Just put my new helmet to the test on a 2600 mile road trip.

Helmet fits good and has good ventilation. Modular front opens easily and feels secure. The clear visor can be set to several different positions. The helmet also has a button activated flip down sun visor which is very convenient. Unfortunately it is practically useless because it isn't dark enough. I may look into adding some darker film. The visor also doesn't seem to come down far enough.

Contrary to many reviewers who say the helmet is sized small and suggesting that buyers move up one size, I found it right on the money. The large felt good. The medium was quite snug but not painful. Dealer said there is 10% breakin so I went with the medium. I found this to be a wise choice. After the first couple hundred miles it started to hurt my ears but after a couple hundred more the pain went away and the helmet fit perfect.
Helmets definitely loosen after time.

I tried to install my J&M headsets w/o modification but although the helmet has deep ear pockets they were'nt deep enough. Dagger in the ears. So I had to cut pockets in the styrofoam. There is a bit of an issue with the strap mountings which are right where you'd want to put the speakers so you have to put them a bit higher. They work fine there though.

One thing that surprised me was the amount of wind noise. I expected a full face, even a flip up, to be reasonably quiet. I never wore any other standard or flip full face so I don't have anything to compare it with but at highway speeds the noise was enough to make me consider earplugs. Listening to tunes help take your mind off the noise. Its a shame there isn't a noise rating for helmets to help guide buyers in their helmet choices. Seems at present all the buyer has to go by are the subjective reports of other buyers.

The symax II may be a good helmet for the $255 I paid for it. Without trying other helmets I can't be sure. The noise issue is my biggest complaint and as I said perhaps all modulars are noisy. I can probably wear sunglasses to deal with the sun visor problem.

 

Noise...

Flip-ups are *way* noisier than regular full-face helmets. Night and day difference. Just are. You wouldn't think so, but it's true.

WebBikeWorld has some good reviews of helmets; they usually try to relate the noise of one helmet as a comparison to other helmets, though they always advocate earplugs anyway. We all probably should wear them if we don't want to be deaf at 60. I don't, but probably should.

The convenience/comfort of a flip-up is nice. Easier to get on, can flip-up at a gas station or to talk to people... But the price is weight and noise. Usually, I don't miss my flip-up but on a real hot day, sitting at a long red light, the flip-up would be nice.