Hello bobbleheads! I’m RyanF9 and these are the best helmets for round noggins.
First is the Arai Quantum-X , which is no surprise. Arai pays more attention to head shape than anybody.
The Quantum is not shy about being round . And if that’s not enough, Arai built 5mm of peel-away foam into the padding, so you can make this beach ball even rounder if need be. The crown is adjustable too, which is an extremely rare level of customization.
Arai’s bread-and-butter is wealthy motorcyclists with weird heads. So I guess it’s just their commercial interest to make the most comfortable helmets for odd heads.
Touching quickly on the wealthy part – this Quantum is 800 dollars in boring colours and 1000 dollars in graphics. Because 200 bucks is pocket change to Arai buyers, because paint is more expensive in Japan, because Arai has no shame… choose whichever excuse you like.
The shell is PB-SCLC, for peripherally-belted super-complex laminate construction . Any name that includes the words “super complex” is designed to impress , not describe. So let’s keep it real Arai, and just say that this is fibreglass with an extra-strong belt around the top of the eye port. That lets me have less EPS foam here, allowing for a thinner shell, allowing for a higher field of vision in that full tuck.
Ventilation is good and bad. The good is that the vents close with these flaps that maintain aerodynamics and therefore quietness . Also good is the visor ducts, which run cool air to the blood at your temples. The bad is that you have no hope of finding the vent controls with gloves on.
Speaking of bad, this chin curtain makes the helmet too stuffy. So rip it out and put it someplace where you’ll never find it again, because you can actually see the emergence pad releases with the curtain out. Plus you have the retractable curtain for chilly rides anyway. Arai – this thing was all hurt and no help.
In a similar vein, their new shield latch is hopeless. Push it down, push it up – either way you need to get in there with a finger to unlock the visor . This is so badly-designed that I’m not even sure how it was supposed to work.
But still, the Quantum-X is special. Crazy comfortable for round heads, crazy safe with 5 EPS densities and crazy-light at 1615 grams. You’d still be crazy not to choose the cheaper Shoei RF-1200 instead, but for the roundest noggins that isn’t really an option.
What is an option is the Qwest , because it’s Shoei’s properly round bucket.
This could be the best buy of 2017. It’s a remarkable helmet, selling for only 360ish since Shoei announced its replacement – the RF-SR.
Long story short, I’m not sure the new RF-SR can be much better. This is already one of the safest helmets – Shoei used organic fibres to make the fibreglass more elastic. Which means it stretches and crackles an impact across more of the shell, on a physical level. On a statistical level, it means this helmet scored a perfect 5/5 safety rating from SHARP.
The Qwest also made my “Quietest Helmets” video. Which is no mean feat, especially considering it has an open-ended neck roll. I doubt there’s another helmet that ventilates this well and achieves such a low decibel rating. Although I’m waiting for the RF-SR to prove me wrong.
The Qwest is Snell-rated, it weighs 1650 grams and has no sun visor. So immediately you’d think it’s a supersport helmet, and immediately you’d be wrong. This lid is actually happier in an upright riding position and it isn’t that aerodynamic. You certainly wouldn’t want to be head butting this much wind at 200mph on the track
The HJC CL-17 is a more track-worthy choice. Also it digs out a new price bracket way down below 200 bucks.
One reason I plunk the CL-17 on the track is that it’s loud as shit. Sporting spidermonkeys all use earplugs anyway, so why not?
Also it has a racer’s cut, meaning this neckline is drawn upwards . That reduces weight – 1605 grams for this size medium, which is officially witchcraft for a polycarbonate bucket. Also the racer’s neckline poses less risk of breaking your clavicle, it makes it easier to go into a full tuck and easier to check on the losers behind you.
Of course the CL-17 is a round head shape – I haven’t forgotten the theme of our video just yet. It has an eyebrow vent, which is rare. It has a visor lock, which is less rare. And a pinlock shield included, which isn’t rare at all but always handy. I’ll take a final jab at the shield mechanism, which opens and closes with the smoothness of nails on chalkboard. Also if you have an enormous round noggin, bear in mind that the CL-17 is Snell rated in every size except 3XL, 4XL and 5XL.
Now , enough standard helmets. Let’s close with options for the modular, the open and the adventurous.
Modular is the only choice I’m not happy with. This is a Bell Revolver EVO and I kinda hate it.
That’s because it’s leaky. The panel gaps remind me of a childhood trip to the grand canyon. And the visor doesn’t really close – it just stops moving somewhere near the rubber gasket.
All this amounts to the best-ventilated modular helmet I know of, but also the loudest and the wettest, should you be foolish enough to use it in the rain.
The Revolver is one of the heaviest modulars as well, at 1870 grams. I didn’t know my scale could go that high, least of all with a polycarbonate helmet on there.
Bell isn’t stupid though. They started throwing chin curtains into the box, which really helps with the draftiness. They also made one of the only modulars that jives in a full tuck position. Plus they’re offering graphic options at 270 dollars, which is a mere 10 bucks over the base price. Arai charged two hundred for graphic options, if you remember correctly, and they didn’t look any nicer than this.
Bell threw in little niceties too, like a magnetic chin strap and a sun visor. The latter drops and retracts with all the slick vigor that the main shield lacks, by the way.
Of course the Revolver Evo is a truly round head shape, which is the main reason I had to pick it. There are better modulars that are slightly round , but if you could fit those you wouldn’t be watching this video. Speaking of fitment, the Revolver uses a 2XL shell size for everything medium and up, so don’t be surprised when it looks more bobblehead-y than you do. Now the Biltwell Bonanza looks bobblehead-ish in the photos online. Which is why I was surprised when mine arrived slim and trim.
In real life it’s almost as thin, almost as lightweight as the fancier, fibreglass Bell Custom 500 . I’ve had my Bonanza for a year now and I love wearing it.
I also love the 140-dollar price tag. So much so that I chose this round helmet, even though my head is decidedly neutral.
Now , Biltwell’s mentality is no vents, no worries. But mine is more no vents, I’m worried.
Specifically I’m worried about the liner rotting away in sweat. Fortunately this brushed lycra is removable and washable.
It’s also hand-stitched into a diamond pattern, which sounds cool, but I’m actually not stoked on the idea of someone in Taiwan having to stitch my liner by hand.
I should mention that Biltwell makes atrociously inaccurate size charts. In the case of the Bonanza, you’ll need one size smaller than suggested. I should also mention that there are other round and retro ¾ lids, most notably the Scorpion Belfast pictured lower left, which costs twice as much. But by the feeling of my own head, I’d say the Bonanza is rounder.
Lastly , I chose the Arai XD-4 as a round adventure helmet.
Which is ironic, because it’s not actually round. It’s neutral, tending slightly to the round side.
But remember those 5mm of peel away foam? The XD-4 has ‘em too, and that can make it one of the rounder adventure helmets out there. For whatever reason, there aren’t a lot of alternatives in this category.
The Arai also jumped to mind because of its ear room. See how the padding totally falls away at each side? That results in no pressure points on the side of your face, even if you have a round head and even if you’ve got a Dumbo thing going on like I do.
Shape stuff aside, this is a brilliant 50-50 adventure lid. With breezy visor vents and four-way chimneys, it’s an airy helmet to float around the trails. But it also has better noise cancellation than most ADV lids and foolproof aerodynamics with the smoosh-down peak, so it’s competent on road too.
My medium weighs 1650g, which is respectable. All the cowls and plastic parts you see are designed to break off in a crash, allowing more of the helmet to be safely spherical. The XD-4 also passes Snell and has emergency-release cheek pads – a couple safety features that are very rare on ADV lids. If Arai has an XD-5 in the works, my two big wishes are for a larger eye port and their VAS shield. The former would let me use large frame goggles. And the latter brings the visor hinge lower for an even more spherical, even safer shell.
And those are the best helmets for earth-shaped heads. Thanks for watching.