help with the helmet choice
 

i'm totally lost in this regards :(
there are so many kinds of them...
I there any particular one that fit xt660z tenere style?
I mean my driving ill be limited to mostly adventure type,
offroad and expeditions :) no commuting to work or city driving.
So I guess must be well ventilated and comfortable for longer rides.
Any established brand to look at to make the selection quicker?
thanks

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Hi Mate,

there are plenty of options and as many prices. The first question is how much you are eager to spend? Second comes your head shape, different brands have slightly different shapes and a comfort helmet for one is not necessarily comfortable for another e.g. Arai tend to make more oval inner shape and Shoei more round. My suggestion to you will be (after you have answered to yourself the money question) to try before you buy.As a rule of thumb the tightest without being too sqeezy is the best. Again you should not feel pressing edges or bulges neither pressing on the forehead. The "tightness" should be gentle and even.
Another advise is: go for lighter. A good day in the saddle will put a lot a strain on your neck which might lead to headaches.
To your style question: Adventure type (looks like motocross helmet with visor) is a good option and here probably you have to main players - Arai Tour X and Shoei with DS (dual sport) + many others with pretty good quality.
The second type is the "flip up" however those helmets tend to be heavier due to locking mechanism.
Go to your bike shop see the options, do your research and get the one you feel the best in. Take advice but do not rely on advises check before you throw your hard earned on the counter.

Enjoy.

(rock)

Go onto eBay and search Adventure helmets, good choice from 80 to 480. As mentioned before here it is the shape of your head that matters most regarding fit. Best to go to a big J&S outlet and fit a couple helmets for size.

thanks Assenvas for tips, definitely will go and try them for myself in the shop before I buy. I think I'd like to spend no more then 500$. How about sun protection I see some offer tinted/colored shield, should it be included or it's better to use just sun glasses under?

Hi mate,

Depending on the helmet brand you will find choice of visors. In the best case scenario there are 30% tinted and 50-60% tinted. The latter ones are not road legal in the EU or to be more precise it is fine as long as it is sunny but after sun goes down or in cloudy conditions you might have problems with the law. In some countries it is prohibited no matter what. On the other hand the 30% visor should be fine by law and for riding after dusk while at the same time will offer moderate protection from the sun. And of course you can use sunglasses if you prefer or in combination with the above.
I would suggest to check for sunglasses with plastic lenses for safety.

Hope this helps.

Hi
Just bought a Caberg helmet that looks like an adventure helmet with peak, it is a flip lid, which can be locked for riding open, it has separate sunshade and pinlock for anti fog purposes. Basically it does everything and doesn't cost the earth. Well worth a look. Comes down to how it fits at the end of the day

I have 8 helmets of every shape style yer can imagine..
but the hemet I use most is a AGV Stinger road helmet..
quiter / less wind buffeting etc than any of my dirt/ADV
helmets..
If yer intend to do a lot of road miles a road helmet is the go..
the ADV dirt style with visor are ok.. but yer have to ride with
your head tilted down slightly to stop the air grabbing the peck...

As long as the helmet is approved (Snell/DOT in the US and ECE 22-05 in Europe) you can assume that it is "safe enough" but you can also look at http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/ for a comparison of safety on ECE aproved helmets. The problem here is that they test like the ECE 22-05 so the strength is only tested in 5 well known spots and helmet manufacturer can optimize their helmets for the test. So in a real world accident a good rating here may not mean that much more then another average helmet.

Paying more is no guarantee for a safer helmet. You can easily assume that you will pay extra for major brands for the same safety.

Differences between moderately priced helmet and an expensive one is more in features noiselevel and fancy graphics

Most important is that that shape of the helmet fits. If is does not fit then it does not protect

I prefer to buy a major brand on sale :-)

My favorite is an UVEX ENDURO SLT (~200€) but the visor mechanism is not the best and it does'nt fit in my top box. So for commuting i use an UVEX BOSS 520 CLASSIC (~130€) that has a double visor so it does not fog easily (imho better than Pinlock) but for sunny days out (and bmx racing) I've just gotten a Fox Racing V4 Machina (~160€).

I also have two older Nolan and a Caberg that is still ok but now only occasional used by a passenger. I've also binned a few helmets a long the way. i.e a Kiwi i could'nt get a replacement visor for and worn out Louis.de/Madheat cross helmet.