Helmets

Year: ALL

Arai Tour-X 5 vs Nexx X.Wed3 | which would Justin spend his own money on?

04 July 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

If you’re shopping for a new adventure motorbike helmet, the chances are you’ve seen the Arai Tour-X 5 and the Nexx X.Wed3 reviewed online and wondered which is best. Over the past six months, I’ve...

Nexx X.Wed3 review | MCN puts the latest adventure helmet to the test and it's got some flaws

10 June 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

I tested the Nexx W.Wed2 motorcycle helmet on a trip to Spain back in 2017 and was impressed with the suite of features that the Portuguese manufacturer had packed into their flagship adventure lid.

Get off the beaten track with MCN's pick of the best adventure bike helmets we've tested lately

05 June 2024 by Ben Clarke

Choosing a motorbike helmet to wear on an adventure bike is all about compromise. Peaks are handy off-road, for example, but can be a pain on the motorway. You want maximum ventilation on a sweaty...

Long-distance comfort meets sporty styling in these sports-touring helmets | Tried and tested by MCN

05 June 2024 by Ben Clarke

Sports-touring motorcycle helmets, as the name suggests, are a mixture between sporty lids and comfier touring models that take the best bits from each for an aerodynamic, good-looking end result you...

MCN's expert guide to buying the best motorcycle helmet in 2024 for all budgets and bike types

03 June 2024 by Ben Clarke

You only have one brain and so it’s important to buy the best motorbike helmet you can afford. That doesn’t always mean spending £1000+ on a race-ready carbon lid, though, and there are plenty of...

LS2 Advant X helmet review | Alison Silcox's thoughts after 3,500 miles on test

31 May 2024 by Alison Silcox

At £300 this is a mid-priced lid with some nice touches and has been comfortable from the get-go. LS2 have been making lids for near on 20 years and offer a full range, from top spec Carbon full-faced...

HJC i71 helmet | A seriously impressive helmet for the money

31 May 2024 by Steve Herbert-Mattick

HJC’s latest sports touring helmet features an advanced polycarbonate shell with the firm’s ACS ventilation system, which channels air from front to back to reduce heat and humidity. It has an...

The best water repellents to help you see clearly in the rain

24 May 2024 by Jim Blackstock

This test was performed by the team at our sister title RiDE Magazine – the biker’s champion that guarantees useful advice on buying a new or used motorbike, thorough testing and tips on which bits of...

Get the best of both worlds with MCN's pick of the best flip-front motorcycle helmets

17 May 2024 by Jim Blackstock

Unlike a single-piece full-face helmet, a flip-front has a separate chin-bar that lifts up, exposing the face while the helmet is still on. Not only does this allow people to see your face for ID,...

Shoei X-SPR Pro review | A quality race helmet with Neevesy's nod of approval

17 May 2024 by Michael Neeves

Shoei’s top of the range road and race helmet, replaced the X-Spirit 3 when it arrived in retailers Sep ’22. I’ve been wearing it for over a year on road and for track tests in the UK and Europe, in...

MCN testers have worn these sporty helmets for 30k miles combined | What we learned about this crop of ECE 22.06 options

10 May 2024 by Ben Clarke

Sportsbikes come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and price points and that’s also true of sporty motorcycle helmets. You might want the latest FIM-approved lid to wear on your Panigale V4 for a track...

Best retro motorcycle helmets for an old-school look with modern safety standards

23 April 2024 by Jim Blackstock

The recent rise in popularity of retro-style motorcycles – machines with classic, old-fashioned looks but with bang-up-to-date mechanicals and performance, such as Triumph’s 1960s-influenced...

Safe, comfy and stylish motorcycle helmets don't have to cost a fortune | Budget options from under £100

11 April 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

It may seem like a daft place to try and save money, but there are plenty of budget motorcycle helmets on the market. The truth is that while price can act as a rough guide to the safety and quality...

The AGV K1 S is a wallet-friendly, entry-level helmet that impressed MCN product guru Justin

04 April 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

The AGV K1 S initially caught my eye as one of the first lower cost motorcycle helmets to be certified to the more stringent ECE 22.06 standards. Its predecessor, the K1, has long been the Italian...

The HJC V10 is a retro-infused helmet with all the comfort and practicality of a sports-touring lid

03 April 2024 by Ben Clarke

The HJC V10 motorcycle helmet joined the firm’s range in 2023 as a retro-infused street helmet that would look equally at home on a naked muscle bike or a retro scrambler. It’s lightweight (1422g on...

Shark Race-R Pro GP FIM review | Emma Franklin's verdict after 3500 miles with this quiet racer

15 March 2024 by Emma Franklin

Shark have been making motorcycle lids since 1989. Initially very popular in their native France, Shark started to branch out to other markets in the late 90s and early 2000s. In 2019, the Shark...

Dexter Electron 2 review | A bargain adventure lid punching above its weight on features

14 March 2024 by Chris Newbigging

Sportsbikeshop’s in-house brand, Dexter, offers a feature-packed motorbike helmet for under £100 – a drop-down visor, a Pin-Lock ready visor (in theory another £15 but included free at the time of...

Schuberth E2 helmet review | Is this high-end, comms-equipped flip-front worth the money?

06 March 2024 by Gareth Evans

I’ve been testing the Schuberth E2 adventure touring motorcycle helmet in all conditions over thousands of miles and I’ve found that it is – in one sense at least – in a class of its own. It’s the...

Shoei Hornet ADV helmet for review | Can the Hornet still hold its own against the latest adventure helmets?

19 February 2024 by Richard Newland

This is my first Shoei motorbike helmet, ever – and it’s made me regret not picking one up sooner. The quality, fit and features are all superb and more than on-par with the Arai Tour-X 4 I’ve worn...

Arai MX-V review | The off-road helmet so good that Michael Guy has had four of them!

15 February 2024 by Michael Guy

The MX-V has been Arai’s dedicated off-road helmet for well over a decade and has evolved conservatively during this time. Arai don’t do gimmicks; they stick to their beliefs on safety and quality and...

The HJC RPHA 91 proves you can't put a price on safety: a top quality flip-front helmet

08 February 2024 by Alison Silcox

I’ve been a fan of HJC’s motorcycle helmets for years and was keen to try the latest flip-front offering. I’m happy to say, I’ve not been disappointed with the quality, comfort and fit of the RPHA 91.

2024 deadline brings huge savings on ECE 22.05 helmet stocks | Grab one while you can

19 January 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

Now is the perfect time to bag a huge saving on your next motorcycle helmet, with retailers selling off the last of their ECE 22.05 stock, following a change of regulations. Back in 2020, a new ECE...

Arai Tour-X 5 review: Does this latest adventure lid still have the X-factor?

09 January 2024 by Justin Hayzelden

The Arai Tour-X 5 is the latest version of the iconic Japanese manufacturer’s versatile adventure touring motorcycle helmet. It features a raft of improvements over the previous model, the Tour-X 4,...

Shoei GT-Air 3 review | Top-end sports-touring

15 November 2023 by Richard Newland

• Fancy an upgrade for your helmet but can’t stretch to the Shoei GT-Air 3? The outgoing GT-Air 2 is currently on sale with £240 off. We’ve also got plenty of helmet deals and more on our roundup...

Racer with a day job: Bell Race Star DLX Flex review

24 October 2023 by Ben Clarke

The Bell Race Star Flex DLX is a carbon-fibre, sporty street motorcycle helmet that sits at the upper end of the market – and quite rightly so. This E CE22.06 version of the Race Star is a distant...

The HJC RPHA 1 is a top-spec helmet designed for the track but it actually feels more at home on the road

13 October 2023 by Dan Sutherland

The HJC RPHA 1 is HJC’s most track-focused helmet available to the bike buying public. It meets FIM standards to be used in racing at levels as high as MotoGP, and is not designed with road comfort,...

Shark Spartan RS Review 2023

10 October 2023 by Dan Sutherland

The Shark Spartan RS was one of the first motorcycle helmets from the French safety firm to meet more stringent ECE 22.06 safety regulations – meaning it should perform better in rotational impacts. A...

Our choice of motorcycle helmets with a feminine touch

10 October 2023 by Charlotte King

Women’s helmets seems to be a frequently searched term, but in reality there isn’t really such a thing as a helmet designed specifically for women. All it really comes down to is the colour and design...

Sporty styling meets touring practicality: HJC R-PHA 70 helmet review

19 September 2023 by Alison Silcox

I’ve been a fan of HJC motorcycle helmets for a number of years and have tried various flip-front and full-faced versions. This particular model, the HJC R-PHA 70 helmet has been around for a few...

Head off-road: Best motocross and dirtbike helmets

14 September 2023 by Jim Blackstock

The main difference between road and motocross and dirtbike helmets is the provision of a visor. Most MX helmets are designed to be used with goggles, as these can offer a better view as well as...

Tried and tested: Shark Ridill review

14 September 2023 by Gareth Evans

Shark’s Ridill is a low-price, high-feature motorbike helmet that would suit new riders perfectly. It’s not perfect, as you’d expect for a lid at this price point, but for a starting point it’s ideal,...

Tried and tested: Shark Spartan RS Carbon review

14 September 2023 by Adam Binnie

The SHARK Spartan RS Carbon is a sporty-looking touring helmet with a long list of features, impressive build quality and an ECE 22.06 safety rating, for less money than you’d expect. When we...

Tried and tested: HJC C10 review

14 September 2023 by Emma Franklin

An all-new motorbike helmet for 2023, the HJC C10 is an entry-level model and replaces the CS-15. It is the first sub £100 helmet to meet the latest ECE22.06 safety standard, which replaced the...

Tried and tested: Shoei Neotec II review

14 September 2023 by Jim Blackstock

The Neotec 2 has now been replaced by the Shoei Neotec 3, which conforms to the later ECE 22.06 safety standard. It’s also got a number of tweaks to improve the six-year-old Neotec II. Flip-front...

Racy lids | Best FIM homologated motorcycle helmets

14 September 2023 by Justin Hayzelden

Whether you’re looking for an authentic race replica for the road or want to take to the track wearing the best protection available, then an FIM homologated motorcycle helmet is the only way to go.

Shoei Neotec 3 review | This feature-packed flip front has set a new benchmark for top-spec helmets

01 September 2023 by Justin Hayzelden

The Shoei Neotec 3 is the latest version of the Tokyo based manufacturer’s highly regarded modular motorcycle helmet. As an evolution of the six-year-old Neotec 2, it’s been significantly updated to...