helmet advice

[2kwacks]

for years... I've always used aria helmets they seem to fit me well and with ear plugs they kept the wind noise at bay. recently I bought the HJC FG-15 carbon lid, like the look of it and it fits well and as chin, top, and rear air vents and only weighs 1350g and at under £200 it's a good helmet but finding it lets in a lot of wind noise even with ear plugs in :sad:so just wondering what helmets other members use and how do they rate the wind noise and what helmets do you reckon let the least wind noise batter you around the lug holes.

[viper]

ive had several different helmets over the years and the HJCs were the noisiest.

if DB rating is your prime concern then the schuberths are considered to be the quietest around. Most decent makers now advertise and compare the DB levels.

for quiet you need helmets that are designed in wind tunnels and that adds valuable beer tokens to the price. we had schuberth s1's for a few years and now have the schuberths flips c3 . I don't use ear plugs anymore , even when I did 8 hours of staright motorway I had no ear ringing after

[Kall1400]

Got i Shark, it has some wind noise but not too bad. Nice and light, fits well.
Had Cayberg, was a lot quiet. A lil heavier, but still fits well.

Dont use ear plugs..

[viper]

Got i Shark, it has some wind noise but not too bad. Nice and light, fits well.
Had Cayberg, was a lot quiet. A lil heavier, but still fits well.

Dont use ear plugs..

ive really got to disagree with you, if you mean a Caberg , its a sub £100 helmet , considered one of the cheapest and nastiest helmets around, I borrowed my friends caberg when he lent me his zzr1400, the helmet screamed like a banshee, very very noisy, sorry

[Rusty]

Stick with Arai.

[viper]

check out this top 10 quiet helmets

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/mcn/products/productsresults/helmets/2009/july/jul2409-top1-quietest-helmets/

[pross]

Hi.
I am a arai fan had them for years they are quality.
I have used a shoei multitec which I found noisy and rain got in on heavy down pours.
I have recently treated myself to a Schuberth s2 which I find very comfortable quiet and has the bonus of a built in tinted visor.
At the moment I cannot fault it like the other top quality gear like aria you get what you pay for.
That's just my opinion.

[Dmcfadyen]

Hi, I've got he HJC R PHA max flip up, Nick Sanders endorsed it. I'm really happy with it and it's a quiet helmet. I always wear ear plugs but its much quieter than my Caberg Justissimo (sold it). I also have a Shoei XR 1000. Its really quiet. Not much between the XR1000 and my HJC at all.

Cheers, Donald

[Rusty]

Pros ..... You are spot on.

[Lonewolf]

I like my C3, pricey, but it suits me.

[STX1300man]

Schuberth is the way to go. I've a C3 Pro flippy.

I never understood people who raved about them ... until I tried one.

So quiet and comfortable. Oh, and don't forget the Pinlock, you can breath on the inside of the visor with NO steaming.

For balance: I had an issue with water running down the inside of the visor which required two return trips to resolve ... never did find out if it was the visor or the seal, but now it is completely watertight.

[Kwikasfuki]

I rate the Schuberth C3 highly. I've had Arai, Caberg and Shoei in the past, but none fit my head as perfect as the Schuberth.

[Winston Smith]

First and most important is fit.  If it fits properly and cost £100 it is better than a £1000 lid that doesn't.
Noise-wise, best to avoid 'well vented' lids like top of the range sports lids.  The vents will make more noise as they are designed to let air gush in!
The top end stuff (Arai/Shoei/Schuberth et-al) are better designed and as stated wind tunnel tested.  Schuberths are touring based with a sport helmet in the range, hence their low Db ratings.
The other top enders design specific lids for their jobs - the expensive race lids are designed differently to their 'cheaper' lids which are designed for road use/touring.
Take a look at the SHARP ratings and you will see some of the bottom end lids are higher rated than the top end ones.  The tests differ to other tests used in other areas/countries/continents and the jury is out as to whether they are better or not for road users.  Side impact is a big factor in their tests whereas other tests look more at top impact.
Personally i think any impact is likely to be serious/potentially fatal, but back and side impacts are probably more real world.
The materials the shell is made of can make a massive difference to weight - Plastic ones being far heavier than composite fibre ones. Again the plastic ones are more likely to be low end as they are cheaper to produce (injection moulded and have less choice of shell sizes - the linings being used to alter the fit.
The fibre composite ones take a lot more time and labour to produce and generally have 2 or 3 shell sizes.
Both types of shell material will provide good protection from sliding which is likely to occur in a spill and at spreading any shock from collision.
The expanded foam (polystyrene) is the shock absorber and is common to all makes. Shell sizing will dictate amount of expanded foam is in each model.
Another cost issue is the liner materials.  Upper end models and makes are more likely to have better quality material with interchangeable/washable liners and technical anti-bacterial finishes.  Lower end can be scratchy or more easily worn out. The lower end are also more likely to become loose and lose their fit.
Also consider the fasteners.  Seat belt style, ratchet or Double D.  DD is the safer and the only one authorised for race use. as it cannot come loose in a tumble.  The other styles can potentially unfasten - highly unlikely, but could happen.
Personally I wouldn't buy sub £150 helmets.  I wear ear plugs anyway so noise isn't an issue for me.  Material-wise I have Arais (RX7's/Corsairs - racing so noisier!) which are multi-composite and a Shark Evoline (painted plastic)
Arais are likely to last 5 or so years, the Shark will be used for 3 years max due to exposure to sunlight/UV.
Expanded foam will deteriorate and become hard and lose it's ability to compress in a collision due to chemicals in skin and oils etc absorbed from atmosphere/road grime.  Removable washable liners can help abate this for an extended time.
Oops - gone on a bit!

[Lonewolf]

   and there we have it.....end of discussion! 

[Winston Smith]