Chinese Helmet - Good Quality Ones

[ZMC888]

I think the Chinese head shape being wider more than longer, there is a real need to try before you buy. In most shops I found that all 90% of the helmets were large or XL. Pleading was needed to source small and medium sizes, with near commitment to buy. There is an advantage though as you can add your extra bonus visor order at that time. So it may be a case of trying on many helmets that are too big and then buying one on order from the shop or online the next size smaller and hoping it fits well.

[ThePope]

I tried my helmet out at the shop before I bought and ended up with an XL. Bought my wife a L from the above shop and it seems to fit her well. It's just a little snug for me, but I can wear it. Her head is relatively smaller than mine too. I was thinking for sure she would be an M or S, but we using the sizing and measuring guidelines posted online and it seemed fine for her.

[MC Pono]

Very good to know about using good to search the forum.

HJC seems to be the lower end of my choice but a quite decent buy. I have a half helmet/bucket DOT rated I wear now that I can give to a pillian passenger.

Marushin helmets have a great safety rating and have alot of high quality features for around 450 to -650RMB. Higher end models go into about a 1000+ but that's still great for the helmet quality. A couple extra visors and I"m good to go. Here is the Marushin 888 I want.

If anyone can give me a good source of well priced visors for Marushin helmets that would be awesome. I want one mirrored/polarized, a yellow one if possible and a clear one.

[whitworthsocket]

Has any one used this LS2 Helmet

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-L...340798475.html

I found it also at this link http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm...aId=&q=ls2+455

I looks like it has adjustable air pump bags that you can use to get a custom fit?

I never liked the idea of a peak. I thought that it would add noise and drag. Three of my mates have the Zues

http://www.offroadexplorer.com/Produ...us_Review.html Which I can t find on the Zues website

They all rave about them as being quiet helmets and the visor is brilliant when riding into the sun. They all use them for both road and offroad.

The Zues reatail in Australia for close to AUD $300.
I figured the LS2 might be worth a try?
Regards

[euphonius]

I cannot speak to things like half-helmets that leave so much of your head exposed, but I can speak to full-face helmets vs modulars: Once you've used a modular you'll never want to go back to a standard helmet. The convenience of being able to keep your helmet on yet being able to talk, eat, drink and see more widely during breaks cannot be overstated. As for safety, virtually every major helmet manufacturer has embraced the concept, and many have DOT and/or SNELL ratings.

There's been some good discussion here in MCM and elsewhere about the relative merits of paying more for a helmet, particularly those costing north of US$400. The general consensus has been that the difference between "helmet" and "no helmet" is far vaster than the difference between "cheap helmet" and "expensive helmet." Expensive usually means quieter, more comfortable, more features; whether it means greater safety is a question of some contention. Your brain is basically a big soft sloppy mush, and no shell no matter how expensive will prevent it from getting severely jostled and rammed up against the inside of your skull when your head goes from 60 to zero in an instant. But in a slide, or a glancing blow, or the kind of hit that comes when the bike comes out from under you, almost any helmet protects your head far, far better than no helmet at all. In all of my getoffs, most of them benign but a few of them rather violent, I've always been grateful to have been wearing a full-face modular.

So this question of "good quality" in a helmet is a lot more complicated than merely a discussion of price or features.

cheers!
euphonius

[mdouglas71]

In a high speed crash, above 40mph.... a modular helmet will not hold up as well... However, most of the time it is barely needed.

[Barry]

I have a modular LS2 and the HJC IS-Max (without BT compartment). The HJC is way better than the LS2, opening visor/front on HJC works much smoother, sun visor on LS2 can easily come down a bit by accident for example (impossible on HJC). Price of HJC is only slightly higher.

As for price vs quality: for example you can get the HJC IS-Max for about 600 RMB now, I came across it in Europe last time I went home for € 189 (about 1600 RMB). Prices obviously don't always tell everything about quality when it comes to motorcycle gear/equipment, and are often based on location.

As for safety I guess any approved helmet should be good enough. In my optinion most important are 1. comfort and 2. price! You can buy the most expensive high tech helmet because some motorcycle guru reviewed it as the best helmet he ever wore, but if it feels uncomfortable on your head then that is a distraction and you can forget about all the other details that make it a good helmet. I say: "go for comfort!"

[braillce]

[...] Once you've used a modular you'll never want to go back to a standard helmet. [...] euphonius

Actually seeing how much lighter and quieter a proper full face is, the comfort of being able to talk eat drink isn't worth the extra weight of the modular system.

My modular was Caberg Justissimo GT, maybe it's that model that's just heavy though... Wouldn't recommend those. And it was over 1000 RMB. A friend threw it to me but threw it short, the thing hit the ground bad. I actually was happy to go and shop for a regular full face after this.

- - -

Now regarding OP's post, don't u buy a Chinese helmet.

I don't get how saving 500 RMB is more important than saving ur head? What are u gonna do with ur 500 when ur head is a puddle, buy a gold spoon to pick it up? Nor do I get how 500 is more important than everyday's riding comfort.. No DOT certification => fake helmet, period.

Don't buy on Taobao either, trying it is essential, and even if trying all helmets in the shop u still may have noise level and poor aerodynamic fatigue surprises, crappy airflow...

To try it best, sit down in the shop, lean forward as much as when on ur bike, shake ur head; it should "stick" the skin of ur face and move only as much as that around ur skull. The top of the eye opening should cover ur eyebrows, then its chin shouldn't hit ur shoulders when u check ur dead angle with ur arms raised as high as if holding ur handle bars. Should feel light. Should be a TINY bit too tight as pads are gonna soften up a tiny bit with time. I like double D strap as they still don't do safest ones, although it's a pain to fasten with gloves at times, the time it takes gives u a few seconds to focus, to empty ur mind of everything else than the road, to enter the "I'm now riding my bike" concentration and state of mind, and I like taking those 10 seconds and fasten it slowly before I start the engine, as I crashed a few times within seconds after starting, not since this helmet though.

Read some reviews online! Then go and try as many as u can here and pick according to safety rating, then comfort, price should be the last factor.

I think 2000 RMB is the minimum u should be ready to pay to get a "cheap" real helmet.

It's not just having DOT certification, it's getting a helmet as close as possible from maximum safety rating for as minimum $ as possible.

Same thing goes for ur back plate, minimum 1000 RMB, and read lots of ratings.

Peace.

[modron]

you could always buy 2 sizes on taobao and then send the one that doesnt fit you. I did that before and had no problems with the seller. I live in a small city......well its small in China but still bigger then capital of country Im from, there is no other option then buying online or traveling for few hours to a big city

[ZMC888]

I don't get how saving 500 RMB is more important than saving ur head? What are u gonna do with ur 500 when ur head is a puddle, buy a gold spoon to pick it up? Nor do I get how 500 is more important than everyday's riding comfort.. No DOT certification => fake helmet, period.

Braillce, are you sure you know what you are talking about? DOT, Snell, CE are just various certifications for helmets used in different countries. Not having DOT simply means that the helmet hasn't been tested by that organization in the United States. So if I was selling a particular helmet domestically in China why would I go through the trouble and cost of getting my helmet tested by an American helmet testing organization?

Helmets are just a thick layer of polystyrene with a harder outer shell made from plastic or fiberglass. Are you sure you are not just paying out money in the hope that more expenditure will protect you better? Surely the costs of many of the higher end helmets are to recoup the cost of fancy marketing and rider sponsorship?

Anyhow the smart money looks like getting a HJC helmet as they are made in China but have DOT and other certification (depending in what country they are sold). But maybe buying and fitting one in a shop back home (to ensure it's not a fake and to get the best fit), then buying new visors on Taobao for 45 yuan instead of being gouged for more than ten times as much in a western shop.