Well, my new Bell Vortex showed up at the house on Saturday morning while I was out riding. Ordered it on Thursday afternoon & it showed up on Saturday morning. Had great luck with them before & again this time...gotta say thanks again to Helmet City! They did call me and tell me that the dark smoke extra lens that I ordered with it was on backorder, but should show up in less than 2 weeks directly from Bell.

Thought I would add that some mentioned that it didn't come with a chin curtain...it DID come with a chin curtain, so I am happy about that.

Now, about the helmet...
First of all, I ordered it a size bigger than I normally would. Generally I wear a L, but ordered an XL in the Vortex....good call on my part! The helmet fits me perfect! The shape of it inside seems to be exactly like my head. I would recommend buying a size larger than you normally wear in this helmet.

Getting it on and off is a little difficult, but I'm used to wearing a beanie so I'll get used to it. Obviously it is bulky compared to what I'm used to wearing, but for a full face it seems light. Most of the difficulty getting it on/off is due to the wind guard around the neck, but this will be awesome in the colder months since I ride year around.

Riding with it on is actually very impressive. I was amazed at how balanced and aerodynamic the helmet is. It seems the faster you go, it gets even better at cutting through the wind & there is NO neck strain. It all but eliminates the wind noise. Turning my head side to side didn't cause any trouble as I would turn to look at stuff. The field of vision is great, and I don't really notice any impairment compared to wearing nothing! The shield take about 2 seconds to take off and the same to put back on...best system I have ever seen. Can't wait for my dark shield to come in.

Ventilation is pretty good. When I was riding with it on it was about 90, so it was fairly hot. I could not feel the air moving through it, but it was because I was not sweating at all. I did experiment with the shield, putting it in every position while riding. Since I had on dark safety glasses under I was able to do this. Just moving it up to the first part-open notch provided a good amount of wind into the helmet, but didn't interfere with anything. Riding with the shield fully open did not cause any weird aerodynamic issues & I was super impressed with that. As long as I had glasses underneath, I could ride with the shield up for ventilation. Only bad thing with this is that my glasses I use were a tight fit in the helmet & I had marks on my face when I got home & took off the glasses & helmet...don't think this would work well for a long ride. Again, thinking the dark shield with no glasses will be better, and I can still crack the shield open one notch for more air.

I got the helmet in the matte black & it looks awesome! Finish is very nice..it's a cool looking helmet!

Only negative I can say, and this is minor, is that the cheek pads are very snug. I've been told they will break in after a few rides and become softer. Helmet fits perfect everywhere else, just seemed the cheek pads were very snug, but this may just be me because I'm not used to wearing a FF helmet.

I am very pleased with my purchase, especially for the $. Again, it's Snell M2010 approved, so you can't go wrong with this helmet safety-wise. I feel very safe riding with it on, although I'll never get rid of my Skull Crush beanie and will still wear it on short rides and around our small town....longer rides & anytime I'm on the highway I'll be wearing this. I'm going to sell my HJC 3/4 helmet, because I will never wear it again after buying this.

Overall, out of a 10, I would give it a 9.
Hope this is helpful to anyone else considering this helmet, but again this is just my impression and opinion.

 

cheek pads on many helmets can be snapped out and opened and most times are composed of several layers of foam/sponge material. I have opened a few brands and removed a layer for comfort but remember it should be snug and not loose.

 

I think the cheek pads in this helmet are this way...several thin layers. I may try this. It's definitely snug, just a little too snug.
I should say though that this would make it perfect for me. No helmet is going to be perfect, but I'm still 100% happy with it so far.

 

Sharkman73, just my experience. I also wanted the Shoei $500 helmet but had hard time putting out the $$$. I searched craigslist for months, finally located the color and size helmet at a 3rd of new cost. The used helmet was in new codition, seller had sold his bike and buyer was not interested in full face helmet. Good luck...

 

Very true. I could give ya a whole story about coming full circle on the helemt issue from FF to half to 3/4 and now going back to FF modular. But your sentence pretty much says it all for me. I got a family and my wife rides with me. Safety over style/look has taken center stage for me again. I'll be honest that I may not wear all the safety gear, but a jacket, helmet and gloves are becoming pretty standard items for me any more. Just picked up the wife a HJC mod and she loves it. I haven't decided on which one I want yet, but I will pretty soon.

If you like your helemts you have now why not stick with them. No matter how well you can ride you'll never be able to control every circumstance when riding. Just sayin

 

Different helmets fit different heads shapes differently. Try them on and wear them around the store for 10min when you find one you like. The inner padding packs down over time so they fit tightest when new. They see scorpion sight on how to fit a helmet. You want it as tight as possible without creating pressure points. Also consider an extra tinted visor for hot sunny days. Also have a look at Scorpion EXO 500.

www.webbikeworld.com

 

Ponied up for the Shoei Qwest after a lot of research because I wanted a quiet helmet, snell 2010 certified. I have always been cheap and bought a couple used helmets. One 1/2 helmet that came with my bike, and two HJC's. New Shoei is super quiet. Not as much ventilation as my old HJC but that thing is like a rattle trap in comparison. Very happy with my purchase and worth every penny. BTW I found a firearm cable lock at walmart for 4.99 that secures the helmet through the chin bar to my crash bar. Super easy.

 

+1 for modular.

 

"I usually wear the 3/4 Shoei even though I know that you usually take it on the chin in a wreak (statically)."

Arai has a 3/4 style helmet that has "sideburns" -- protrusions around the lower front that offer additional "chin protection", without going completely "full face".

Also, it has a custom shield that snaps down like a full-face shield, fitting perfectly (and I do mean "perfectly") over the helmet and "sideburns" to provide almost full-face frontal protection.

They ain't cheap, though -- cost nearly as much as a full-face version of their helmets.

A page to check these out:
http://www.araiamericas.com/#/helmet.../diamond-black

 

Make sure it's comfortable... EVO makes a nice helmet. The best thing to do is find a big M/C shop that has a **** loads of them and maybe a Cyclegear and try all of them on until you find what you like...