So soon I’m planing to buy a helmet and there are a lot of good deals online but I’m scared to buy online as I will not wear a helmet unless it fits me prefectley! So is there any kind of pattern in sizes for example like certain nike shoes you have to get them a size larger, is there any patterns like that?! Does anyone know is j&s is open on Monday will pop down propably and if I find the right one might buy it!
Try them on, simple as that.
Go J&S Mate, try on loads of different sizes, you want it to be as tight as possible without being hard to get on, this is due to the foam giving slightly once worn in and will become a bit looser.
Always buy the most expensive helmet you can afford, don’t go cheap, never scrimp on safety.
Look for reviews online for any you are looking at. Helmets all fit differently and the shape of your head can impact how well a helmet fits too. Arai have a good video online that demonstrates how a helmet should fit and which styles are best for certain head shapes…though they only demonstrate that part for Arai, it will give you a better idea of what to look out for. You can also check SHARP for helmet protection ratings.
As already mentioned, trying them on is more ideal, saves the hassle of returning ones that fit incorrectly. The helmet should be snug so that it can’t swing around on your head, you are allowed minimal movement. It shouldn’t press on your forehead or cause any discomfort.
Arthur, you need to find one that fits your head. go to a shop for your first lid, a good shop assistant should make you walk around with one on for about half hour, to make sure you can have it on your head for long periods of time without too much compression on your skull, which is quite painful and dangerous when you ride. sizewise, let them advice you what head size you are. again, very important for a good fit.
get to a good dealer, i suggest you go to gants hill as its the closest one to you where we have people who work there (Brett) and he’ll advise you with the best intentions not just to get a sale through.
when you get your size and your helmet right, then you can shop on the internet. please no second hand lids, only new ones. unless you know the seller personally.
Go see Ratty and Brett at J&S Gants Hill they will look after you for sure. As Alba said they will make sure it fits properly and not sell you something just because it has a certain name/brand.
Try on as many as you can, don’t worry about colours initially but try for fitment and comfort. Then see what design you like. A plain colour may be cheaper but may allow you to get a better helmet than a colourful design of a lesser brand.
Thanks for the advice guys! I ill go down to j&s monday hopefully if im bot too tired! What price range do you tlthink i need to go for as im not planning to save but i cant spend hundreds aswell?! Can you get a decent lid for about 150? But it has to be a full face and not a flip up i bought one when i had my ped and i flipping hate it the amount of noise just drove me mad!
Im not even thinking about used helmets and i decided that im not buying from small unknowncompanies either becaus i watched a programme on fake helmets and the only time you realise you got a fake is when you crash and the lid just falls apart!
you can get an entry level AGV for that price I think. The AGV Horizon is a nice Lid
it depends. think it this way, how much is your head worth? 
if it fits properly then its good. big companies are usually all reliable, plain colours can be easily picked up for discounted prices. i got my arai from an ebay company for 230. it was an older model chaser but still new.
remember it will stay with you for a good 3-4 years. accident forbid of course.
Hi Arthur,
In theory there should be not much difference in terms of safety between an £80 lid and a £600 Shoei or Arai- they are all tested to meet a baseline for safety in order to be used on UK roads.
The reality is a little bit different though.
Certainly you are paying for extra comfort- if you wear a cheap £80 all day and compare it to an expensive lid you’ll find a difference in the quality and comfort levels.
The more expensive lids have nice features like sun visors, removable/washable/replaceable cheek pads, pinlock etc.
Buying an expensive lid doesn’t necessarily mean it is safer (or significantly safer) than a cheaper lid.
Arai, for instance, do not make a lid with an internal sun visor as they say it compromises the safety of the helmet.
My GT Air has an internal sun visor.
I honestly don’t know who is right- I bought the GT Air as I was sick of having the glaring sun in my eyes and I don’t think wearing sunglasses under a helmet is particularly safe in itself.
In short, everything is a trade off but don’t assume that throwing more money at a helmet will make you safer.
If is FAR better to have a helmet that fits you properly- so I echo the thoughts of Alba and others that say to go to a good shop that knows how to fit helmets.
I’d be wary about that though- salesman aren’t always interested in how well a helmet fits your head, as opposed to selling the stuff they have in stock.
Never been to the Gants Hill J&S but the guys at Hanger Lane seemed to be really good when I was last in there.
One final thing- you will find variation from brand to brand but also from model to model.
For instance I’m an L in a Shoei Qwest and an XL in a GT Air.
I also found that Shoei helmets fit me much better than Arai- you hear stuff on forums about people having ‘shoei heads’ or ‘aria heads’- I’m not sure how true that is but I have found that for myself I prefer Shoei in terms of fit, although not necessarily styling, so I’ve gone for a helmet that fits me first and then found a style I like second.
I see no sense in doing it the other way around and living with an uncomfortable or ill-fitting helmet for style’s sake.
Someone said that exact same thing to me when I started Biking, he said “If you think your head is only worth a tenner stick it in a £10 helmet, if you value your head then stick it in an Arai!!”
Since then I’ve always had either top of the range AGV’s or Arai RX7 GP’s best bit of advice anyone could ever give you
That’s the good thing about Arai, there cheapest base entry level lid uses the same shell as the top of the range RX7 GPRR 5, So once you know your size in an Arai it will be the same throughout their range. The only differences is venting, removable padding etc, how the air flow gets the heat out the lid quicker. This also means that the Base entry level Arai is exactly the same safety wise as the Top of the range one, but coming from someone who has worn a base model arai and a top of the range one, you certainly get more comfort from the RX7, And with the removable/washable interior it is the best lid I’ve ever owned. when washed it feels brand new again and fits tighter.
Ah good to know.
I like the Arai ethos and the styling- I just wish my noggin liked them as well.
I reckon I’d need to lose about 2mm from my forehead in order for it to fit- anyone got a scalpel?
lol.
I’m like that with Shoei. I always wanted the Carl Foggerty rep when he was Superbike Champ but it never fitted properly, it was always too wobbly on my head. (Oh yeh, and probably looked silly considering I was on a Suzuki not a Ducati!)
Cheers guys! I will need to have a good look around j&s tomorrow! Also is it hard to find a helmet where you can replace the visor easily cause I hate having the thing that slides out and when it’s sunny I would just prefer a tinted visor but obviously I need a different one for when it’s dark! Is that the pinlock feature or is that where you can attach that anti fog thing?!
Helmet fit is so important that there is no substitute for trying them on beforehand. Therefore please do consider the investment bike shops make in holding stock and providing assistance before buying the lid they have found for you online elsewhere.
The visors on the AGV’s are easy to change, I have 4 Visors for my Arai (Clear/Light Tint/Dark Tint/Iridium) and it is literally seconds to swap them out
How much emphasis do you all place on the SHARP rating for a lid? Some seem to swear by it, some say it’s flawed, it’s hard to know how much one should pay attention to it.
I’ve just replaced my old AGV K4 (4 star sharp rating), cost me ~£100 couple years ago. Same time, wife bought a HJC CS-R1 Daggar for similar money, but lately discovered it only has a 1 star sharp rating! (flunked all side protection tests). Just got a Bell M3r off Amazon (bit of a risk fitting wise I know), but 5 star rating and £44! Did fit thankfully. Been thinking of replacing Mary’s lid, as you can get an MT Revenge or Caberg V2 407, both 5 star for less than £100. Now, ten quid head and all that, from the above it’s blatantly obvious there’s not a linear relationship between price and amount of protection…
To me, it seems it’s a case of avoid the **** lids, and anything you spend over a monkey will be for added comfort, funky features and noise protection.
I think your pretty much spot on there. As long as it is Gold Rated and meets all the regulations it is fine, it is then down to how much noise reduction and ventilation you want to pay for
For protection and safety measures, check SHARPs website for definite. I had an Arai helmet and when I came off I hit my head and it did it’s job. However, out of curiosity a short while ago I decided to check out it’s rating on SHARP and it had abysmal protection for the temple area (which is what I hit) so had I had hit that area harder it may not have actually done it’s job properly.
But as Sam said, at least with Arai, sizing is consistent, but I find their helmets heavy. The one I use now may look like a storm troopers helmet but it’s carbon and super light so I don’t even notice it. My Arai helmet used to cause strain on my neck if I wore it for any longer than an hour or so.