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Question Are Arai actually safer?

We have a motorcycle superstore here in Ohio called the Iron Pony. They carry about every size, and every color, of every motorcycle helmet on the planet I think.( plus anything else you could possibly want. Its really like a Walmart Superstore of motorcycle gear) You can spend a whole day in there trying on helmets. I know because I have done it lol. After trying on all of them, the only one that makes me go "Ahhhh" when I put them on are the HJCs. Guess I just have an HJC head. I've got 7 of them, full face, modular and open face, although I only wear the full face and open face helmets a couple times a year. I prefer the modulars for a multitude of reasons.

The best motorcycle helmet, is the one you gladly put on before every ride.
That is how I feel about the Arai. It is so comfortable and quiet I forget I am wearing a helmet. I like my LS2 modular for many reasons too, though.
 
I agree with Snell and dduelin that lab testing is not intended to mimic a crash. One of the critical reasons why thorough, controlled, repeatable testing IS important is to verify that a helmet is built the way it is supposed to be, and does what it claims to do. This makes both pre-sales testing of multiple samples, and follow-up testing from random samples purchased at retail, all done in a thorough and methodical way that is difficult to game, extremely valuable. Most of the helmets available in the North American market leave riders to simply trust the marketing department who make wild claims but don't submit their helmets to 3rd-party nor randomly-purchased sample testing.
 
As stated the most important thing is o Wear a lid. Get the best/most comfortable lid you can find and WEAR it. Expensive does not necessarily transfer to “comfortable” for everyone. I wanted a Schuberth BAD, but the C3 just did not work for ME, my buddy swears it’s the most comfy lid EVEr, gave me a headache in five minutes. All our punkins are different-get one that fits YOU
 
As stated the most important thing is o Wear a lid. Get the best/most comfortable lid you can find and WEAR it. Expensive does not necessarily transfer to “comfortable” for everyone. I wanted a Schuberth BAD, but the C3 just did not work for ME, my buddy swears it’s the most comfy lid EVEr, gave me a headache in five minutes. All our punkins are different-get one that fits YOU
You lasted 5 mins in a Schuberth? Beat me by about 4 mins. Most UNcomfortable helmet I have ever tried on.
 
For all of us who don't have local shops that stock a variety of helmets, or maybe have local shops but they all stock the same 4 helmet models from the same 2 brands, have a look around The Lid Picker website:

They try to help us focus on helmets whose general internal shape better matches our head shape. They'll sell you some calipers suitable to measure your head dimensions and then provide to them, or you can make a decent pair of your own from sturdy cardboard and a couple common household items. I've used the lidpicker service, and the one helmet they show I'm a very good match for did fit me rather well. That said, they suggested I'd be maybe 'in range' on a couple helmets that I don't believe I can wear. So, it's not perfect, but it's a good help and very inexpensive. I think they're associated with a web vendor, because you get a coupon for a discount on a helmet if you use lidpicker and then buy a helmet from that vendor.

An outstandingly informative and practical thread concerning head shape vs helmet shape can be found here:
It's about 7 pages long, but it's super informative and helpful. The OP there also shows how to build head-measuring calipers from cardboard, and gives some simple, practical tips to help improve your helmet's fit (assuming it's at least pretty close to the right shape for your head).

Helmet comfort for me is multi-dimensional, but basic internal shape of the EPS foam is crucial. Bell makes a helmet that doesn't give me a headache (at least not in 5 or so minutes wearing it in a store), but other aspects of the fit are not good, and it doesn't feel 'nice.' I could likely acclimate to that last part, and I'm certain it would be an excellent helmet overall, but I'd have to wear it around the store for probably a solid 15 minutes to decide.

Good luck to us all in finding the helmet that we're comfortable in, and that we'll actually wear on all our rides!
 
If I was going to throw money at it, I'd love to get a Schuberth C4.
If I ever give up on Arai, it might be for the Schuberth E1, same shell and lens as the C but with a different chin bar that has more ventilation.
 
If I ever give up on Arai, it might be for the Schuberth E1, same shell and lens as the C but with a different chin bar that has more ventilation.
Just be sure to wear it a few minutes during the try on. Me (and a lot of other folks) have found them very comfy on initial donning, only to have a pressure point (and pain) in the center of the forehead after wearing for just a few minutes. You either have a Schuberth head or you don’t. I don’t. Was going to try one of the “Pro”’s, but found a Shoei Neotec that fit great and I’ve ran it for years now.
 
A friend of mine was riding back from West Virginia Sunday when a deer decided it wanted to be friends. He got home from the ICU today and will recover eventually, Thank God. He was wearing a DOT only HJC full face helmet when he wrecked (55 mph) and still came away with no brain damage. He’s a believer for life now.

A proper fit full face helmet saved his life. So we might quibble about the best, but a quality one is always a good choice. If you don’t wear it for you, wear it for those who care about you.
 
A friend of mine was riding back from West Virginia Sunday when a deer decided it wanted to be friends. He got home from the ICU today and will recover eventually, Thank God. He was wearing a DOT only HJC full face helmet when he wrecked (55 mph) and still came away with no brain damage. He’s a believer for life now.

A proper fit full face helmet saved his life. So we might quibble about the best, but a quality one is always a good choice. If you don’t wear it for you, wear it for those who care about you.
Honestly just wearing a properly fitting decent quality helmet probably is the key point.

Will Arai (or Shoei or Scheuberth or any other ultra premium brand) save your life BETTER than a reasonable quality well fitting helmet? Probably not. One my offer more comfortable materials. But when it comes to actually surviving there is zero evidence that an $800 lid of roughly similar design to a $250 lid is going to save you more grief.

I love my Arai. I wish they made a flip up chin bar. But I'm not getting rid of my Arai until I can find something as comfortable and also more convenient that meets ECE standards So far I've not found that. But my head is not anyone else's head, so YMMV
 
Honestly just wearing a properly fitting decent quality helmet probably is the key point.

Will Arai (or Shoei or Scheuberth or any other ultra premium brand) save your life BETTER than a reasonable quality well fitting helmet? Probably not. One my offer more comfortable materials. But when it comes to actually surviving there is zero evidence that an $800 lid of roughly similar design to a $250 lid is going to save you more grief.

I love my Arai. I wish they made a flip up chin bar. But I'm not getting rid of my Arai until I can find something as comfortable and also more convenient that meets ECE standards So far I've not found that. But my head is not anyone else's head, so YMMV
Exactly.
 
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