Would You Ever Change Helmet Brands

[Rob 131 Sport]

In a slight variation to ‘What Helmet Brand Do You Like Best’ would you consider changing brands. When I was younger I would look at a range of brands and then choose.

Recently it’s just been Arai and I wouldn’t consider anything else.

Is there anyone else out there who sticks with the same brand at renewal time or are others a bit more adventurous.

Edited by Rob 131 Sport on Saturday 7th May 06:04

[trickywoo]

I’ve had a shoei for a few years, would consider anything but probably not an arai unless they do a major update as they feel heavy to me and have lacked any innovation for years.

[Krikkit]

Yes, as long as they fit my head, and have the features I want, I'll have any brand.

[SAS Tom]

I would as long as it does what I want. I’ve had the opportunity to try different helmets and have been surprised by a how good a few of them were.

Nexx was one of them, I tried their adventure helmet to see what it was like with a peak. It was nice and stable even over 140.

[hiccy18]

I'll look at anything, except perhaps Shoei, but I'll likely end up with Arai or AGV. I'm also quite swayed by safety ratings, so ECE-22.06 and 5 star Sharp will thin out my choices.

[Speed addicted]

Currently own Arai, Shoei and Bell.
Main helmet has always been Arai or Shoei though, I buy what fits best in my price range. Shoei GT Air 2 is probably the next purchase, but I’ll try on others first

[HHZ]

I always had Shoei, latterly the Neotec. I switched to LS2 Valiant because I wanted the chin guard to go fully back. I'm on my second Valiant now.
Arai never fitted me.

[bogie]

Yep have had many brands over the years. Buy what meets requirements, not brand loyal. 30 years ago there was a vast difference between the Japanese brands and "the rest" but these days all the big brands have quality helmets at the top of their product range.

[Zarco]

I would if another fitted me.

[rodericb]

I wore Arai for a couple of decades at least and tried a Shoei Spirit R when I had gone to my sideplates for my Arai after one busted off when trying to change the visor. I ended up buying the Shoei as the shape had changed to suit my head at some point in the past twenty years and they didn't have those silly side plates to break off!

[NSR500]

Over the years i have had AGV, HJC, Shark, Bell, so whatever suits your head and offers a combination of safety, price and comfort is all good by me

[black-k1]

Absolutely! If a helmet fits comfortably, has the features I want, is well built and is quiet then I'd be happy to change. No manufacturer has a monopoly on good.

[lazybike]

Yep...no worries.

[andburg]

100%

Currently running a shark but no loyalty

[SteveKTMer]

I've tried several others in shops, like Shuberth, but keep to Shoei as they seem to fit the shape of my head very well and the quality is high. I used to have an Arai RX7 and bits fell off it and the visor mechanism broke. The NXR2 is my next helmet to replace my NXR and another manufacturer would have to be offering something very special to beat the NXR2.

[LosingGrip]

Krikkit said:

Yes, as long as they fit my head, and have the features I want, I'll have any brand.

Same here. I’ve had Shoei (current one) and Schuberth. Along with some cheap branded one when I first got one (training schools didn’t fit me that well).

[Salted_Peanut]

black-k1 said:

and is quiet

Quietness is one criterion I find impossible to guess. I need to wear the lid on a long ride to know how noisy it is.

Once upon a time, I bought a Schuberth because of its quiet reputation. But an imperfect visor seal caused an irritating whistle, and later Shoeis were quieter.

Recently, I got a Quantic – a gamble because of Arai’s noisy reputation. It transpires Quantic’s visor seal is the best I’ve used, and the chin curtain is better than my previous Schuberth and Shoei’s. It’s a quiet Arai.

If anyone has a magic method to predict helmet noise, I’d be all ears

[pip t]

I have a problem with helmets. Pretty much every one I’ve ever tried gives me a stinking headache, some very quickly, some taking longer. I guess I just have a weird shaped head, and they all press in on my forehead to an extent.

The only one I’ve ever found that doesn’t is my current one, a Bell Star. So not only would I not change brand now…I’d be very reluctant to change model within the brand either!

[Normodog]

pip t said:

I have a problem with helmets. Pretty much every one I’ve ever tried gives me a stinking headache, some very quickly, some taking longer. I guess I just have a weird shaped head, and they all press in on my forehead to an extent.

The only one I’ve ever found that doesn’t is my current one, a Bell Star. So not only would I not change brand now…I’d be very reluctant to change model within the brand either!

Probably the same issue as me. I think the head shape is long oval. I recently changed my Shoei Gt Air for an LS2 Challenger as it's the only one I found comfortable.

It becomes an issue when manufacturers change the helmet shape when the update the models. This was my experience with Gt air to Gt air 2.

[Speed addicted]

Normodog said:

.

It becomes an issue when manufacturers change the helmet shape when the update the models. This was my experience with Gt air to Gt air 2.

Uh oh…
I’m about to replace my very comfortable gt air, I though the gt air 2 was just more of the same!