Best helmet for £150?

i got my raid 11 a month ago for 199. its bloody good and havnt seen another helmet i would swap itfor yet.

Thatone looks good especially as its carbon (lighter) something liek that would be good. Although you need to be thinking how old it is. scrap it after 5 years from manufacture. if its already a year old then youve already lost 20% of its usage?

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by TazDaz

AGV S-4 is a comfortable helmet. Suitable for track days too I'm told.

Could probably haggle a shop to give you one for £150 or so. Mine was £170 but that was couple months ago!

Was it agv or arai that did really poorly in the sharp testing?

Edit just looked it up this particular helmet did very well - can;t find the weight anywhere though and I'm not too fond of the vents on the side. Could see them catching on the tarmac in a slide. Deffo a contender though if they've run out of my size tomorrow.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by AndyBrad

i got my raid 11 a month ago for 199. its bloody good and havnt seen another helmet i would swap itfor yet.

Thatone looks good especially as its carbon (lighter) something liek that would be good. Although you need to be thinking how old it is. scrap it after 5 years from manufacture. if its already a year old then youve already lost 20% of its usage?

I thought it was only 5 years of use. Sunshine and weather ruining the materials. anyway doubt I'd go 4 years without crashing anyway.
If it is 5 years from manufacture surely helmets would have a born on date like bud

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by AndyBrad

i got my raid 11 a month ago for 199. its bloody good and havnt seen another helmet i would swap itfor yet.

Thatone looks good especially as its carbon (lighter) something liek that would be good. Although you need to be thinking how old it is. scrap it after 5 years from manufacture. if its already a year old then youve already lost 20% of its usage?

On the list

i got an AGV s4 for £119 delivered
its really nice but can be abit noisy but you need earplugs with everyhelmet at speed so A* for it.

Dave - its important you try the different types mentioned - not all will fit your heed - some have a different shape to them, so although they may be in your price range, they may not be in your head range. I've tried Sharks and AGV and didnt like either (doesnt mean that others dont rate them). I've stuck with Shoei and Arai, but many of these will be out of your price range. Hopefully you wont have to test the quality by bouncing down the road in it!!

Originally Posted by G

The one thats comfortable and fits you best.

Or you could look at the SHARP test for the apparently safest if you believe a goverment test even though they refuse to give out how the test is actually conducted.

A 5 star helmet can be had for £60 apparently.

I worked for many years in the helmet business on retail and wholesale and even done a little bit of development work - I wouldn't trust the SHARP tests until it's known exactly what they are testing and how.

I'd save another 50 quid and buy an Arai Condor (if they fit you). You only get one head and Arai make the very best there is to keep it in one piece. Don't buy anything purely on the fact that it's a quality lid, make sure it fits absolutely perfectly before handing over your dosh. A 500 quid helmet may as well be a goldfish bowl if it doesn't fit well.

My own observations are these. Some of the cheaper helmets aren't actiually all that bad, and some of the more expensive ones are decidedly average. Nitro/Takachi/G-Mac (I used to work for them so I'm a bit biased) are very good and I know from personal experience that they do work in at least two crash situations. the interior linings are far better than they should be in helmets of their price. Shark are rubbish - the vents fall off and break and they only fit Mekons with cranial deformities. AGV are not very well made - the shells appear flimsy and the interior lining material is cheap as chips so they wear out fast. Caberg are absolute rubbish - they fit well once...on the day you buy them, from then on they just get looser and looser. Schuberth are average quality for something that should cost half the money. BMW helmets are made by Schuberth and pretty ridiculously priced. it's all very well having a BMW badge on your lid, but do they really need to charge you so much for something that ought to cost under 150 quid. HJC are pretty good value for money. Takei from Hein Gericke are absolute crap and in 18 months of selling them I never found one person they actually fitted properly. Shoei are a good alternative to Arai and properly priced.

There's loads more I don't have personal experience of, like Nolan, so I can't comment on those.

Buy one that's the best fit for your head......I found AGV's don't fit my head (they're too close around the front) but Shoei's are a great fit for me. I've seen Shoei Raid II's for about £150, and that's what I use. Make sure you try them on 1st....never by it blind.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Lozzo

I worked for many years in the helmet business on retail and wholesale and even done a little bit of development work - I wouldn't trust the SHARP tests until it's known exactly what they are testing and how.

I'd save another 50 quid and buy an Arai Condor (if they fit you). You only get one head and Arai make the very best there is to keep it in one piece. Don't buy anything purely on the fact that it's a quality lid, make sure it fits absolutely perfectly before handing over your dosh. A 500 quid helmet may as well be a goldfish bowl if it doesn't fit well.

My own observations are these. Some of the cheaper helmets aren't actiually all that bad, and some of the more expensive ones are decidedly average. Nitro/Takachi/G-Mac (I used to work for them so I'm a bit biased) are very good and I know from personal experience that they do work in at least two crash situations. the interior linings are far better than they should be in helmets of their price. Shark are rubbish - the vents fall off and break and they only fit Mekons with cranial deformities. AGV are not very well made - the shells appear flimsy and the interior lining material is cheap as chips so they wear out fast. Caberg are absolute rubbish - they fit well once...on the day you buy them, from then on they just get looser and looser. Schuberth are average quality for something that should cost half the money. BMW helmets are made by Schuberth and pretty ridiculously priced. it's all very well having a BMW badge on your lid, but do they really need to charge you so much for something that ought to cost under 150 quid. HJC are pretty good value for money. Takei from Hein Gericke are absolute crap and in 18 months of selling them I never found one person they actually fitted properly. Shoei are a good alternative to Arai and properly priced.

There's loads more I don't have personal experience of, like Nolan, so I can't comment on those.

Hi Lozzo,
Thanks a lot for that that's going to be really useful on my helmet hunt. But since you have a bit of knowledge - what do you think to my current lid; V-can v1000? Do you have any experience with them?

Originally Posted by TazDaz

AGV S-4 is a comfortable helmet. Suitable for track days too I'm told.

Could probably haggle a shop to give you one for £150 or so. Mine was £170 but that was couple months ago!

I just bought a 07 AGV stealth S4 with the St Andrew paintwork for £139.99 from J.W. groombridges, I think you can still get it for the same price in the St Georges as well, really nice comfy helmet as well.

http://jwg.peweb8.m25.co.uk/