Helmet recommendations?

High Quality - check
Fits your head - check
Is visually satisfying to you - check

Requirements satisfied. Now turn around at the show you're at, walk to the bar, and get a beer. ;-)

 

Last time I looked for a helmet I considered that. Share your experience with the Air system.
My challenge with helmets is the shape. Most helmets and interior padding seems made for more or less spherically shaped heads. The best fitting and quietest helmet I had was a Schuberth S1 but that is long gone now. Like others I use ear protection on every ride. The biggest improvement/invention in this century is the pinlock anti fog visor. If that matters to you depends on climate where you go. Integrated sunvisor is cool - esp. in rides incorporating many mountain tunnels. To me a pair of sunglasses work as well. I prefer integral helmets over flip-ups for many reasons.

 

Som helmet discussions here https://helmetreviews.org/quietest-motorcycle-helmets/

One difficult parameter is the fit.

 

I’ve gone from Shoei, to HJC and now to Schuberth as my melon has changed over the years. I’ve always admonished riders to “get what fits,” over any other factor.

 

Hello,
I just picked up a Arai Quantum X in plain white and th fit/comfort (M) for my round head is just perfect. It was on special (showroom model) so I bought it. Went for a 2+ hrs. ride and find it not so quiet so will use earplugs next time. Great ventilation. Previous (about 5 yrs) Arai vector-2 (S) was too small. I was getting a headache after 30mn. riding. I picked-up thinking it was going to expand a bit...Stupid me. Tried on a Shoei RF in M but did not fit properly: too much pressure on the top circumference of my head. Arai models that fit round/oval heads are perfect for me, I find.

 

You would be very wise if you were to use ear protection while riding at speeds over 60KMH for any length of time. You may not notice anything when you are younger but I would almost be willing to bet a couple months of pension payments that when you get older your ears will ring constantly and you will suffer any variation of hearing loss primarily due to the wind noise you get from any helmet, regardless of the fit or price. I know. Also, I have found over the many helmets I have bought, they do feel tight when you first put them on, but they do loosen a bit after you have worn them for a short while. The helmet has to fit snug for it to be utmost effective. A helmet wobbling around on your head is a sure indication it is too big or the padding is not snug enough.

 

With few exceptions, the better the ventilation, the noisier the helmet, especially from within the same brand. The Arai Corsair X is the noisiest of of the Arai line, but it has the most air flow.
As Randy mentioned, the helmet needs to fit really snug. Absent professional helmet fitters such as with Arai at The Service Pavilion, the next best option is to hang out in the store with the helmet on for a couple hours. Is required that you feel the world staring at you while doing so. Lol
Unless you are just running a quick errand of a mile or two at say 30 mph in your subdivision, put the earplugs in!
Get good earplugs that you can bury in your ear enough that the don't butt up against the padding and conduct the helmet vibrations worse than it already does through your skull.
If you can find good quality ACTIVE noise cancelling earbuds without the stems and with a small enough body that they don't stick out and butt into the padding, that is an option as well. Something small and still with good noise cancellation normally equates to $$$. The ones with stems will get dislodged pretty much every time you put the helmet on. Most buds that just say noise cancelling, aren't.

Sorry if this is all repetition. I didn't go back and read the whole thread.

 

I always use earplugs, I want my hearing to not get worse.
I am on my third Bell helmet, they just fit right, and don't have the steep Arai price.
The newest is a Lithium Mips. The mips thing seems like a good safety improvement. Look it up if you don't know.
Mulitdirectional Impact Protection System. I hope to never test it.

 

I just bought this NXR2 Shoei; fits Captain 80s criteria well...the visor is a $15 Aliexpress special which fits perfectly.

 

My newest rotation is with Arai Contour-x and HJC RPHA 12. A sample RF-1400 (NXR2 in Terry world) is due later this week.
So far the HJC has impressed me. But going to say it's going to be hard to top the Shoei X SPR Pro (X15 in USA). Even for daily commuting.

 

not noise cancelling... you want noise isolating. Huge difference. Noise cancelling per standard headphone jargon is circuitry actively manipulating frequency wave forms to wash out incoming background noise. noise cancelling headphones aren't typically sold for hearing conservation. for motorcycle riding you want something with a stated NRR value, like foam earplugs. foam earplugs are noise isolating.

TLDR.. noise isolating earbuds are not expensive. I ripped the speakers out of my helmet, ditched the foam earplugs. I'm plugging $25 Elgin Rumble Wired (3.5mm jack) to the Cardo. They are ANSI certified 27db NRR.

 

I have yet to find any noise isolating earbuds come anywhere close to what good earplugs can do (my 3M plugs are 32 dB NRR). In order to hear music decently, it has to be turned up more than normal, basically negating any benefit to fighting hearing loss. Using active noise cancelling ear buds allows me to leave the volume turned down and still hear nuances of musicb and good quality 180 out-of-phase waves stop low-frequency ambient waves from moving your eardrum excessively. Between that and the physical isolation they give you even with everything turned off, it is a good solution for hearing protection if you want to listen to music. If I don't want to listen to anything, I go with my good foam earplugs every time because they work very well and I don't have to worry about losing them or dealing with donning/doffing the helmet with the earbuds.

As to using wired earbuds, I hate dealing with them, but before I could afford good wireless buds, I used a pair of cheap Skullcandy earbuds that I modded and inserted into custom earplug putty, essentially creating a cheap and very quiet pair of custom earbuds that were easy to use under an unmodified helmet.

 

I use the Elgin Rebel earbuds in industrial machinery spaces, it is not necessary to crank the volume high.

Elgin Rumble (Bluetooth) are rated for 31dB NRR. https://elginusa.com/products/elgin-rumble-bluetooth-earplug-earbuds

I'd be using those instead of the 3.5mm wired if the Cardo wasn't fitted. They are good for 31 db NRR. They have a very low profile and fit most flush with the ear. Very similar in design to Shure se215 monitors.

My ears are very sensitive to foam earplugs being inserted. Vagus nerve response makes me dry heave.. I have to constantly adjust before putting my helmet on. I've been able to use the Elgin Rumble (wired) without much issue

 

Over the years I have tried so many types of ear plugs and found that almost all foam types tended to feel uncomfortable and as a result I quickly gave up on using them.

Eventually I came across Earhub silicone aloe vera earplugs. Whilst they may not be as effective at reducing noise as some other earplugs they are soft mouldable silicone blobs which deform easily to match the actual shape of your ears. Indeed once ftted they feel very comfortable - and even on very long rides you quickly forget you are wearing them. The downside is they only offer a 27db noise reduction but coupled with the relatively low noise intrusion in my Schuberth helmet they have proved quiet enough to be able to clearly hear GPS directions over the inbuilt bluetooth speakers even when travelling at well over 100mph on German autobahns.