dduelin
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Occasionally I like to ride in a 3/4 open face helmet and my Shoei J-Wing is nearing retirement age. I realize many riders won't accept the extra risk associated with wearing open face helmets. It's a choice we make and occasionally I make that choice.
I've come to really like the drop down sun visor in my modular Shoei Neotec so I went to see Paul at The Helmet Shop in Daytona recently to look at an open face Shoei J-Cruise which incorporates a sun visor. I've bought my last three helmets from Paul. The J-Cruise is a beautiful helmet with thoughtful design and typical Shoei plush padding. However it is nearly $450 and there were no close-outs or deals to be had. That was just too much $$$ for me to drop on a helmet I won't use very much even as nice and long lasting as the Shoei will be. I paid $225 for the J-Wing on close-out three years ago. Paul then showed me an FG-Jet made by HJC. It is a 3/4 open face design and is made with a fiberglass composite shell and has a drop-down sun visor. He said besides the fiberglass construction the major difference from the polycarbonate shell HJC IS-33 is the venting. The helmet is light at about 3 lbs. 3 oz. and feels well balanced on my head. It fits like a Shoei on a neutral or slightly narrow shaped head. My Neotec is 10-12 hour comfortable while my J-Wing never was. This HJC felt good first ride, I can only hope it's all day comfortable but in a couple hours I felt no hot spots or excess pressure. The FG-Jet has three scoops across the top of the shell and two in the rear of the shell. The design of the scoops is such they don't really add bulk or excess to the exterior and the closure mechanisms appeared easy to find with gloved fingers and are definitely opened and closed with positive tactile feedback. The quality of the paintwork and overall fit and finish were on a par with Shoei and the padding felt and looked nearly as good. The interior is removable for washing. The HJC visor mechanism was not as well placed as Shoei's and does not feel as well made. HJC places it on the top of the helmet and Shoei places it on the side about where my ear is. In addition the HJC design has just two fixed visor positions besides retracted while Shoei's is infinitely adjustable from retracted to fully down. I judged the tint of the sun visor to be much lighter than the dark visor of the Shoei. The sturdy clear face shield pops on and off a little easier than a Shoei does and the latter is super easy, the HJC is easier yet. The face shield mechanism detents from full down to open aren't as positive as Shoei but not a deal breaker in actual use. The FG-Jet is about $155-$170 retail online and I tried it on in the store for 10 minutes before ordering one in Gloss White. With FL sales tax it was less than $155. Paul showed me the FG-Jet runs a little smaller in sizing than Shoei so I bought a Medium instead of my usual Small in Shoei sizing. I've had the helmet a couple weeks and ridden several hundred miles in it. It is the best ventilating helmet I've ever worn. The top vents on each side have several positions between open and closed and each is very effective and the different amounts of air coming in are easily felt. The Shoei Neotec vents well and the FG-Jet is even better. With the vents full open it's windy on the top of my head. In 50 degrees F I had one vent partially open and the other two closed. I can't wait for the heat of summer to wear this helmet as it moves a lot of air. The FG-Jet is fairly noisy but not for a 3/4 design. I always wear earplugs so noise will not be an issue. I did find the sun visor to be a little too light for my taste in bright Florida sun and in the lowest position it occasionally tickled my nose. The upper position is still low enough to be effective. After the second day of riding I ordered the darker HJ-V7 sun visor HJC offers for $22.50. It is darker by several shades and works OK for me. The optics of the visor and clear shield are noticeably not as good as Shoei but for $150 vs $450 they are perfectly adequate and I became used to them almost immediately. I wear glasses under the sun visor with plenty of room for them. The aerodynamics of the helmet and shield are very good with no lifting or bobbling when turning my head from side to side. All in all I am very happy with my FG-Jet and give it a thumbs up. It's an outstanding value and looks great.
I've come to really like the drop down sun visor in my modular Shoei Neotec so I went to see Paul at The Helmet Shop in Daytona recently to look at an open face Shoei J-Cruise which incorporates a sun visor. I've bought my last three helmets from Paul. The J-Cruise is a beautiful helmet with thoughtful design and typical Shoei plush padding. However it is nearly $450 and there were no close-outs or deals to be had. That was just too much $$$ for me to drop on a helmet I won't use very much even as nice and long lasting as the Shoei will be. I paid $225 for the J-Wing on close-out three years ago. Paul then showed me an FG-Jet made by HJC. It is a 3/4 open face design and is made with a fiberglass composite shell and has a drop-down sun visor. He said besides the fiberglass construction the major difference from the polycarbonate shell HJC IS-33 is the venting. The helmet is light at about 3 lbs. 3 oz. and feels well balanced on my head. It fits like a Shoei on a neutral or slightly narrow shaped head. My Neotec is 10-12 hour comfortable while my J-Wing never was. This HJC felt good first ride, I can only hope it's all day comfortable but in a couple hours I felt no hot spots or excess pressure. The FG-Jet has three scoops across the top of the shell and two in the rear of the shell. The design of the scoops is such they don't really add bulk or excess to the exterior and the closure mechanisms appeared easy to find with gloved fingers and are definitely opened and closed with positive tactile feedback. The quality of the paintwork and overall fit and finish were on a par with Shoei and the padding felt and looked nearly as good. The interior is removable for washing. The HJC visor mechanism was not as well placed as Shoei's and does not feel as well made. HJC places it on the top of the helmet and Shoei places it on the side about where my ear is. In addition the HJC design has just two fixed visor positions besides retracted while Shoei's is infinitely adjustable from retracted to fully down. I judged the tint of the sun visor to be much lighter than the dark visor of the Shoei. The sturdy clear face shield pops on and off a little easier than a Shoei does and the latter is super easy, the HJC is easier yet. The face shield mechanism detents from full down to open aren't as positive as Shoei but not a deal breaker in actual use. The FG-Jet is about $155-$170 retail online and I tried it on in the store for 10 minutes before ordering one in Gloss White. With FL sales tax it was less than $155. Paul showed me the FG-Jet runs a little smaller in sizing than Shoei so I bought a Medium instead of my usual Small in Shoei sizing. I've had the helmet a couple weeks and ridden several hundred miles in it. It is the best ventilating helmet I've ever worn. The top vents on each side have several positions between open and closed and each is very effective and the different amounts of air coming in are easily felt. The Shoei Neotec vents well and the FG-Jet is even better. With the vents full open it's windy on the top of my head. In 50 degrees F I had one vent partially open and the other two closed. I can't wait for the heat of summer to wear this helmet as it moves a lot of air. The FG-Jet is fairly noisy but not for a 3/4 design. I always wear earplugs so noise will not be an issue. I did find the sun visor to be a little too light for my taste in bright Florida sun and in the lowest position it occasionally tickled my nose. The upper position is still low enough to be effective. After the second day of riding I ordered the darker HJ-V7 sun visor HJC offers for $22.50. It is darker by several shades and works OK for me. The optics of the visor and clear shield are noticeably not as good as Shoei but for $150 vs $450 they are perfectly adequate and I became used to them almost immediately. I wear glasses under the sun visor with plenty of room for them. The aerodynamics of the helmet and shield are very good with no lifting or bobbling when turning my head from side to side. All in all I am very happy with my FG-Jet and give it a thumbs up. It's an outstanding value and looks great.
