics, you’ve got a really fantastic drop-down Sun Visor with pin lock insert included in the box and with the seal on the gasket for the Sun shield you get a really quiet helmet.
The Bad Bits
Some of the knit picks or the fact that that actuator does come into play for using a non-proprietary comm system and then that vent at the top isn’t the easiest to use while you’re riding and the channel cutouts on the inside could have been a little bit deeper.
I think when you’re weighing everything that LS2 is brought to the table with the challenge or GT and the fact that it’s coming in around that $300 dollar price point you do have the option to pump up the carbon fiber but even for around a $300 mark you’re getting three pounds five ounces in a large.
6. AGV AX9 Full Face Helmet
Time For A Little Bit of Italian Style
I start with the disclaimer this was the first AGV helmet I’ve ever tried so as such this is a review of the new AGV AX9 Full Face Helmet on its own merits, this is just what I’ve
found from wearing it over the last few weeks.
Of course, adventure-style helmets are not to everybody’s taste and certainly don’t suit all bikes, but I like the flexibility of this helmet which we’ll touch on later. One of the main draws for this style of helmet that I like is the very big field of vision that you get.
AGV has upped the game on this one over the outgoing AX8, it’s got a hundred and ninety degrees of vision horizontally and 110 degrees vertically and it’s very noticeable when you’re riding this just how much open space you’ve got in front of you.
Helmet Construction
The helmet is made from a carbon arrow mid fiberglass composite so that means it’s nice and light. The large is one of three shell sizes that are available. In terms of weight, the large one comes in at 1495 grams so a really nice lightweight piece of kit, it has a double D-ring fastener and the interior is very plush. Looking at the helmet and I am sure you’ll agree that for the price it is a pretty handsome looking thing.
In the box with the helmet is a pin lock max vision anti-fog insert which is nice and easy to fit in and gives loads of coverage.
Helmet Visor
On either side of the helmet, there are plastic tabs to pop it open, the helmet also has a micro-opening visor so that means you can just pop it open a little to get airflow through.
Even though you have cracked open the visor for a little airflow it doesn’t break the seal where it meets the visor at the top so you don’t have water running down the inside of the visor but just gives enough airflow for those days where there’s a big differential in temperature between the inside of the helmet and the outside of the helmet.
What’s It Like For Wearing Glasses?
I don’t particularly like to wear sunglasses when I am wearing my helmet so I don’t try them out and I don’t wear normal glasses when I’m riding either but I’m led to believe
that this is very good and the helmet will accommodate glasses very easily.
If you look at the side profile of the helmet you would see that it is quite long and
the visor is pushed a fair way out so that means if you are wearing glasses you get quite a good gap between your glasses and the visor and that should help with any misting problems.
Helmet Ventilation
Although it’s quite a minimalist design I found ventilation on this helmet to be pretty good, you’ve got a small button on the front chin area which just opens up the vent, you get a decent amount of airflow through there and in the same way you’ve got two vents at the top forehead area which just pop open. You do get a really nice piece of air throw through that I was expecting that to not be as effective.
I think whether it’s down to the peak or just the design of the helmet you do get a lot of air flowing through there, much more than I thought you would. There are permanently open exhaust vents at the back here just to help draw that warm air out. On the chin bar, there is an internal deflector so if you open that you can have the airflow going straight
through to your face.
Clip it up and the airflow is directed through these vents just in front of your nose onto the shield itself so again a good way of keeping condensation to a minimum. I must admit I have worn this in really poor weather, I’ve had a little bit of drizzly rain and I’ve not experienced any issues with fogging or mist.
One other great thing I like about the chin vent is you can take it off so that you get a lot more airflow in and it can be done without any tools. You just got a little tab at the bottom of the chin vent and if you pop it up the vent cover comes off giving you more airflow through the helmet.
Again you’ve got the deflector on the inside of the helmet directly in front of the chin vent which deflects the airflow onto the visor.
Another thing I like about the removable chin vent is not only can you just take it off without using any tools it also has a piece of foam on the back which is very useful for keeping grit and dust out and also very useful for keeping those small flies out. You can knock the foam out, wash it out pop it back in and you’re good to go.
The helmet peak is adjustable, you can change the position it’s pretty quick and easy to take off. You’ve just got a couple of covers on each side that you pop off to access the screws that hold the peak on.
One thing I will say about the visor before I go on is you do need to unscrew it, it isn’t a quick release like a lot of visors so it does need to be unscrewed. It can be done with a coin so you don’t need a screwdriver to do that, you can just unscrew those the retainer and pop the visor out.
Helmet Interior
Turning to the interior there’s a small chin sock which is removable when it’s in place it helps funnel the air underneath. The neckroll is very comfortable with a sort of a suede feel and a neoprene feel to the outside section.
It is water-resistant and the idea is that this is designed with the beading to try to prevent water from channeling up inside the helmet in wet weather. I’ve only ridden it in drizzly rain so I can’t tell if this works in torrential rain but it’s certainly a really comfortable helmet.
How Quite Is The Helmet?
I found this to be a pretty quiet helmet with no real issues, no whistling from the
visor and I think because the chin bar drops down quite low it does a good job of deflecting the wind.
Helmet Aerodynamics
I did get a little bit of buffeting at the peak but I get a little bit of buffeting on my bike regardless of any helmet I wear so it wasn’t a hindrance. I didn’t get any lift or any push down so that seemed to work very well, it was more noticeable when doing shoulder checks.
I had a spell on a naked bike with no screen and I had no issues with that whatsoever. As I said that peak works well, good for deflecting the Sun so you don’t have to bother with the drop-down visor which this helmet doesn’t have.
You can get a series of different colored visors for the helmet so you’ve got a mix-and-match and as I say I think with a white helmet with a dark visor and no peak this would be a pretty wicked looking helmet.
Helmet Visor Vision
Even with the peak you’ve got a really decent amount of vision, these side pieces are cut back far enough that you’ve got a really good peripheral vision to the sides even with the visor down because the max vision pin lock goes right around to the edge.
Helmet Comms
There is also provision to fit any kind of generic comm system, you’ve got pockets for earpieces and there’s plenty of room at the front to be able to fit a microphone down on the side of the chin bar and you’ve got access down the side to be able to run the cables so it shouldn’t be a problem fitting comms to this helmet.
In Conclusion
You have an adventure-style helmet that is lightweight, good-looking, comfortable, well-ventilated with great vision and lots of nice features.
This is a great helmet and would be happy to have this in my collection.
7. Caberg Drift Evo Full Face Helmet
A new helmet in Caberg collection this year is a full-face helmet, it’s a full carbon helmet, it’s a sporty helmet, it’s the new Caberg drift Evo CARBON.
The new Caberg drift Evo is a sporty full-face helmet made from a full carbon outer shell and it’s the bigger brother of the regular drift but this one’s completely new in the collection.
I already said the outer shell is made from full carbon which is really light and really strong, it weighs in at 1290 grams which for a full-face helmet regardless of what it’s made from is very light. That helps you keep a comfortable position while riding at higher speeds.
Helmet Aerodynamics
If you look at the helmet you will see it has quite a large spoiler at the back with a couple at the side. At the bottom they have what is called a diffuser, there are two at the side of the helmet that helps the diffuser to keep it stable at high speeds and the spoiler at the back does a lot for the aerodynamics. If you don’t like it, however, it is removable.
Helmet Visor
The helmet comes with a clear visor but there are other colors available at an extra cost.
The visor is prepared for a full max vision pin-lock anti-fog lens which can be placed on the inside and is included in the box. The visor has a couple of special things one of those is that when you open the visor obviously it stays open but when you close it, just before you get to the end it automatically shuts.
Some people like to keep their visor on the ventilation mode so they get a little bit of air inside and that’s possible too, there is a switch on the left side of the helmet that you can push out and while doing so the helmet visor comes forward a little bit, it locks into position and it lets in the air at the bottom. It does that by moving forward so it comes forward about a half a centimeter to give you all the space and air you need.
Interior Visor
The Sun Visor comes down by using the slider switch on the left side of the helmet and that’s mainly for touring purposes. If you want to go on the race track it is possible to remove the Sun Visor from the helmet so it won’t be in your way.
If you like riding without your sunglasses in your pocket then you can always just pop down the visor using the slider switch.
Chin Straps
At the bottom of the helmet, you will see another sporty feature the double-D retention system which is still the safest retention system in the world and the only system permitted for use on the racetrack so that really really confirms the sporty DNA of this helmet.
Helmet Interior
The interior is a quick-drying interior which is removable and washable and actually very comfortable too.
Helmet Ventilation
Like most good helmets there is a chin ventilation channel which you can open up revealing a rather large opening, the same goes from the top. There are three open modes for the forehead vent, you can slide it into the closed position, the fully open and one in between and even the rear ventilation channel can be closed and open.
In Conclusion
To summarise the new drift Evo carbon by Carberg is a sporty helmet that you can use on the racetrack but you can also use it for daily use on the public roads or riding to work.
This helmet is prepared for communications so if you want to talk to people on the way you can install a communication system and it comes in two colors. One yellow white and gray and there’s also a different one which is white and grey both of them with a full carbon shell.
No comments:
Post a Comment