Okay guys, I'm an ex road sales rep' for Sierra M/C Prod's, Hemet House, WPS, Tucker Rocky, Ducati No. America and have been riding dirt and street for 56 years. Former MX, C.C / H.S. expert ... Have rep'd Nolan, Marushin, KBC, HJC, Shoei and Arai. Have been to many helmet seminars throughout these three decades. My very first bit of advise; DO NOT SCRIMP on head protection. Bones and skin can grow back, brains rarely do... My second: ARAI, and only Arai! Bruce Porter, Arai's former Nat'l Sales Mgr., gave we Tucker Rocky rep's the best, most sensible, comprehensive helmet seminar a couple of decades ago and most all of what he told us is still true about this brand. I have been knocked out in Shoei's twice, once in a pavement impact that I think I would have been knocked unconscious in ANY helmet, but the second time in a top of the line Shoei RF, in a pretty soft dirt DG impact, I was knocked out again. This made me question the too stiff liner in most SNELL approved helmets. Most helmets at that juncture (2007) were being built to withstand the heavy impact with much less emphasis on the lesser, milder impact and the styrafoam impact liners and most brands at that time were too stiff for the softer blow. Arai, insists on making the softest Styrofoam liners that can also withstand the heaviest blow and pass SNELL, along with a fiberglass that is - per their promotional material - 30% stronger than normal fiberglass. Stiffest shell, softest liner; best... Their logic is the first impact is almost always a glancing blow, not a direct hit, so they want the rider to stay conscious through that initial impact so that he / she doesn't turn into a "rag-doll" for the balance of the crash and can perhaps control a slide toward a fixed object or vehicle. Also, they only build round helmets, with the only aerodynamic parts, such as intakes or exhaust vents as sacrificial break away components. Helmets with flares and ridges built into the shell they insist can exacerbate an impact / injury as these "features" can catch something in a slide, etc. As well, their front face sections are always as close as possible to the face so that in the event of a frontal impact, your head has the least time to speed up before crushing the face guard's Styrofoam liner. Yes, they're quite a bit more spendy than others and the other brands now have paid more attention to the initial glancing blow than in the past with new M.I.P.S. tech'y built in. But for my money, and my head, it's always Arai. Btw, Arai is also the most popular among racers whom don't have a helmet sponsor. That alone says a LOT. All of my Off Road and Road helmets are Arai's...
