Helmet- Which one

[5 Eyes]

My friend and I aill be riding from Cape Twon to Cairo .
I currently wear a Arai Condor and drive a Varraderro 1000. When i'm moto-crossing I drive a VOR 450 amd wear a standard moto-cross helmet...

My friend is........... large and gets it hard to get a lid to fit his oversized head and he wears glasses.
I have never used these helmets that the face lifts up off. Are they any good.
What do people recommend

[henryuk]

I've never tried a flip-front helmet, but I can't fault my Arai tour x. Great visibility, good on noise levels, fairly light, very comfy, what more could you want?

[Norman Rahman]

extract:
"Modular helmets are, by nature, heavier than their full-face counterparts. Our guess is that the added weight is a result of the extra hardware necessary to rotate the visor upwards. Most of the modular (or flip-up) helmets we've reviewed start at about 3.5 lbs. (1587 grams) and go up from there. The real heavyweights weigh in at 3 lbs., 15 oz. (1814 grams) and up. Folks, I'm here to tell you that once a motorcycle helmet gets over 4.0 lbs., it's no longer a helmet -- it's a burden. Unless it's perfectly balanced, you'll feel all that mass every time you rotate your head. "

full review here
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motor...huberth-c2.htm

[MarkLG]

Another vote for the Arai Tour-X. Very versatile lid, though not as light as a pure MX lid, you do get the convenience of a visor, and can use goggles in dusty conditions. Cheapest I've seen them on the web is £240 at bikers bargains. HJC and Airoh do similar versions for around £120 - they look OK, but on a longer trip I wouldn't give up the comfort and quality of my Arai. BMW have just brought out the Enduro helmet in the same style for £235. Seems like a nice lid, but only available through BMW dealers, so no chance of any discount.
I'd agree with the previous post regarding flip-fronts - I know a couple of people who've tried them and been unimpressed. The extra moving parts are just extra things waiting to go wrong, and they are always going to be heavier than a similarly priced conventional lid.

[Lone Rider]

I like flipper helmets. They're convenient when you want to talk to somebody, get some air when stopped or going slow, and some models come with nifty flip-down shades built in.

The best one I've tried - one that fits my head shape - is the Caberg; on my 2nd one now. I've never felt any neck strain.

Helmets are a very personal thing. I recommend trying some on. Snug is good, painful (pressure points) or loose is bad.

[Stephano]

Originally Posted by Lone Rider

I like flipper helmets. They're convenient when you want to talk to somebody.

I agree with the Lone Rider. Don't underestimate the value of showing your face when you approach people.

Stephan

[klaus]

I ordered a flip top Schuberth helmet (the cheaper black version) from Germany last year. I am really impressed!! Compared with my Shohei (which was even more expensive over here in Japan) is lighter, you don't have that much of a "noise background", it is very convenient if you want to drink something or get a smoke, the sun-shades are very convenient...I guess I will stick with this helmet.

[Del Boy]

Another vote for the Arai Tour-X. As for flip-fronts I heard excellent reports of the Shoei Syncrotech!

[5 Eyes]

thanks a lot

I guess I'll just have to take my friend and his big fat head in and get him to try all the recommendations

[Jiris]

If you decided for flip-up helmet I would advise to try Nolan N101. I've been using this one for two yers and so far so good. The visor has never got fogged, even in the heaviest rain, however it is a bit noisier in high speeds.

[pietro.spera]

Regarding the flip-up helmets, don't underestimate also the convenience in case you wear glasses (even sun-glasses). Flip-up helmets allow you to put on the helmet, and remove it, with the glasses on.
This is not a detail, especially considering that a rider often wears gloves (which makes the handling of the glasses quite unconvenient) and on a full-loaded bike you never find the right place to lean the glasses.
I personally use flip-up helmets (mainly Nolan) for all my motorcycle career and I'm very happy with them.

[MagnaBagger]

When talking about an overweight bike (http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...erweight-24941) the issue of an open helmet sufficed.

I know there are risks about open helmets, but I also hear stories that accidents did go 'well'. Had two small accidents myself with no problem with an open helmet. BUT far far away it is another story I think. Although showing your face is really valuable!

Arai helmets mentioned looks very nice. I am addicted to white helmets and helmets with sun protection. This one looks really nice:

Arai VX Pro2

(Click to enlarge)

[jkrijt]

Because I wear glasses, I have been wearing flip-up helmets since BMW made the System I. No problem with the glasses anymore and you can open the helmet when you want to ask for directions etc.
I always liked the BMW helmets, good quality but unfortunately the are expensive.

Now I bought an Airoh flip-up with build in sun visor. I do like the sun visor but I'm not to happy with the quality of the helmet.

Next time I'll look for another flip-up helmet. Maybe a BMW but I do like the build in sun-visor in my helmet very much. I would not have a helmet without it any more. It is perfect when you are driving in and out of tunnels from the sun.

[drew-at-large]

I used to have "regular" helmets over the last 20 years. After seeing a friends Schuberth Concept flip-up, I liked the ability to open my helmet without taking it off -- i.e., talk to someone for directions; take a bite of a snack kept in the tank bag while at a stoplight. Yes, I have glasses. It is nice to take my helmet on/off with the glasses still on my face. Soon, I will get my eyes done and be without glasses, but I will keep with flip-up lids regardless. Anyway, his helmet was high quality and had an integral, distortion free sun visor built in. Very nice! A bit heavy, but he said he really did not notice the weight.

I started with a Vemar flip-up... not bad. A design flaw with the top vents -- the sliding part of the vents easily broke off. Vemar later fixed this with a new part that now is common to their flip-ups from what I can tell. Light. Noisy. Ear plugs with this one is a must. Build quality is ok, but definitely not as good as the Schuberth or Shoei.

So, late last year I tried on the new Schuberth Concept C2 and I was sold. High build quality. I went on e-bay and found a really good deal on a new one. I paid a little over $100 less than what I found in the retail stores. Several reputable German sources I found had the recommend the C2... and I can see why. ADAC (a hugh German Auto Club) in their Motorwelt (Motor World) magazine tested 7 models of flip-up helmets (if I remember the number correctly) and found it to be the best one -- followed but the Shoei Syncrotec II. Since I wanted an integrated sun visor, I excluded the Syncrotec II even though I found it a high quality, good fitting helmet.

Yes, the C2 is a heavy lid (around 4lbs); however, I do not notice the weight. The integral, distortion-free sun visor eliminates the need to deal with any sunglasses. A nice feature when traveling through some of the longer European tunnels. Quiet! And I do mean quiet. This is the most quiet lid I've tried. While I'll still sport hearing protection, I found that I do not really need it in many cases -- well, except on my Dakar with aftermarket exhaust with that oh-so-sweet exhaust note. Another nice feature was the multi-lingual emergency cards intended for the small compartment on the side of the helmet. It tells people in case of an accident what to do. I fit the german and english version into the small compartment without a problem. I found the C2 also had good perpherial vision. I also liked the reflective bit at the rear, base of the helmet. It gets bright when someone comes up behind you. They also include 2 large stick-on patches of the same thing reflective material as the patch that is on the botton, rear of helmet. Good for putting them on your panniers.

I had to order one size larger than any other helmet ever. I am normally a medium. A medium helmet was painful immediately after putting it on. Once I tried a large, it fit just right. I strongly recommend anyone looking at a Schuberth to try it on first.

Also, I have not tried the C2 out in warm weather. So I can not attest to how well it vents when things get real warm. What feels like an almost "airtight" fit may present problems in warmer (read, hot) climates with the visor fully closed. However, if things get too warm, you can always flip the visor up in 4 stages... along with the vents open. The insides are removable and hand-washable.

Cheers,
Drew

[klaus]

I fully agree with everything that was said by "Drew"!! As I stated before, the Schubert helmet is so far the best for money value I was able to get. Check the Internet for German online sellers and you can definitely get a great deal (surplus tax excluded for foreign orders and so on!!).