[Video Transcript]
Hello! I’m RyanF9 and these are the coolest helmet graphics I’ve ever seen.
First up – the LS2 FF324 Metro Firefly .
Woooow what’s the big deal here? Sure it looks sharper than most modular helmets and the blacked-out chin vents give a whiff of the Stormtrooper. Buuuut for this to head up our list, there must be something else going on here…
Lights out!
So the Firefly glows in the dark… perhaps we should have known. And it’s not just random shiny stripes, this is actually branded in glimmering green. The night reveals LS2 – your manufacturer. Metro – your model. And firefly – your crystal colourway. Even the lightweight Kinetic Polymer Alloy shell shines in the darkness, K.P.A.
The number one question I hear about the Firefly – “does it really glow?” And the answer is yes . This isn’t the phosphorescent crap you got in your third-grade happy meal. This is legit, hi-viz stuff. And it’s even raised off the surface, which gives the graphic a 3D quality. You can feel the design, even when you can’t see it.
This is one of my favourite colourways on the market and lucky me , it happens to adorn one of my favourite modulars.
I’ve done a proper review of the FF324 Metro in another video, so let’s just say that it’s far too light and it opens much too slick for a 250-dollar bucket. Only catch is that these chin bar vents are bullshit . They’re supposed to close with these separate covers, except the panels break if you take them on and off too frequently. Useless.
Now, I like graphics that make sense on a motorcycle. Like the Firefly with its nighttime visibility, or this – Icon’s Airmada First Responder Helmet .
I know what you’re thinking – most Icon graphics are idiotic combinations of aliens, fire and boobs. But the First Responder is different.
Meet St. Michael – the archangel badass who fought the devil. Notice his shield casually thrown aside – this is a warrior of attack, not defense. Michael charges forward in the face – face – of great danger, earning his place as the patron saint of first responders.
See that means something to a motorcyclist. If I go down, my life could be in the hands of a paramedic, a firefighter or a cop. Might as well show some respect by visualizing their main man.
As for the helmet itself, we have Icon’s middleweight sport bucket. Not as svelt as the airframe, nor as pudgy as the Alliance. The Airmada isn’t especially light – 1620 grams for this size medium. But it is slim. Put it next to a 1000-dollar Arai Corsair-X and you could hardly say which was bigger.
Of course Arai made a tight helmet with science, whereas Icon made a tight helmet by making … a tight helmet . Even for a long oval head shape, the Airmada is a real squeeze to put on.
But that means it’s reasonably quiet, making all but an airtight seal with my pinched head. And the Airmada is comfy thanks to its HydradDry Liner, which is a genius fabric that Icon doesn’t get enough credit for. Cons to this helmet include the lack of a Snell sticker, which some track day officials might bitch about.
Next , the IS-17 Iron Man .
HJC is the king of cross-branding. They’ve done oodles of helmets with Marvel, and they’re also coming out with a slew of Star Wars buckets. You can get Spider Man, Venom, Kylo Ren, Boba Fett… there are more geeky graphics than there are geeky motorcyclists.
I chose the Iron Man because I love graphics that make sense, remember? Well Iron Man epitomizes the synergy between man and machine. In a fictitious world, Iron Man is the pinnacle of what it possible at the crossroads of flesh and metal.
Here in the real world, people say the same thing about motorcycles. The synergy of man and machine.
Also it’s cool that HJC brought the face shield into the graphic with this orange tint. As it happens, yellow-ish visors tend to be the most versatile between high and low light. You couldn’t pick a better colour for distinguishing road hazards.
But how is the IS-17 as a helmet?
Pretty good. 1520g for this medium is shockingly light for a budget polycarb, especially considering I get a drop-down sun shield. I hate the mechanism on this, however, because when the spring gets tired the visor fails to fully retract.
The IS-17 is comfortable, provided you have a neutral head and sit more-or-less upright on the motorcycle. I like that its visor clips in the centre, because lefties are people too. My main complaint has to do with wind. I hear and feel a lot of it.
Next is the Bell Qualifier DLX Isle of Man Helmet .
I’m a big fan of the TT – it’s a miracle that races like that are still legal – so this tribute graphic earned a spot on my list.
The centrepiece is this massive “Isle of Man” text – wrapping around the helmet’s rear from visor edge to visor edge. It recalls a goggle strap; a subtle homage to the early 1900s, when the Isle of Man TT was founded and the racers still used goggles.
Another recurring motif is the triskele . This three-legged emblem appears on both the coat of arms and the flag of the Isle of Man. It’s a 13 th -century symbol of resilience, often associated with the national motto Quocunque Jeceris Stabit - or “whichever way you throw it, it will stand.”
Obviously , that has meaning for motorcyclists. A constant contact point is our main goal – whichever racing conditions and courses you throw at us, we stand rubber side down.
The third component of this graphic is a map. Obviously this traces the Snaefell Mountain Course, but what’s interesting is that it isn’t accurate. Instead this design is taken from a stylized course map, which is painted on an old billboard on the Isle of Man itself.
That’s a tribute only the geekiest TT fans will catch.
As for the helmet itself, I’m a bit torn. The base qualifier is one of my favourite sport buckets because it’s dirt cheap, lightweight, comfortable and since most spider monkeys wear earplugs, I don’t even care that it’s louder than a hydrogen bomb. But this DLX version costs twice the price , and for that you just get a transition face shield and a compatibility port for a few out-of-date comm systems.
Now this next helmet is a proof of concept . If you follow racing, most manufacturers do tribute helmets – if not full-on race replicas – for their sponsored riders.
I chose the Arai Corsair-X Vinales because I’m a big Maverick fan.
This is a tribute design – it has Vinales’ name and number above each side pod, plus a base graphic similar to the one Maverick often uses. A full race replica would have a bunch of branding for Red Bull, Oakley, Yamaha… but I hate advertising so I’m glad Arai left the sponsors off.
The only brand that did make the cut is Uffedesigns – written in small letters at either end of the chin bar, and under this spoiler wing at the back.
That’s one name I don’t mind having on my helmet. Uffedesigns has done graphics for Vinales, obviously, but also some F1 buckets for Kimi Raikonnen, Jensen Button… the brand adds some racing pedigree.
My one complaint with this helmet is that some idiot put the DOT sticker over the rearmost and largest Maverick graphic. I doubt that would be the same on every helmet, since there’s room to sit the sticker lower. Probably I just got unlucky here.
Helmet-wise, the Corsair-X is one of the nicest things you can put on your head. It looks tiny and slim from the outside, and indeed it’s quite a squeeze to put on. But once you do, the Corsair feels spacious, luxurious and precise from the inside.
Arai’s big thing is glancing blows . These cowls are designed to snap off, the side pods are sunk flush with the shell, and they built a moving pivot point for this visor, just so the mechanism could sit lower and allow more of the upper shell to be perfectly round.
Everything about the Corsair-X is made to glance and slide , making it one of the safest racing helmets out there. Too bad most of us don’t have 1000 dollars to drop.
Now I’m going to end this list where it should have begun.
This is the Bell Star RSD and it’s the most beautiful motorcycle thing. Subtly stunning, basic colours like red, gold and black are all diluted into burgundies, bronzes and greys. They flow together with the inky underlying resins, and stripe parallel to the checkerboard fibreglass.
This graphic both respects and enhances its underlying mechanical construction. Coming from the legendary custom builder Roland Sands, we shouldn’t have expected anything less.
I’ve encountered Mr. Sands before – most often in the cruiser and retro realm – so it’s nice to see his hand tipped to the sportbike market. Only problem , and the reason this helmet ends rather than begins our video, is that the Bell Star was the wrong sport helmet to choose.
It misses all the important features that you’ll find in its older brother, the Race Star, a yet still manages to cost a baffling 550 dollars. As much as my eyes want to buy it… my head says no.
And that’s it for the best-looking motorcycle helmets.
Thanks for watching.