Arai helmets
 

I've been using an Arai Axces3 helmet for a while and like it so when I wanted to get a second (better?) helmet I went for another Arai: the ChaserX.

The ChaserX was everything the Axces3 was not - it was uncomfortable after 30 minutes (headache inducing), so I ended up spending more money (£150) for the various optional padding thicknesses for cheeks and crown (the padding at the inside top of the helmet) which helped enormously although the Axces3 is still more comfortable (and discontinued). :(

This hasn't cured my biggest complaint though - opening the visor.

https://i.ibb.co/4W61xNP/Arai.png

This is the visor latch that must be flicked down to allow the visor to be lifted and I simply cannot do it whilst wearing gloves - without gloves, no problem. The latch aligns with the edge of the visor and when you pull it down it lifts a hole in the visor over a lip on the helmet. It would be an understatement to call it "fiddly" but I've solved the problem by removing it!
I hadn't realised how many times I lifted the visor when riding until I couldn't do it!

As yet, I haven't encountered any issues with turning my head and having the airflow lift the visor but it's a risk.

Sadly, Arai seem to be introducing this arrangement over all their models so if you're in the market for an Arai and want to try one, make sure you wear gloves to see if you can work the visor latch.

Re: Arai helmets
 

It makes you wonder whether Arai tested this in a real world riding situation!

Re: Arai helmets
 

I never manage to use the lifter on my Shoei helmet - Wonder if they made the lifter bigger it would cause too much turbulence and wind noise?

Re: Arai helmets
 

My Chaser is a few years old so I don't have that style latch, thankfully. As it's getting on a bit in years I may replace it this year so it looks like I'll be trying other brands.

Re: Arai helmets
 

I've been using an Arai Axces3 helmet for about 3 or 4 years now. It cost about £250 as end of line sell off; way more than I wanted to spend but it was the best fit I could find for my round head shape. It replaced an HJC CL14 which cost me less than £70 but was well over 10 years old; modern HJCs are too oval for my head shape. I must say how disappointed I am with the Arai for the money; it is much noisier than my old HJC (constantly trying to find 7th gear because I can't hear the engine for wind noise), no chin curtain and inferior ventilation. In short, I think that Arai helmets are really over rated. It really annoys we when the motorcycle press test helmets and give absolutely no indication of what head shape it suits.

Re: Arai helmets
 

Arai helmets tend to be for long oval head shapes, Shoei tend to be for rounder heads. This is an older chart and it's from the US and often the model names change (why?).
https://www.lidpicker.com/free-data

Re: Arai helmets
 

Interesting link; I've seen similar before but they always seem to be out of date information. It does illustrate that manufacturers change shape over time and from model to model. The early HJCs were very round but they changed to a more oval shape (larger market) when they ended the CL product line, with the CL17 IIRC. I would describe my Arai Axces3 as round oval, in fact, very slightly too oval for a perfect fit for me but still more than acceptable fit.