Just getting started...thanks for the kind words!

I got one in the stealth matte black camo. It looks really cool and I agree its definitely the most comfortable helmet for the price.

But the arai wins in sheer protection.

@@DWBmotorsports the Arai seems to be objectively harder, and doesn't have MIPS. Because it's harder it will take less of the impact and pass more of it on to your brain and without the MIPS you're more likely to have serious head injury and/or serious concussion. I can attest to wearing an indestructible Shoei NXR when I landed on my head in a high side accident, it didn't break but my vertebrae did, and was given severe concussion, dizziness, car sickness, extreme vertigo, memory loss for several months afterwards. So I can attest that the hard helmet only transfered the energy to my brain and neck rather than absorbing it. That's why I've recently purchased a Bell MIPS cycling helmet, and yesterday an MX-9 MIPS for my motorcycles.. 👌

@@WilkoLV lol you need to look farther into arai helmets. I’m not going to debate with you on how “hard” a specific brand of helmet is. There’s plenty of factual information out there in regards to arai design and manufacturing

Other reviews have reported the bell needs to be replaced after only a year of proper adventure use.

@@DWBmotorsports arai isn’t 3x times safer both are safe

Thanks!

Yes. However, I would say you would be getting all "entry" level components at that point, as a good pair of boots and a decent jacket are pricey as well. The Arai is super comfy and a tad quieter...it's got an "X" factor, but yes, it's pricey!

Limited stock and Prices increased after Covid.

@@motoapes3623 entry level will still keep you intact, its like shopping for clothes at Walmart vs shopping at gucci.

@@motoapes3623Hey! Be Nice to Kentucky.

@@Mr.Mikey.Holiday When you pay for Gucci, you're paying for the name and the flair/style. When you pay for an Arai, you're paying for safety and comfort.

An Arai literally saved my life on the road. Well worth the coin I paid for it.

You like getting a discount while enabling slavery? Look at where the Bell is made.

Yep...it's something you have to consider. The Arai is a fantastic helmet, but it's pricey!

@@motoapes3623 I have only worn Arai helmets on the road, but if you're on the dirt, especially a SXS with a windshield, there's no reason to drop $600-700 when a Bell MX-9 will work.

Maybe because he knows it’s a cheap helmet. In more ways than just the price…..

@@DWBmotorsports oh ok.

@@DWBmotorsports MX-9 is a less expensive helmet than the Arai helmets, but it is not a "cheap" helmet. Signed: A guy who owns more Arai helmets than any other, as well as an MX-9.

Sounds like your helmet isn't your size. I've always worn a medium and my arai xd4 has the cardo packtalk slim installed with enough space between speaker and eps liner that I've installed those foam pads for cushion.

d ring is the safest form of fastener. Arai is all about safety first

It's a review so it's bound to be nit-picked a bit. Honestly, the MX9 is a little nicer than the Ford Focus in the analogy. I still ride with it in the dirt, but it is noisier on the road.

Agreed. Too much bias for a review...I super appreciate more neutral reviews.

Arai helmets come in different shapes for this very reason, not just different sizes.

Well arai hasn’t changed their basic design in many many years and are arguably the best helmet money can buy. I still wear an rx7 Corsair from 2002 and it is nearly identical to the one I bought new this year.

@@DWBmotorsports You're still wearing a 20-year-old helmet? Yikes! While I don't subscribe to the typical "5 year life" you'll hear from most manufacturers, there is no way I'd be wearing a 20-year-old helmet, as the resins, glues, and other materials lose their effectiveness and will not protect you as well as a newer helmet. I've long worn Arai helmets on the street, but I still wouldn't consider wearing one that old. For the record, an Arai helmet literally saved my life when the back of my helmet slammed into the top (edge) of a road sign after a car hit me and threw me 12' in the air. It happened to have been a brand-new Arai RX-Q that I had bought just months before.

@@bobbybarnes1652I completely agree. I still have my Arai Quantum F from 2002. Physically it looks in great shape and still feels amazing. The foam liner material has definitely degraded with time though. The impact foam looks like new, but I’m not trusting it. I think that’s one of them main problems with buying an expensive helmet. You have so much money ‘invested’ in it that it’s hard to get a new one after 8 or so years, let alone 5. The helmet still looks new and seems to function that way, but will it in a crash? I’m getting back into street riding and there is no way I’m using 20 year old helmet regularly. It’s also the main reason I’m looking at the cheaper options. I’m far more likely to replace a $200 helmet in 5 years, when there’s almost no chance I would with a $600 one. Im betting a brand new $200 helmet is safer than a 8-10 year old $600, let alone a 20 year old one.

I can appreciate your opinion, @seashackf1. However, I would disagree - a 5-6-7 year old Arai is, hands down, better than a brand new $200 ChiCom helmet. No way in the world would I trust my head to one. I also never said I'd wear a 20 year old Arai. In fact, I said I wouldn't. Bottom line, if you or your family members don't believe that your head isn't worth $600 every 5-6 years, then I don't know what to tell you ot them. God bless and stay safe.

@@seashackf1>> $600 100% buys you comfort and features, but not necessarily safety. Disagree. IMHO, Arai (and Shoei) makes a far safer helmet that Bell or any of the other "cheaper" alternatives". Anecdotal? You bet - literally saved my life in an accident that cost me my leg, which is far more important than any sticker on the back of a helmet. "Bell has proven to be one of the best and safest out there". Proven by whom, by Bell? By the stickers on the back of the helmet? "All these helmets are built to and pass the same tests." Yes, most (like the elCheapo) only worry about passing these (minimum standard) tests. Save your money where you see fit, but my life was saved by an Arai and I've seen far too many real-life experiences go wrong (busted helmets, severe injuries). I'm not about to trust my life to a sticker on the back of a cheaper helmet to save a few hundred bucks because the wifey wants to by more fudge rounds. No, I wasn't changing my argument. I was saying I'd buy a $600 helmet and change it every 5-6 years over buying one made in China, Vietnam or Bahrain (where most of their helmets are made). Again, I respect your opinion, but feel much different about quality helmets being worth the price of admission.

Wow. Godspeed...what may I asked happened?

@@motoapes3623 I was following a mid-sized SUV down a two lane road after dark. He missed his left hand turn into a business. I continued to follow him until we got to the next parking lot where I presumed he was going to turn around. He turned his left indicator on, slowed and actually started to make the left turn into the parking lot. As he did that, I moved to the white line to pass him on the right. As I was passing him, he abruptly made a right hand turn and hit me. There was no road on the right. He pushed me into a low side until the tires slid off the berm. I then high sided. When I came down my legs landed on a concrete berm. It was his fault for making an abrupt right hand turn, especially since there was no road where he decided to turn right. At first he lied to the police but then admitted he changed his mind and decided to pull a u-turn in the road. Well he admitted it because a witness has the exact same story as I had. It was also my fault because 32 years of riding failed my intuition that the guy didn’t know where he was at. I knew he missed his turn, he was being a bit erratic and I should have given him space. I was tired after 10 hours of work and I just wanted to get home. I ignored my gut and paid for it. Lesson learned. In my opinion most accidents are the fault of both. If you can’t determine your part in it, you can’t learn from it and you should likely give up riding. I own my mistake.

Zyonsdream. As a 3.5 Million mile Truck driver and Fellow Motorcyclists. Your description of the accident and your taking some Responsibility for it Shows Great Maturity. And that is the only way we can Learn. You sound like a Man with a Good Relationship with the Truth. Best Wishes and Good Health from Montana! M.H

I lost my left leg when a '92 Buick traveling 70 MPH veered off the freeway and sideswiped me. I was only there because I had to make an emergency stop on the side of the expressway (noon, broad daylight, perfect weather, 4 lanes of freeway going in one direction, and I was 8' off the roadway). I had literally just rolled to a stop when he hit me. Completely destroyed the saddlebag, my leg, and everything else on the left side of the bike. It was a hit-skip aka hit-and-run (they eventually found him). Witnesses estimated I flew between 12 and 16 feet UP into the air. When I came back down, back of my helmet slammed into the top edge of one of those big, heavy steel freeway road signs (think: speed limit sign). Thanks to my new Arai RX-Q helmet, I suffered zero injury to my head. Further, I did not lose consciousness. That was a good thing, because I had to make a tourniquet and hold it myself until EMS arrived -- my leg was about 5 feet away from me, and I would have bled out had I not been able to do that. Thank God for my love of Arai helmets over the years!

We had some background noise we were trying to mask! ;)

It's an awesome piece of kit...

I guess you missed the part where the bell was just as safe 🤷‍♂️

@@samuelyeet6006 rather something handcrafted than made in a factory in China, sole reason I sprung for the xd4 instead of the bell. Can't say I regret my decision at all, absolutely love everything about the helmet

@@dup ehh, I just got the bell and it's like the most comfortable helmet I've owned, hey both are definitly good though, I'm sure the arai is better, but the bell is comfortable, and ece/dot 🤷‍♂️I'll take that anyday for a 3rd of the price

@@samuelyeet6006 comfortable =/= safe, regardless I tried on the bell and didn't like how it sat on my cheeks. Not the reason I sprung for the Arai, but def made the choice a lot easier. The fact that it is wind tunnel tested is huge since I ride exclusively street with it and I have 0 complaints at highway speeds on a drz400sm, bike struggles with the wind long before my helmet does.

We might just abandon the music from now on...

@@motoapes3623 i liked it, just a little bit too loud. Othervise Great video! 👍

Same thought.

The MX-9 is both DOT and ECE certified. At that point (with ECE) who cares about Snell really

Snell = irrelevant

Good thing we didn't write it then...next video won't have any. ;)