Aria A Great Helmet, or overpriced?

[Ssky0078]

You could have saved a $100 on the Arai if you'd went with a solid color. I never got why there was such a big price jump for graphics unless they are hand painted.

I have an Arai Vector (old model) and really like it. The lining/padding you can tell is a significantly better product than some of the other stuff on the market.

 

[samlynn37]

arai helmets are all hand made (the outer shell) and made by only a handful of guys in japan (i believe all are made by 6 guys in the factory??) saw a demo in a store where the rep stood on the helmet shell and bounced up and down on it. i have had my rr5 for 3 years now and i got nothing to complaint about it. if arai is your first helmet, you might not wanna wear another brand helmet ever.

 

[ArmyOfDarkness]

You could have saved a $100 on the Arai if you'd went with a solid color. I never got why there was such a big price jump for graphics unless they are hand painted.

I have an Arai Vector (old model) and really like it. The lining/padding you can tell is a significantly better product than some of the other stuff on the market.

Yeah, I saw I could get a solid color. However, I wanted various colors and I preferred something bright because I want the cages to see me out there. I wanted a helmet that matched my bike, my white and black leathers, and that could be seen easily by cage drivers. I think I blended all three priorities well.

 

[Ssky0078]

Yeah, I saw I could get a solid color. However, I wanted various colors and I preferred something bright because I want the cages to see me out there. I wanted a helmet that matched my bike, my white and black leathers, and that could be seen easily by cage drivers. I think I blended all three priorities well.

Saw the pictures and you look sharp. Ride safe, and hopefully you never have to find out the real value other than the comfort on your head.

 

[JoeSTL]

Sorry, but I think you paid way too much for everything. There's no way I'd spend that much on a helmet. My first was an HJC and I had absolutely no issues with it. I also got it on sale for like 75 bucks. The jacket is nice, but still that's a lot of money. I bought an Alpinestars leather jacket 2 years ago on closeout for 120 bucks. A rare find, but deals like those are definitely out there. In the future I would go to the retail shop and try on the gear, then shop online for the best deals. When you save more money, you can spend more on other gear! After 2 years I have 3 jackets (leather, leather perf, & mesh), 2 pairs of boots (over the ankle & full length), 2 pairs of paints (cold weather & warm weather), and 3 pairs of gloves (short, full gauntlet, and heated). I bought everything either on sale or on closeout.

 

[turbid]

Hi army. you did fine in getting arai, they are one of the comfiest (and most expensive) helmets you can get. arai was pioneer in making particular models for the different head shapes. i do beleive arais in general are great helmets but way overpriced compared to some very valid competitors that have more features and very high quality liners to keep you comfortable.

i do appreciate that they are hand made, which makes the maker more responsible in what is being manufactured, and of course more expensive to produce, but if it does not translate in superior perfomance to other comparable helmets than i d rather pass

 

[Baci]

hows the noise at highway speeds? i LOVE my Arai vector 2....however it does have quite the noise on the freeway(no worse than other brands) but has great ventilation. Some ear plugs take care of that though.


Quality, I love the fit/feel of the foams. Its like 1000 baby ducks are cradling my head.

 

[SweaterDude]

Hi army. you did fine in getting arai, they are one of the comfiest (and most expensive) helmets you can get. arai was pioneer in making particular models for the different head shapes. i do beleive arais in general are great helmets but way overpriced compared to some very valid competitors that have more features and very high quality liners to keep you comfortable.

i do appreciate that they are hand made, which makes the maker more responsible in what is being manufactured, and of course more expensive to produce, but if it does not translate in superior perfomance to other comparable helmets than i d rather pass

I dont really agree with you on this. my Sorpion has more "features" but they are cheap gimmicks, and make the helmet heavy and loud. and i've tried on every helmet out there except the Schuberth (talk about overpriced) and Shark stuff, as far as liners and padding go, Arai > everything else, period. There's a reason people only buy Arai after their first one. thats not saying other helmets aren't good or that Arais aren't expensive.

i dont want a flip down visor if i cant put glasses in my helmet because of it. also if it channels wind and crap even more into my eyes, what's the point?

wierd helmet shape = turbulence = loud

extra "features" = more weight & more crap to break

everything on my Arai is simple and has one job, and they all work, very well. but the Scorpion is easier to change the shield....

All of this aside i still would have bought the Bell if the RX-Q didn't FIT BETTER, which is the key to YOUR HELMET.

 

[turbid]

hi sweaterdude.

the word "more" is inappropriate it should have read "better", after re reading my post it really does not make sense.

by better i mean better visor removal, i never intended to include inner sunvisors, since the top end helmets do not sport them (or rarely).

comparing weights, sharks and agv do seem a bit lighter than arai s (in ECE 2205 format). the lightest lids i have tried on are xlites tho.

when i go to purchase a helmet i always check the sharp helmet scheme, and unfortunately arai s never perfomed very well for the price compared to higher end lids like shark and agv. However arais latest offerings have improved safety wise.

i do have to say that we do not have an arai reseller here, so i have never tried an arai on, i based my observations on readings from users experiences, so i cannot comment on arai comfort and fit personally. if i have the chance to properly try an arai, i may change my opinion about them.

i do however beleive that the gap between arai and competitors has very much narrowed down in terms of build quality. a decade or so ago arai would have been boss in terms of build quality; together with shoei, but now i think they lost their edge in terms of premium helmets

 

[Andz]

I had never heard of Aria before

I've never heard of Aria either

Back in the day I had a Nava then several Bells... Star, Star II, Tourstar, Moto III, they cost a fortune but they were true to Bell's slogan: "if you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet".

Fast forward 20 years without a bike and I wore Shoei for a few years before buying my current helmet, an X-Lite X-802 Checa replica in blue. It cost around $790 US at today's exchange rate, more that twice what I paid for my Shoei, but it was what I wanted so I bought it.

I have tried on Arai, Shark and AGV but they all put pressure on my forehead.

Here you can get full face helmets for under $50 US but I wouldn't go out of the driveway wearing one of those. I have an HJC open face but I can't remember when last I wore it, I don't feel like leaving my chin on the tarmac!

 

[turbid]

I've never heard of Aria either


....but i have SEEN Asia. Yes, the badge is the same as Arai's and so is the font, so you would think its an arai. this was a half face so it made me look twice to actually check on the name as i thought it was arai. i dont know if arai makes half face helmets, but i know arai for their full face lids not half face so that made me check. a guy was wearing it on his small commuter bike so he wasnt going fast just riding casually and i had time to check because i was slowly overtaking him in my car, and had a prominent badge on the rear of the lid

 

[Andz]

I've never heard of Aria either


....but i have SEEN Asia. Yes, the badge is the same as Arai's and so is the font, so you would think its an arai. this was a half face so it made me look twice to actually check on the name as i thought it was arai. i dont know if arai makes half face helmets, but i know arai for their full face lids not half face so that made me check. a guy was wearing it on his small commuter bike so he wasnt going fast just riding casually and i had time to check because i was slowly overtaking him in my car, and had a prominent badge on the rear of the lid

I had Bell stickers on my Nolan open face back in the 80s :spank:

 

[dxh24]

You pay for comfort with a helmet. A 100 dollar helmet will protect you, but less comfortably and maybe less completely than a 500 helmet. Arai is supposed to be a great helmet but they don't fit my head lol.

Love my HJC IS16 btw! Oh and as far as staying away from certain brands, remember most of these guys get paid to make sales I've crashed in a no brand Chinese helmet and in still here