Get Your Head in the Game: Best Motorcycle Touring Helmets

The DLX packs a lot of the features from Bell’s more expensive Stars into an inexpensive lid – ridiculously inexpensive mostly because it comes standard with a Transitions faceshield, which sells separately for around $130 if you’re lucky enough to wear a brand that even offers one. When you’re riding all day and half the night, nothing’s more convenient than not having to change faceshields all the time. Among most of the features you expect, the latest Qualifier is also MIPS-equipped for even better noggin safety. If the DLX fit, you must admit.

The latest thing from Italy is the culmination of all of AGV’s helmet technology focussed onto a single helmet for street use. A super light carbon and aramid fiber shell is formed into an aerodynamic shape that works well on any kind of motorcycle, and its intermediate oval shape and four sizes deliver an excellent fit for many heads. A plush Ritmo and Shalimar fabric interior is moisture-wicking, removable and quiet, and the K6’s shield is easily swappable.

HJC is a Korean manufacturer that’s been in the skidlid business for 47 years, and every time we stick our head in one lately, we’re pleasantly surprised by a level of fit, materials, and lightness that belies the price point. This one’s lightweight carbon fiber/ carbon-glass hybrid fabric shell takes on an intermediate oval shape (the most popular head shape in North America), and aims to “bridge the gap between sport riding and touring.” It comes with an anti-fog internal sunshield and an antifog insert.

If you like Citroëns, foie gras, and Fabio Quartararo, you’ll also dig Shark’s line of helmets Francais. The Spartan gets great reviews for its lightness and smooth-running aerodynamic shape. “Large ram-air intake vents located on the chin bar and crest channel cool air in while hot air gets expelled out via the venturi created by the twin spoiler design. Your vision will be clear thanks to the MaxVision anti-fog system. Your hearing will be acute since Shark takes a full-system approach to sound damping. Your neck will not strain since the Spartan is both lightweight and volumetrically optimized for drag reduction.”

The riding expeience, they say, is “similar to sitting in the cabin of a luxury German sports car.” The DFP glass-fiber shell has been extensively tested and aerodynamically optimized for both stability at speed and low weight to minimize fatigue on long tours. There’s an integrated one-touch sun visor, super-hygienic ShinyTex interior, and a multichannel ventilation system to keep you cool. Be sure to check the fit, as Schuberths tend to be a bit rounder and smaller, and only two shell sizes cover sizes XS-LG and XL-3XL. People who like them, though, really like them, and the new C4 Pro comes prepared for the SC1 communication system with an integrated antenna, pre-installed speakers and microphone.

Scorpion makes pretty nice helmets in that midprice range, too. In addition to its light and aero-sculpted carbon shell, the EXO comes with all kinds of features including an internal sun visor and Pinlock insert, as well as at least one thing you won’t find anywhere else: the “AirFit cheek pad inflation system allows you to obtain a personalized fit by pumping the air inflation ball located at the chin bar or near the rear of the helmet. To release the air, simply push the quick-air release. AirFit makes it easy to create a truly tailored helmet fit.”

Shoei and Arai are the two premium Japanese-built helmets widely available in the US, and both brands enjoy impeccable reputations for quality and comfort. While Arai offers a bunch of different shapes, Shoei somehow provides many of us an outstandingly comfortable fit with its typical longish-oval shell shape. The GT-Air 2 is SHOEI’s latest premiere full-face touring helmet. It features “a lengthened internal sun shield for optimal sun-glare protection, an all-new ‘first position’ shield opening for advanced ventilation and defogging, enhanced aerodynamics and noise-reduction technology, and the ability to seamlessly integrate with the SENA SRL2 Communication System.”