Will Scher
Junior Member
Just got my Hawk Helmet (AP-990) in today. It is the dual visor full face helmet in the glossy black-silver style. I had read some stuff on Hawk some negative some OK. I decided not to trust the reviews on Leatherup as they seem to be edited in favor of the site.
The Helmet is manufactured by Tong Ho Hsing Industrial Co., Ltd., which is based out of Tainan City, Taiwan (I was actually shocked it wasn't made in some PRC sweatshop). I checked them out online and they appear to be an actual company and not some shadowy offshore supplier.
Here's my take thus far after 24 hours of use.
The Good:
The actual shell (plastic outer and expanded hard foam inner) seems solid. the DOT marker is actually painted on and not a peel off sticker (Though that probably doesn't mean sh*t).
The padding/straps all seem of adequete quality. The visor dosen't distort my vision at all, though it is a little sticky to open/close.
The internal retractable sunsheild (the main reason I got the thing) is actually really cool, it's not too dark, easy to use, and actally provides some wind screening if the visor is open (I only got up to 40MPH today).
The sizing is correct, I measure a 23.5 inch scull and the large fits just about right. (Little snug)
Reflectors on the back for nighttime visibility
The Bad:
The plastic trim around the opening and the nose breath gaurd are EL CHEAPO!
The component that the visor attaches to appears to be cheap crappy plastic/doesn't look like it's built to last.
The vents are joke.
The Ugly
The graphics on this helmet are beyond lame. Far Beyond. The graphics looked much better online. This is what I get for being a noob and ordering a cheap graphic helmet.
Conclusion
In all its a low end helmet. Its solid, will offer the same protection in a crash as any other full face helmet brand. The moving parts are cheap, I expect them to wear out in about 2 years (optimistic).
The only real reason to buy this helmet is the price and the internal sun sheild. If I had to do it over, I would have still gone with this, but would have ordered the Solid black or solid silver. Its not worth it for me to return the thing to get a solid color, especially considering I will probably be upgrading in about two years anyway.
When it comes to buying Hawk I would say the fewer moving parts the better, and for gods sake get a solid color, NO GRAPHICS.
The Helmet is manufactured by Tong Ho Hsing Industrial Co., Ltd., which is based out of Tainan City, Taiwan (I was actually shocked it wasn't made in some PRC sweatshop). I checked them out online and they appear to be an actual company and not some shadowy offshore supplier.
Here's my take thus far after 24 hours of use.
The Good:
The actual shell (plastic outer and expanded hard foam inner) seems solid. the DOT marker is actually painted on and not a peel off sticker (Though that probably doesn't mean sh*t).
The padding/straps all seem of adequete quality. The visor dosen't distort my vision at all, though it is a little sticky to open/close.
The internal retractable sunsheild (the main reason I got the thing) is actually really cool, it's not too dark, easy to use, and actally provides some wind screening if the visor is open (I only got up to 40MPH today).
The sizing is correct, I measure a 23.5 inch scull and the large fits just about right. (Little snug)
Reflectors on the back for nighttime visibility
The Bad:
The plastic trim around the opening and the nose breath gaurd are EL CHEAPO!
The component that the visor attaches to appears to be cheap crappy plastic/doesn't look like it's built to last.
The vents are joke.
The Ugly
The graphics on this helmet are beyond lame. Far Beyond. The graphics looked much better online. This is what I get for being a noob and ordering a cheap graphic helmet.
Conclusion
In all its a low end helmet. Its solid, will offer the same protection in a crash as any other full face helmet brand. The moving parts are cheap, I expect them to wear out in about 2 years (optimistic).
The only real reason to buy this helmet is the price and the internal sun sheild. If I had to do it over, I would have still gone with this, but would have ordered the Solid black or solid silver. Its not worth it for me to return the thing to get a solid color, especially considering I will probably be upgrading in about two years anyway.
When it comes to buying Hawk I would say the fewer moving parts the better, and for gods sake get a solid color, NO GRAPHICS.
