I decided I'd like to get a new helmet with a peaked visor for day rides. A few weeks ago when we rode up through St Albans the low winter sun was flashing in through the tree's and with the internal drop down visor wasn't really much help, holding my hand up to cut the sun from going onto my visor did the trick but can't ride one handed like that everywhere, so I thought to myself maybe a peaked helmet would be great for this purpose.
So I thought I'd just buy a El-cheapo $300 helmet to try out and see. Adventure bike helmets to my surprise are either on the really cheap side or really expensive. I was looking at the LS2 MX701 as it looked good in photos and reviews. When looking at it in store the peak was just a flimsy piece of plastic, it felt like it was going to fall off when I moved it, very thin. Scratch that one off. I looked at the Bell MX-9 and it was also very cheap. I tried an Airoh Commander on in XL and it didn't quite fit properly. I then tried a Arai XD4 in XL and it fitted perfectly but no drop down visor. I also considered the Acerbis but it also looked too cheap for my liking. I guess owning 2 Arai and 2 Shoei helmet's for the last 25 years has spoilt me with a nice snug fit and extremely comfortable liners.
The problem I have is I won't buy a helmet without the drop down internal visor, it is now a must have item. This scratched both the Arai and the Shoei Hornet probably the two best helmets in this class. Note to Arai and Shoei - you are losing customers in this market segment, get your act together. If the Shoei Hornet had an internal drop down visor like your GT Air has I would have bought one without even trying anything else. That's how good your helmets are. Rant over.
What to do? So I procrastinated for a while. Checking the Helmet Warehouse where I got my GT Air from they had the Airoh Commander in 2XL. So I thought I'd try it on. Right away it was a much better fit than in the XL. Funny they list the sizes as exactly the same but they are not. XL in the Shoei is a perfect fit, XL in the Airoh is too tight and would have caused headaches. Someone here is telling porkies......I guess I just have a fat head.
Initial Impressions
First thoughts out riding with the new helmet on sunday after 4 hours. The vision from this helmet is great as it has a very wide visor area. The drop down internal visor is much better than the one in my GT Air as it drops down further. There was a little bit of wind noise on the peak but was barely noticeable, probably a little more noise than the GT Air but still very good. The peak on the visor was good as it shaded the sun on the front during the low winter sun to stop that flashing light in the eye's, just what I was after.
I did notice after a while my left ear felt like it was a little squashed so hoping that will be ok after the liner wears in. The internal padding quality whilst good, is not as comfortable as the Shoei. Ventilation seemed pretty good. I did accidentally try to grab the peak a couple of time's trying to pull the visor down when it was in the fully extended position, had to adjust and grab the side to pull it down as the two almost meet at the top. I noticed immediately how light the helmet feels on your head, almost like its not there. It's over 300gms lighter than my Shoei, doesn't sound like much but it is when its on your head. It comes pinlock ready with the pinlock visor in the box, although I haven't fitted it yet.
Pretty happy so far. Maybe I'll do a long term review later on. Here's me on last sunday's ride on the way up to Nattai Lookout with my new helmet. Cheers for reading.
