Safest Motorcycle Helmets of 2016
Shoei Qwest
First up – the Shoei Qwest.
Right off the bat we have a simple full face motorcycle helmet. Maximum coverage, no flip-up chin bar to weaken the structural integrity, no sun peak to catch on the ground and transfer torque to my neck. So that’s good.
If we’re talking about good old impact protection, this shell is exceptionally safe. It’s a composite fibreglass construction, which I always like to see. While cheaper polycarbonate buckets will crack on impact, fibreglass will crackle . Tiny fractures spreading across the helmet, dispersing force into a large area of the shell even before the EPS foam underneath comes into play.
So fibreglass is good , but even better is that Shoei wove organic fibres into the mix. These natural fibres are extremely elastic which brings the crackling effect to the new level. The organic fibres want to bend and stretch and hold onto one another, spreading the crackle across more and more of the shell, rather than letting anything puncture through.
So it’s a very safe shell. That’s probably why the Qwest scored a perfect 5/5 on UK’s SHARP safety ratings.
There are other things that make this helmet safe. The visor is anti-scratch, anti-fog and 99.9% protective from UV rays. So my visibility and eyesight is in good hands. The visor locks down too, which is nice because face shields have a tendency to open in a slide.
My main worry with the Qwest is its size and weight. 1.65 kilograms isn’t obese, but in a crash, every gram means more force on your neck. And because this helmet isn’t super slim, the surface of the shell sits pretty far away from the surface of my head, meaning the rotational torque this helmet could impart is fairly high.
But all around, this is a top-notch helmet when it comes to safety. It’s a round head shape by the way, so be mindful of that. Fitment is one of the most important things when it comes to safety. So there’s no point cramming your oval noggin into this round Shoei, because that would negate most of its safety benefits anyway. I should also mention that this was one of my top-5 quietest motorcycle helmets, if you care about that kind of thing.
HJC IS-17
Now, we all know the old adage – “$50 helmet for a $50 head” – right? Well it’s kind of ironic, because only $50 heads would believe something like that. Price does not equal safety when it comes to motorcycle helmets. I know 1000-dollar buckets that are almost useless in a crash, and I know some cheap helmets that’ll protect like a pro.
Case in point – HJC IS-17.
By all accounts, this is a “budget” helmet. Just over $200 gets me this comfortable, reasonably quiet, well-ventilated helmet with a drop-down sun visor and a quick-release pinlock-ready face shield.
So, it’s a cheap helmet and yet the IS-17 scores a perfect 5/5 on the SHARP safety ratings. Plus, the IS-17 is 50 grams lighter than that Shoei Qwest we just saw, so it’s safer for your neck. That’s no disrespect to Shoei either, because the IS-17 also trumps a bunch of Schuberths, Arais and AGVs when it comes to safety.
Now, the face shield locks on the HJC, which you know I like. And the drop-down sun visor has some safety benefit too, because being able to see is somewhat important when piloting a motorcycle. I just wish HJC gave us a legitimately dark lens here, because this is a light smoke at best . Those of you who watch my other videos will also know that I really hate this spring-loaded deployment system. Long story short – these fail to retract completely as soon as the spring gets worn out or dusty.
The IS-17 is an intermediate head shape, and you’ll need to have an intermediate noggin if you’re going to get the most out of its safety features. I should probably mention that this helmet is only DOT-rated, but that doesn’t put any doubts in my mind. Snell and ECE stickers are meaningful but they’re certainly not the whole story.
Now, the first two helmets we’ve seen have been good general-purpose full faces. But what if I want something sportier?
AGV CORSA
I’ll take AGV’s Corsa as my first choice for a safe sport helmet.
Yes, it achieves a 5/5 rating from SHARP and yes, its Pista GP older brother does too.
I chose the Corsa because it’s about seven hundred dollars cheaper than the GP. The major difference is that the GP saves a few grams with its carbon fibre shell, while the Corsa uses composite fibre. There’s not really a safety difference between the two and at 1570 grams, the Corsa is plenty light to begin with. It also has close-able ventilation ducts, which I like because I don’t spend every waking minute at the track.
In my opinion, getting a precise fit is just as important as choosing a safe helmet. And the Corsa makes it easy, with 7 different sizes and 4 different shells to give me the optimal size relationship between my head, the padding and the shell of the helmet. AGV even gives us two different mediums – medium-small and medium-large – to better cater to those most common head sizes. And if that weren’t enough, I also got some padding customization options in the box.
By the way, have a look at the locking mechanism on the visor here – it’s like a metal deadbolt screwed into the face shield … I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so sturdy.
The Corsa is a killer track day helmet – one look at the massive rear spoiler will tell you that it’s meant to be ridden like this. We also know that the Corsa steals its shell shape, aerodynamics and ventilation from its track-ready older brother. And the Pista GP, in turn, was designed in conjunction with The Doctor. So what I’m saying is … this Corsa has plenty of Valentino Rossi’s DNA.
My only complaint with the Corsa is that it isn’t Snell certified. That’s no comment on its safety level, mind you. Snell and the European certifications have slightly different ideas on what makes a helmet safe, so AGV probably just built this helmet to ace the European tests and didn’t bother sending it to Snell. I’d have no issue with that, except some track day officials might balk at this DOT sticker.
Scorpion EXO-R410
Now, I chose this last helmet to prove a point. It’s a 200-dollar Scorpion EXO-R410 and it has two massive safety features that are often overlooked.
Obvious one first – hi-viz colourway. I’m always amazed how people will spend so many hours and dollars trying to find the safest possible helmet, and then they’ll get it in black. I mean yeah, black is cool. But if safety is your primary concern, this neon colourway probably does more than all the safety ratings and fancy fibres combined.
Let me put it this way. In most motorcycle crashes, the difference between a 3-star safety helmet and a top-of-the-line 5-star safety helmet won’t affect how you walk away. It’s only a certain percentage of accidents – where the head trauma is within a very specific range – that you’ll actually see the benefit of the 5-star helmet.
On the other hand, a neon helmet decreases your chances of getting into all accidents in the first place. That’s why I choose to ride in a white helmet. Neon is a tad too lame for my personal vanity, but white I can handle. The main thing is that it’s reflective, it’s bright, and it doesn’t blend into the road.
The other safety feature this helmet displays – which is often overlooked – is this. Emergency quick-release cheek pads. I hope these never get used for any of us. But heaven forbid we get into a crash that results in a neck injury … these red tabs make a world of difference. Instead of yanking and tugging on the helmet, paramedics will be able to pull these tabs, remove this padding, and slide the helmet off without too much force.
So those are the points I wanted to make with the EXO-R410. SHARP gave it 4 stars, by the way. But with the hi-viz colourway and emergency-release cheek pads, I’d actually feel safest in this helmet out of all the ones on my list. It’s Snell and DOT rated, it has a locking face shield, it weighs 1670 grams and has an intermediate head shape.
That’s it for my safest motorcycle helmets. Please feel free to disagree with me in the comments below, and thank you very much for watching.