Are the £500 helmets worth the extra?
Discussion
Fleegle said:
I'm normally a strong advocate of buying Arai's. I have been wearing them 15+ years and swear by the quality the extra spondoolies bought me
Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is f
king st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)
I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
Fake??Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is f
king st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
telecat said:
Fleegle said:
I'm normally a strong advocate of buying Arai's. I have been wearing them 15+ years and swear by the quality the extra spondoolies bought me
Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is fking st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)
I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
Fake??Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is f
king st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
Purely empirical, based on owning a cheap Nitro helmet, Shark Speed-R and Shoei NXR. So from cheap and nasty, mid-range, to right up there with the most expensive ones.
I can't comment on safety, but Sharp ratings have the Nitro at 2 star, Speed-R as 4 stars and doesn't have the NXR listed. But even between the Speed-R and Shoei there's a noticeable difference in quality, the plastics and lining mostly.
But honestly, all were chosen on pure fit and aesthetics. I tend to subscribe to the mantra that if I crash, the difference between a fancy helmet and a boggo one will be a small contributing factor to how well I do.
I can't comment on safety, but Sharp ratings have the Nitro at 2 star, Speed-R as 4 stars and doesn't have the NXR listed. But even between the Speed-R and Shoei there's a noticeable difference in quality, the plastics and lining mostly.
But honestly, all were chosen on pure fit and aesthetics. I tend to subscribe to the mantra that if I crash, the difference between a fancy helmet and a boggo one will be a small contributing factor to how well I do.
telecat said:
Fleegle said:
I'm normally a strong advocate of buying Arai's. I have been wearing them 15+ years and swear by the quality the extra spondoolies bought me
Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is fking st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)
I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
Fake??Until recently that is
I bought a Chaser V about 6 months ago to sit alongside my Colin Legend, reduced from about £400ish down to £300. It is f
king st. They are both supposed to be Chaser's, yet you wouldn't think the V was made by the same company. It feels ridiculously cheap, the lining doesn't fit comfortably, the noise level is terrible, the visor doesn't interchange with the Colin (and at £45 each that is crap)I shall be checking other manufacturers out the next time I buy
I'll look long and hard else where before I buy another Arai, the difference is night and day compared to the Bell.
My Dads Shoei seems great, might go after one of them next
£30 helmet vs £200 helmet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LfEFhBelTY
As for the op, I don't necessarily think that once you go above £200-£300 there's much in it in terms of crash protection.
But, there's a lot of other stuff like ventilation, removable liners, visor, strap, design, quality and wind noise.
I know my C3 is pretty expensive and more than what the majority would spend on a helmet, but very few helmets are as quiet above 120kph, let alone the flip up ones.
Plus, because I use it a lot, the visor is very easy to remove/replace, as is the liner.
When you try them on in the store, the sub £100 jobbies do feel like: "Hey, bobby, I'm wearin' an 'elmet, innit?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LfEFhBelTY
As for the op, I don't necessarily think that once you go above £200-£300 there's much in it in terms of crash protection.
But, there's a lot of other stuff like ventilation, removable liners, visor, strap, design, quality and wind noise.
I know my C3 is pretty expensive and more than what the majority would spend on a helmet, but very few helmets are as quiet above 120kph, let alone the flip up ones.
Plus, because I use it a lot, the visor is very easy to remove/replace, as is the liner.
When you try them on in the store, the sub £100 jobbies do feel like: "Hey, bobby, I'm wearin' an 'elmet, innit?"
ZesPak said:
£30 helmet vs £200 helmet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LfEFhBelTY
As for the op, I don't necessarily think that once you go above £200-£300 there's much in it in terms of crash protection.
But, there's a lot of other stuff like ventilation, removable liners, visor, strap, design, quality and wind noise.
I know my C3 is pretty expensive and more than what the majority would spend on a helmet, but very few helmets are as quiet above 120kph, let alone the flip up ones.
Plus, because I use it a lot, the visor is very easy to remove/replace, as is the liner.
When you try them on in the store, the sub £100 jobbies do feel like: "Hey, bobby, I'm wearin' an 'elmet, innit?"
he clearly hits the cheaper helmet much harder! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LfEFhBelTY
As for the op, I don't necessarily think that once you go above £200-£300 there's much in it in terms of crash protection.
But, there's a lot of other stuff like ventilation, removable liners, visor, strap, design, quality and wind noise.
I know my C3 is pretty expensive and more than what the majority would spend on a helmet, but very few helmets are as quiet above 120kph, let alone the flip up ones.
Plus, because I use it a lot, the visor is very easy to remove/replace, as is the liner.
When you try them on in the store, the sub £100 jobbies do feel like: "Hey, bobby, I'm wearin' an 'elmet, innit?"
Not taking into account discounts etc I think once you get over 200 quid there's nothing in it until you get to the top end where different materials are used.
Fit is the main thing, it just so happens that arais fit me best and I've always had them so have no plans in going elsewhere, I don't buy Arai because of the price point. Tbh unless you don't have a pot to piss in spending peanuts on a helmet just seems wrong, maybe pissing money up the wall but I'd rather not find out the hard way.
Fit is the main thing, it just so happens that arais fit me best and I've always had them so have no plans in going elsewhere, I don't buy Arai because of the price point. Tbh unless you don't have a pot to piss in spending peanuts on a helmet just seems wrong, maybe pissing money up the wall but I'd rather not find out the hard way.
I'm in agreement with a few posters on here; I wouldn't be too keen on riding with a £79 lid on, but IMO anything in the £250 and up bracket I'm fine with.
I've got six AGV Rossi reps which are all quite dear helmets (the turtle helmet was something like £650 (I get them from a mate so have no idea)) but I don't think it is as good quality (liner etc) as the "sun and moon" Ti-Tech that I'm using today, for example.
Once you're into this £200-£250 and upwards bracket it's down to what you like the fit and feel (or in my case the look) of.
Just my 2p.
I've got six AGV Rossi reps which are all quite dear helmets (the turtle helmet was something like £650 (I get them from a mate so have no idea)) but I don't think it is as good quality (liner etc) as the "sun and moon" Ti-Tech that I'm using today, for example.
Once you're into this £200-£250 and upwards bracket it's down to what you like the fit and feel (or in my case the look) of.
Just my 2p.
In my bike accident back in 2008, I was wearing an Arai Condor, my head hit a stone wall and the Arai cracked in half, I have a rather large scar in the back of my head now..
It doesn't matter what you wear, they will all break but I like to think that having the Arai saved my life whereas a lesser helmet wouldn't have offered anywhere near as much protection?
I won't wear anything less than Arai or Shoei now..
I have a photo somewhere, I will try to find.
It doesn't matter what you wear, they will all break but I like to think that having the Arai saved my life whereas a lesser helmet wouldn't have offered anywhere near as much protection?
I won't wear anything less than Arai or Shoei now..
I have a photo somewhere, I will try to find.
I have seen 2 people killed right in front of me in motorcycle accidents ...they hit things...hard...e.g. 70mph into the central reservation barrier on a dual carriageway and dead on impact 
at 50mph+ if you hit pretty much any hard object, it wont matter if your helmet was £100 or £1000 ...simple as that really
all the protective gear is great for sliding along a race track at 150mph, or a road for that matter....the armour decreases the damage you take, and keeps your skin intact, but ultimately there's only so much it can do
So don't forget to spend as much on training yourself to ride safer as you do on that fancy replica helmet...you take the skills with you forever, but you will change the helmet in a few years when you get bored.......
at 50mph+ if you hit pretty much any hard object, it wont matter if your helmet was £100 or £1000 ...simple as that really
all the protective gear is great for sliding along a race track at 150mph, or a road for that matter....the armour decreases the damage you take, and keeps your skin intact, but ultimately there's only so much it can do
So don't forget to spend as much on training yourself to ride safer as you do on that fancy replica helmet...you take the skills with you forever, but you will change the helmet in a few years when you get bored.......
Hi croyde,
If you wear specs, then I can't recommend Essilor's OptiFog lenses highly enough
Utterly brilliant and a million times better than previous alternatives.
croyde said:
I always pay around £400 to £500 for my helmets ... Typical scenario is rain, visor, with pinlock, starts to mist up so have to open it but then there are rain drops all over my specs. I would actually enjoy riding in the wet if I could see where I was going 
Have you tried combining the Pinlock with a Foggy Breathguard? This combo worked for me, but YMMV.If you wear specs, then I can't recommend Essilor's OptiFog lenses highly enough
Utterly brilliant and a million times better than previous alternatives.bimsb6 said:
TheLordJohn said:
Rawwr said:
My Arai RX7 GP was £700. Shoei XR1100 was £420. Shoei NXR was £480. Nolan N94 was £240. Icon Variant was £320.
I like to think my head is worth more than those combined, several thousand times over.
I think it's just a loosely used figure of speech. Rather than a mathematical equation to calculate your helmet expenditure...I like to think my head is worth more than those combined, several thousand times over.
bogie said:
I have seen 2 people killed right in front of me in motorcycle accidents ...they hit things...hard...e.g. 70mph into the central reservation barrier on a dual carriageway and dead on impact
at 50mph+ if you hit pretty much any hard object, it wont matter if your helmet was £100 or £1000 ...simple as that really
all the protective gear is great for sliding along a race track at 150mph, or a road for that matter....the armour decreases the damage you take, and keeps your skin intact, but ultimately there's only so much it can do
So don't forget to spend as much on training yourself to ride safer as you do on that fancy replica helmet...you take the skills with you forever, but you will change the helmet in a few years when you get bored.......
Top tip and a good post. As said you'd have to be seriously unlucky to die on a modern racetrack with the best kit on. Tends to be if you hit something hard or something hard hits you.at 50mph+ if you hit pretty much any hard object, it wont matter if your helmet was £100 or £1000 ...simple as that really
all the protective gear is great for sliding along a race track at 150mph, or a road for that matter....the armour decreases the damage you take, and keeps your skin intact, but ultimately there's only so much it can do
So don't forget to spend as much on training yourself to ride safer as you do on that fancy replica helmet...you take the skills with you forever, but you will change the helmet in a few years when you get bored.......
There are a lot of static and moving hard things on our streets.
I crashed at Brand Hatch in the 80s. It was all chicken wire catch fencing and wooden posts covered in even harder hay bales. Once they peeled me off, I did walk away but I was lucky. Just minus bits of skin and that was due to badly fitting borrowed leathers.
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