Hey folks, I've had an HJC RPHA-10 helmet for a while now, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on whether the helmet is any good. The helmet is intended to be HJC's "Racing" helmet, meant to compete with the big boys like the Shoei X-12 and Arai Corsair-V, but for about half the cost.
Size/Fit
One of the most important parts of buying a helmet is getting one that fits you properly, and I would suggest that this helmet is designed with a "round" head shape in mind. I've got a pretty "oval" shaped head, so the helmet fit a bit looser than I'd like, but not so much that I felt it was a problem. The helmet comes in multiple shell sizes, which helps it not look massive on your head. The overall size was about on-par with my Shoei RF-1100 (both medium).
Inside, the material is really spongy, which may be good or bad, depending on the person. I personally liked the slightly firmer feel of my Shoei's padding. The liner material is probably best desribed as "T-Shirt-like", and provides a pretty soft surface to put your face on. The liner isn't what I would I would call "premium" feeling, but it's soft, and feels like putting your head in a big pillow.
Finish/Graphics
I got my RPHA-10 in the Ben Spies II Monster replica, which is flat black. Given that it's flat black, it's not going to have the nice metallic finish with great pinstriping like some of the latest Shoei/Arai offerings, but what is there is pretty accurate to the real thing, so I'm pretty happy with it. A warning though: flat black is pretty hard to clean off. Bugs tend to leave some oily film, so it takes a bit of effort.
The "fit/finish" on the vents and accessories is...okay. The rear spoiler doesn't line up quite right, but the adjustable vent at the front both looks and works pretty good. The laser-cut mesh on the chin looks pretty cool, IMO.
Weight
Weight is what I would consider to be pretty important, since a sore neck is no fun, and can ruin an otherwise awesome day. All helmets increased their weight with the Snell 2010 certification, but this is one of the lighter ones I've picked up. It's noticeably lighter than my RF-1100, and I'd think you'd have to get something full-carbon before you could get much lighter.
Ventilation/Fog
Fog isn't an issue after installing the included pinlock insert, which is a nice touch (and can be a pretty expensive upgrade for some other helmets). I tried the helmet on a cooler day without the insert, and it was pretty bad until you got moving.
Ventilation is not very good, unless you're moving, and/or in a pretty aggressive riding position - then it's really good. The chin vent is pretty narrow, but the plastic directs the air right up into the helmet - if you're in the right position. If you're in a nice upright position, you're going to have a bad time. The top vents are like big shovels, so you get some pretty excellent airflow on the top of your head - but they're a little far back, so they don't get your forehead, which would have been nice.
Value
Given HJC's goal of producing a "Race" helmet for substantially less than its competitors, the value is an important point to consider. What you get in this helmet is all of the top-level features for about half the price, and you can get MotoGP race replicas. The cost of this is that some of the features aren't quite as nice, such as the liner. That being said, for guys with a "round" shaped head, this may be their best option in this category, regardless of price. If you were handed both this and an Arai helmet, with no prior knowledge of the cost, you'd give the edge to the Arai, but you wouldn't identify a $500+ price difference. From a price perspective, the replica graphic models undercut even the new Shoei RF-1200.
Other Notes
The sharp.gov.uk site rates this helmet at 3/5 stars, but gives side-impact ratings a "poor". It's the ECE version of the helmet (not the DOT/Snell), but still. For comparison, the Arai Corsair-V got 4/5, and the Shoei X-12 got 5/5.
Conclusion
So, would I buy it again? I'm undecided, but not because of what the helmet offers - I don't think it fits my head that great, and I think this is pretty crucial. I think some of the graphics are really cool, the weight is great, and I like that they are offering competition to a top-level helmet, but for half the cost. So, people with roundish heads - buy it. People with super oval heads like me, maybe stick to Shoei, even the RF-1200 is probably on-par.
Size/Fit
One of the most important parts of buying a helmet is getting one that fits you properly, and I would suggest that this helmet is designed with a "round" head shape in mind. I've got a pretty "oval" shaped head, so the helmet fit a bit looser than I'd like, but not so much that I felt it was a problem. The helmet comes in multiple shell sizes, which helps it not look massive on your head. The overall size was about on-par with my Shoei RF-1100 (both medium).
Inside, the material is really spongy, which may be good or bad, depending on the person. I personally liked the slightly firmer feel of my Shoei's padding. The liner material is probably best desribed as "T-Shirt-like", and provides a pretty soft surface to put your face on. The liner isn't what I would I would call "premium" feeling, but it's soft, and feels like putting your head in a big pillow.
Finish/Graphics
I got my RPHA-10 in the Ben Spies II Monster replica, which is flat black. Given that it's flat black, it's not going to have the nice metallic finish with great pinstriping like some of the latest Shoei/Arai offerings, but what is there is pretty accurate to the real thing, so I'm pretty happy with it. A warning though: flat black is pretty hard to clean off. Bugs tend to leave some oily film, so it takes a bit of effort.
The "fit/finish" on the vents and accessories is...okay. The rear spoiler doesn't line up quite right, but the adjustable vent at the front both looks and works pretty good. The laser-cut mesh on the chin looks pretty cool, IMO.
Weight
Weight is what I would consider to be pretty important, since a sore neck is no fun, and can ruin an otherwise awesome day. All helmets increased their weight with the Snell 2010 certification, but this is one of the lighter ones I've picked up. It's noticeably lighter than my RF-1100, and I'd think you'd have to get something full-carbon before you could get much lighter.
Ventilation/Fog
Fog isn't an issue after installing the included pinlock insert, which is a nice touch (and can be a pretty expensive upgrade for some other helmets). I tried the helmet on a cooler day without the insert, and it was pretty bad until you got moving.
Ventilation is not very good, unless you're moving, and/or in a pretty aggressive riding position - then it's really good. The chin vent is pretty narrow, but the plastic directs the air right up into the helmet - if you're in the right position. If you're in a nice upright position, you're going to have a bad time. The top vents are like big shovels, so you get some pretty excellent airflow on the top of your head - but they're a little far back, so they don't get your forehead, which would have been nice.
Value
Given HJC's goal of producing a "Race" helmet for substantially less than its competitors, the value is an important point to consider. What you get in this helmet is all of the top-level features for about half the price, and you can get MotoGP race replicas. The cost of this is that some of the features aren't quite as nice, such as the liner. That being said, for guys with a "round" shaped head, this may be their best option in this category, regardless of price. If you were handed both this and an Arai helmet, with no prior knowledge of the cost, you'd give the edge to the Arai, but you wouldn't identify a $500+ price difference. From a price perspective, the replica graphic models undercut even the new Shoei RF-1200.
Other Notes
The sharp.gov.uk site rates this helmet at 3/5 stars, but gives side-impact ratings a "poor". It's the ECE version of the helmet (not the DOT/Snell), but still. For comparison, the Arai Corsair-V got 4/5, and the Shoei X-12 got 5/5.
Conclusion
So, would I buy it again? I'm undecided, but not because of what the helmet offers - I don't think it fits my head that great, and I think this is pretty crucial. I think some of the graphics are really cool, the weight is great, and I like that they are offering competition to a top-level helmet, but for half the cost. So, people with roundish heads - buy it. People with super oval heads like me, maybe stick to Shoei, even the RF-1200 is probably on-par.