Recommended Gears – Page 5

In this post, we're going to focus on our Top 5 helmets what we feel are the best helmets coming in under $300. Obviously, your helmet's the most important piece of your safety gear. We have a very large selection here at Rocky Mountain, and a very big price range as well. Anywhere from several hundred dollars all the way up to around the $800 mark. But today, we're just focusing on the best helmets sub-$300. So I'm going to walk through and talk about each one and cover the key features and the highlights, and by the end of this, I'm going to narrow down your search and I'm going to help you find the helmet that has exactly what you are looking for. If you are in the market for a premium helmet, don't forget we do have your premium helmet buyer's guide. I do the same thing, but it's our Top 5 Premium helmets. But without further ado, let's get to it. So the first helmet that we have up here is the FG-MX coming from HJC. Now you probably didn't see this one coming but HJC has actually been in the helmet game for a very long time. Since 1971, in fact, and they put a big emphasis on safety, on comfort and also coming in at an affordable price point. Now, this helmet I've actually worn it myself, it's very comfortable, fits true to size. But don't forget guys, with any helmet, we have our fit guarantee, so if you ever get a helmet and you're not happy with the size or the fitment, just send it back to us in brand new, unworn condition and we will give you free shipping on your first exchange. So the FG-MX, very comfortable, true to size, it's going to come in just around that 3-1/2 pound mark. Now with the FG-MX, what really stands out to me and the reason we selected this to be in our top five, is at just over $200, its affordable price point, it's going to be DOT-certified, but it's also SNELL-Approved. Now the reason that's a big safety feature for me, is if you're not familiar with SNELL, SNELL is a non-profit organization and they're known for having some of the highest safety standards when it comes to motorcycle helmets. And they just don't certify any helmet. Manufacturers have to take their helmets, send them off to SNELL, seeking their approval, after they've gone through their rigorous testing. And this isn't a cheap process, it adds cost to the helmet, which is why I really like the fact that HJC has brought you a rock solid helmet. Cool colorways as you can see, and you're going to get SNELL-Approved coming in just over $200, and that's why we put it here in our Top 5. So moving on, the next helmet that we have up here is the MX-9 with MIPS, coming from Bell. Now Bell needs no introduction, these guys have been around since the 1950s, that's over 60 years of helmet making. Probably one of the most recognizable names in the helmet industry. So the MX-9 with MIPS, going to fit true to size, very comfortable, I've worn this helmet. What I love, there are three different shell sizes that's going to give a better fitment depending on the rider's head. The big safety feature that I want to highlight here with the MX-9 is going to be on the inside. So it's already a rock solid helmet, already a great price point coming in right around $200 bucks. But the MIPS liner system was incorporated into this helmet and that's a big safety feature. If you're not familiar with MIPS, it stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. And what it is, is a yellow liner that goes between the EPS liner in the helmet and the comfort liner, and it creates a slip zone. So it allows the rider's head to slip just enough in those angular impacts to help disperse away some of that energy. So Bell took the MX-9, which was already a rock solid helmet, had a great price point and they incorporated the MIPS liner system. Now MIPS liner is something that you see in a lot of the high-end premium helmets, you now get it in the MX-9, but you’re still sitting around right at that $200 mark. So that's the MX-9 with MIPS, coming from Bell. So now from the MX-9 with MIPS, we move on to the F2 Carbon from Fly Racing. So this helmet fits true to size, it's very comfortable. You do want to take note though, the cheek pads on the F2 Carbon are pretty thick. So if you do have a wider face, just know it might fit a little bit snug, but those are going to break in a little bit over time. So the F2 Carbon, couple of key features I want to point out. First of all, it's one of the lightest helmets in our lineup coming in just over 3 pounds. The way they keep it so light, is they use carbon fiber, Kevlar composite shell. Great venting design, it's going to be DOT and SNELL approved. I've already told you how much I like the SNELL rating. But the big feature here that I want to highlight is with the F2 Carbon, this was the flagship lineup in Fly Racing for many years. So it was and still is worn by a lot of the top level riders in the world. Now their new flagship helmet is the F2 Carbon, the exact same helmet, but they incorporated the MIPS liner system into it. So with the exception of the MIPS liner, the F2 Carbon is what I consider a premium helmet but you're staying underneath the $300 mark, and that is the F2 Carbon from Fly Racing. So fourth up on the list, I've got the SE4 coming from Troy Lee Designs. Now some is going to fit true to size, I've worn it, it's very comfortable, it's going to come in three different shell sizes and it's going to be DOT-Certified. Now when Troy Lee came out with this helmet, I was actually really excited. There's a lot of people that absolutely love the look and the design of this helmet. Both the SE4 Carbon, which is their flagship model, you're talking north of $600. So what they did is they went from a carbon fiber construction to a poly-acrylate. And that brought the price point all the way down to $250 which I think is an option price point for this helmet. And there are some other cool features I do want to highlight. Probably the best venting design of all the helmets that I've shown you today. You're going to have 16 intake vents, you're going to have 6 exhausts, so if you're looking for a helmet that's going to breathe and vent well, I would definitely put this one at the top of your list. If we flip it over, we look at a bottom couple of big safety features here. First, if you look at the cheek pads, emergency cheek pad removal system. And what those are, you have these little pull tabs right here, so in the event of a crash, if you need to get the helmet off the rider's head, you can pull on these tabs and it just makes it easier to remove the cheek pads without further injuring the rider's head. And on top of that, on the inside, you can see it, you're going to get the MIPS liner system incorporated here as well. I've already talked about that, big safety feature when it comes to those angular impacts. So if you are looking for a helmet that's going to vent well, that's got the MIPS liner system, coming in just over the $200 mark, the SE4 from Troy Lee Designs is a rock solid option. So the fifth and the final helmet in our lineup is going to be the V2 coming from Fox Racing. So if you were wondering what is one of our most popular helmets sub-$300 years after year, well, it's going to be the V2. The fit is spot on, it's very comfortable, it comes in three different shell sizes. It's going to be DOT and ECE Certified. A couple of things about the V2 that I want to point out, is the eye port is going to be the biggest of all the helmets that I've had up here today. I've tried on all these helmets, if you want a helmet with a bigger eye port, if you have bigger goggles and you want the maximum amount of space, the V2 is going to give a really good fitment for that. Another great feature about the V2, is when I weighed all these helmets that I've shown you today, all in a size medium, V2 actually took the trophy for being the lightest helmet in the lineup coming in at just over 3 pounds. And the way they keep that nice and lightweight is they use a very high quality fiberglass construction. So the V2, really just does everything well. It's a very comfortable, great venting design, and I love just how lightweight this helmet is, that is the V2 from Fox Racing. All right guys, so thanks for checking out our Top 5 helmets what we feel are the best helmets coming in sub-$300. Now I know there's probably a helmet that you didn't see up here that you have, that you love.