Please Help Me Choose My Next Helmet

[PolishPete]

I'm looking at purchasing a helmet, and I've narrowed it down to these three.  I have tried on the Arai and Shoei, and they fit well.  My local dealer does not carry Suomy, so I wasn't able to try them on.  The Suomy Vandal however is a great helmet (from what I'm told), and I can get a great on it. 

I like the looks/design of the Shoei shell best, but it seems like the padding is thin inside.  The helmet fits me perfect (we worked on fitting for a while), but compared to the Arai it feels like there's less padding (less safe?).

The Arai is a little bit heavier, and the padding inside feels like I'm putting my head into a pillow.

What would you guys do, and most importantly...why?

[anderstj0mills]

I Have the shoei X11 and love it. I bought it over the arai because of the firmer fit. The softer liner in the Arai foam lets your skull accelerate faster toward the impact foam. I "feel" safer in the Shoei. As far as real safety goes there both great helmets. I just like the shoei as I have owned them for years and crash tested them. My head is in good shape or at least I think it is.

[Sobottka]

all are quality but only one brand supports club level racing!  (nevermind that i have a vandal on the way!)

[roadracer162]

This may help a little when deciding.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/comply/

I use the Arai because it fits me well. I have no fatigue when riding on the street or on my track helmet. My understanding from the protection standpoint is that the outher shell protects against penetration and the harder blunt forces by absorbing shock and disipating it within the structure of the shell. The polystyrene foam liner absorbs the lower impact shock, and althouth the fabric liner and polyethylene foam (?) absorbs some shock (energy) it is mostly for the comfort side of the equation.

I say wear what you can afford and what the best fit is for your head-shape. If the fit in compromised I believe that you will be more likely to be fatigued while racing due to discomfort.

Mark

[RSimmons]

Suomy and Shoei/Arai have significantly different head shapes. If the Shoei and Arai fit well, I doubt the Suomy will. Try it on. Fit is THE MOST IMPORTANT consideration.

I've crash tested Shoeis on a number of occasion. I shudder to think how much $$$ I've spent on the X-11s and RF1000s I've broken. They work, and they work well.

FWIW, my head was run over by a tanker truck  while I was wearing a $90 HJC and I lived to tell about it. I have a few plates in my skull, but I'm not dead.

[Garywc]

proper fit is the most important thing to have a helmet work correctly
you cant sacrifice safety for who gives you the best deal
if you didn't get to try on the suomy i would try to find one some where to try before buying one. maybe go to a different dealer
looks are the least important thing about a helmet.

everyone has there own opinion on which helmet is the best. some people just go by what they read or some go by who is wearing what in the pro level.
but since you narrowed it down to 3 choices and didn't get to try one of them on i would eliminate that one unless like i mentioned get a chance to try it on.
as far as less padding and being less safe i wouldn't thing so since most of the helmets get the same testing most major brands would be just as safe as another

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Figuring that your going with a good helmet - Lighter weight helmets are nice, especially on the fast tracks and at Daytona where G-forces are a factor as well. Some racers also like certain helmets because they are quieter than others, have removable/washable liners, quick change shields, wind deflectors under the chin, and on and on.

I personally like the Aria RX7-RR series, they fit me well and are very light weight. 

[PolishPete]

Thanks for the input guys.

[roadracer162]

One of the benefits to the Arai is that you can change cheekpads which adjusts the fit of the helmet as needed.

Mark

[Super Dave]

Suomy too.  Everything comes out easy to wash your individual stink out too.

[roadracer162]

That's cool. any ideas of the cost of replacement pads for the Suomy?

[honda60071]

Shoei check pads are changeable also for thickness, I have the rf1000 and move up to a 35mm pad and fits good on my mellon! But again as everyone else has said make your own choice. Fit comfort cost and reliability.