Good alternative to Icon helmets?

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Vortex has terrible venting compared to the RS1. Also the lining in the vortex feels like sandpaper compared to the plush RS1.
 
2wzilla said:
Haha. Is Icon that bad?
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If you don't want to be taken seriously get an icon.

My advice, get a bell helmet with a transition visor. I have never replaced a visor in years
 
I bought an HJC FG-17 this year. Came with pinlock, dark and clear visors. Has cool max liner, flows lots of air and shield changes are 30 seconds. Paid $225 after tax at Royal.
 
Don't get HJC, or at least the cheap models. Mine (CL-17) didn't come with shaded visor, or the dust shield that goes on chin area. So lots of debris getting in, esp when its windy, and the venting is rather poor - have to ride with the visor slightly cracked open if the ambient temps are chilly.

So in the end, you're not saving money at all compared to helmets that already come with all these accessories. Oh, and after two seasons, the F'n chin strap now really likes to get all twisted and tangled and sometimes really tough to undo.
 
Check out the SHARK S700 series with built-in visors. If you hate the swapping with ICON, you'll hate Arai. Shoei is very straight forward, same with Bell (you can also get the transitioned visor with Bell). If it's price point you worry about, HJC is good.
 
I don't understand the hate for arai shield changing :confused: Lift the shield, push the tabs, pull visor out, insert new visor. My shark race-r pro is definitely easier but no issues with arai. Bunch of amatures ;)
 
Boots said:
Unless you dropped it with a human head inside of it, instead of it just falling waist height off a bike or out of your hands, you should be fine.
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Da funk?
 
dricked said:
I don't understand the hate for arai shield changing :confused: Lift the shield, push the tabs, pull visor out, insert new visor. My shark race-r pro is definitely easier but no issues with arai. Bunch of amatures ;)
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Mine used to get stuck every time, even Dave couldn't get it out, so maybe it was a defective helmet who knows.
 
ZX600 said:
Da funk?
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Point being a helmet with weight inside will do the damage to the material between the shell and the inner lining. An empty helmet falling off a bike is highly unlikely to do damage to the protective material and has been debunked by arai for a while now.
 
Went HJC (FG-17) after having 3 Shark lids(RSF2i, 2xRSi) and have been very happy. Comfortable for my head shape, works great with glasses, great ventilation and never fogs. Visors are pretty cheap too.

Had to wear my old Shark again after going bean planting at the last round and man did it suck. Noisy as **** and fogged up real bad down the back straight every lap.

Looks like I'll be grabbing another HJC for next season.
 
If you are shopping for next season the winter motorcycle shows have a good selection of vendors with stock so you can try some on for fit....
 
I have a cheaper HJC for the track and a top RPHA HJC for the street. Both are light, vent lots of air, and fogging hasn't been an issue. Easy shield changes as well. Love Shark's and still have my RSR2 but the new ones don't seem to fit me as well.
 
Jayv said:
Vortex has terrible venting compared to the RS1. Also the lining in the vortex feels like sandpaper compared to the plush RS1.
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Yes true...Vortex the is entry level...Rs 1 is more quality...for 200 the Vortex the is a great value and has good safety features compared to other in this price point
.
 
Baironhorse said:
Best visor system on the market....plus every thing runs flush...clean lines nothing to rip off and bind should u go down...I have dark tint...has a great anti fogging coating on it...other day when it was 5 or 8 degrees in am it held to its word in the fogging dept ..clean bugs n stuff with wet rag good to go...the swapping system is so easy n clean
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Okay, that's nice to know. There really isn't many manufactures with easy to swap visor systems. Will look into Bell
 
zlaTko said:
You can always buy extra side covers and that will make your visor change significantly faster. They offer covers for all the icon helmets.
I own 2 icon helmets as well...the alliance dark and the airmada future suture and ive got a clear and a dark smoke visor for both. I'm thinking of doing the same thing and just buying extra side covers.
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Side covers are $10/pack. Now it's not about the side covers, but if you look in the manual the side covers have to be "OFF" prior to putting the visor in. My visor dose not like to clip into place on the helmet, plus my Pivot has already broken as it's really cheap and crappy plastic that was used in the construction of the locking mechanism.

Icon should really rethink their visor locking mechanism, it's a rather pain in the ***. I also had to loosen the Pivot on both sides on my Airframe Manic as I could not properly install the visor without it having to pop off the locking mechanism. Thing is my Airframe is the more expensive helmet (I got it on sale truth for close to same price as Alliance), but the Alliance is by far better for the buck, the Airframe let's way to much air truth the visor sides since there loose, and no Icon visor is every properly flushed.
 
RockerGuy said:
If you don't want to be taken seriously get an icon.

My advice, get a bell helmet with a transition visor. I have never replaced a visor in years
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lol. Damn so it is that bad. So what's up with all that hype for Icon Variant's? I got Icon for my M1 exit course, was looking for something cheap and at $150 inc. Tax it was a hard deal to beat.
Since then kind of got stuck with Icon stuff. I don't regret getting the helmets since there okay for what they are, they could have made many things better inc. chin strap (the strap on alliance series is massive compared to others), I do hover greatly regret getting Icon Overlord Stealth jacket, one of the most hated things I have. I like my Icon Merc jacket truth, not really waterproofed much but its pretty decent for light rain and cold weather, plus stops wind decently.
 
Baironhorse said:
Yes true...Vortex the is entry level...Rs 1 is more quality...for 200 the Vortex the is a great value and has good safety features compared to other in this price point
.
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I feel like the RS1 is more track orientated, not that it's a bad thing. Also RS1's are at around $300-$400 range which is in the range of Icon Airframe and Icon Airmada and Icon Variant series helmets, thing being that they all have same visor swapping mechanism except the Variant which looks like crap in my opinion compared to some other Duel-Sport helmets out there (Bell/Fly Racing)
 
Boots said:
Point being a helmet with weight inside will do the damage to the material between the shell and the inner lining. An empty helmet falling off a bike is highly unlikely to do damage to the protective material and has been debunked by arai for a while now.
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My Icon Alliance fell from my handlebars when I started the bike up, thing has fallen two times since I had it. Still wear it, still feels safe... Has scratches and chips here and there but whatever.
RcJONWg.jpg
 
Don't decide on a helmet 100% just because of the name. Make sure you try them on and that they fit you well. There's a chance a Shoei won't fit you right, therefore even though it get's all the praise in the world, you should not get it. I personally also have the FG-17 by HJC and love it, not too pricey and fits me perfectly. The visor changes in seconds. Most helmets that don't have side covers are fairly quick to change.

If you have any questions about helmets such as pricing, stock, visors whatever, feel free to pm me, it's kind of my job, or even e-mail me at my work -> melanie@stongerecreation.com
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