Best Touring Modular Helmets of 2021 Road Tested - ChampionHelmets.com
welcome to our best modular helmet guide for 2021 where we've seen a lot of new entries for this category so we've taken them all out on our road test with our measuring instruments to bring back the data and test results to see which is best sebastian from champion helmets here and modular helmets are designed to give a balance of the safety of a full face helmet with the convenience of an open face helmet this not only makes them excellent for touring and city riding since they let you quickly pump gas or get some air while at a stop and they make it easier to fit glasses so it's not hard to see why the modular helmet market is so popular but even so we wanted to find out which modular was the best and this means taking these helmets out on our road test where we measure the noise level ventilation and more to determine which really is the best the helmets we'll be testing include the shoei neotec 2 schubert c4 pro agv sport modular htc arpha 9ds carbon and the xlite x 1005 ultra carbon though we have tested more helmets we will be including them as runners up and don't forget we're the first to actually measure these figures in the real world and we're coming to you with more than just opinions but concrete data before we get to testing these helmets out don't forget to subscribe and check out the rest of our youtube channel where we have plenty more of our data driven helmet road test where we measure its performance in the real world and bring the data as we get to our road test here's a quick reminder for how we set it up on the left we have a white monitor showing the helmet's internal temperature in degrees celsius from a thermometer placed in the helmet's eps in the middle we have our decibel meter showing the helmet's noise level from a microphone placed near our rider's ear lastly on the right we have the day's average airspeed on the helmet from a bike mounted anemometer in the middle on the dash we have our rider speed and the exterior temperature and we performed all of our tests on long stretches of highway at 130 kilometers per hour or 80 miles per hour and we took averages throughout the xlite x1005 ultra carbon this is a new release for this year from x-lite that is replacing the previous xlite x-1004 ultra carbon line the helmet comes with all new ventilation and liner and will be coming at a recommended retail price of about 600 euros or 710 us dollars the helmet is made from carbon fiber and is coming in three outer shell sizes for a proportional fit the helmet will be coming in at an average weight of about 1 710 grams or 3 pounds and 12 ounces in a size m the vents on the helmet can be found with one in the chin and another adjustable vent in the brow and hot air in the helmet is then going to escape out an exhaust in the back under the spoiler for the visor it is ultra wide and comes when like prepared with the anti-fog insert lens in the box and the helmet comes with a retractable sun visor operated by a spring mechanism and lever on the lip of the helmet so retracting the sun visor is just a button press away the interior of the helmet comes with x-lite's racing experience carbon fitting liner which means it is removable washable antimicrobial and comes with active carbon filaments and the liner is adjustable which is a unique feature to this helmet and it comes with speaker pockets as well since it's prepared for the ncon b902x and b601x communication systems glass of the helmet uses a micro lock ratchet chin strap and is ece 2205 pj certified when we tested out the x-lite x-1005 ultra carbon it was a nice day for road testing with the day's airspeed on the helmet at about 120 to 130 kilometers per hour the exterior temperature for the day was about 15 degrees or 59 fahrenheit while the interior was also 15 degrees celsius or 59 fahrenheit which means a difference of zero degrees another great result for noise the helmet came in at an average 103 decibels which is on the louder side of things though it is a remarkable improvement over the previous x1004 ultra carbon as far as ranking goes the x does fairly well for materials since it is constructed out of carbon fiber and three outer shell sizes it earns five stars however even with this carbon fiber outer shell its weight of 1 710 grams earns the helmet three stars the ultra wide visor of the x1005 which is also coming with the pin lock in the box earns the visor 4 stars for noise with a result of 103 decibels the x light earns 3 stars but the equal interior and exterior ventilation result earns it 4 stars finally for comfort the x1005 offered a similar level to the htc offer 90s carbon which earns it four stars overall this brings the x1005 to a total of four of five stars at 26 euros per star which does bring it about equal to the rest of our premium contenders and though the helmet's noise isolation was weaker it does come with extra safety features that you rarely see in this segment next we come to the hjc r490s carbon another top tier modular coming from a company well known for their focus on value for money to wit the helmet is coming at a recommended retail price of about 600 years or 700 us dollars to match it up against the rest of the premium competition though keep in mind this is with the high carbon content outer shell the helmet is coming constructed out of hjc's premium integrated matrix with carbon fiber or pin plus carbon though a normal pin version is available in three outer shell sizes this means that the helmet will be even lighter than the standard htc iphone 90s with its weight of 1521 grams with 3 pounds 6 ounces the ventilation of the r90s carbon is mainly going to be found with three main vents in front you have a large adjustable vent in the chin and another large adjustable one in the brow this hot air will then escape out the back of the helmet through a adjustable exhaust vent placed by the helmet spoiler the visor of the r490s is coming pin lock prepared and anti-scratch treated with the anti-fog insert lens provided in the box there is a clever locking system in the front for safety and there is also a drop down sun visor operated by a slider along the bottom of the helmet the multi-cool interior of the htc rf90s carbon is removable washable and moisture wicking and the helmet is designed to fit glasses uses a micrometric chin strap as an intermediate oval head fit and is designed to integrate with the hjc smart 10b or 20b bluetooth communication systems lastly it is ece 2205 pj certified and has not been sharp tested yet during our test we had another great day with the average airspeed on the helmet showing about 130 kilometers per hour on our sensors the exterior temperature for the day was at about 27 degrees celsius or 80 fahrenheit and the large vents kept the interior at about 27 degrees or 80 fahrenheit as well which means that there was no difference between the interior and exterior which is excellent another great aspect of the r490s carbon was that the strong ventilation did not come at the cost of noise isolation since it showed a noise level of 97 decibels during our test this makes the htc two decibels quieter than the c4 pro and it is on par with its sport touring sibling the rf 70 which also makes it one of the quietest helmets we've tested to date as far as ranking we were also impressed with how well the r490s carbon scored for material with its carbon fiber and fiberglass composite shell in three outer shell sizes the helmet earns four and a half stars for weight as well with a strong showing of about 1521 grams it earns four stars since the visor is pin lock prepared with the insert in the box not to mention the quick release mechanism the r50s earns four stars onto noise now and with the helmet's result of about 97 decibels which makes it the quietest modular helmet we've tested so far it earns a full 5 stars for ventilation with no difference between the interior and exterior the helmet earns 4 stars and with the decent liner and its improved noise isolation the rf90s carbon earns 4 stars for comfort overall this brings the helmet to a total of 4 stars at 23 euros per star which makes it one of the best value for money modulars in our lineup next up we have the agv sport modular agv's entry into the modular helmet world this was a new segment for agv when they first released the helmet and though there were some fits and starts it has slowly been showing up more and more out on the road the agv sport modular is coming at a recommended retail price of about 700 euros or 815 us dollars and it is fully constructed out of carbon fiber the helmet is coming in three outer shell sizes with a multi-density eps liner for impact absorption and of course this carbon fiber outer shell does mean that we are getting a very lightweight helmet since the sport modulator weighed in at about 1 340 grams in a size ms or 2 pounds 15 ounces which is excellent for modular helmet for ventilation the adv helmet is coming with a large adjustable vent in the chin and another air inlet in the brow to bring air into the helmet all the hot air will then escape out the rear underneath the adjustable exhaust vent the visor of the sport modular comes with a large field of view and comes with the anti-fog pinlock lens in the box not only is the mechanism quick release but you do also get a drop down sun visor operated by a slider on the side of the helmet the interior is going to be a mix of shalamar and ritmo which are premium materials used by agv and the liner is removable moisture wicking and washable in addition to this the crown pad is reversible so that you have a hot side for cold weather and a cold side for warm weather riding the agv helmet uses a titanium double d-ring chin strap just like you get on the piste to gprr has an intermediate oval head fit and the helmet is also prepared for a communication system the cena arc lastly the helmet is ece 2205p certified and when tested by sharp it earned 405 stars remaining shut in 97 of impacts when we tested out the agv sport modular we had great weather with the day's average airspeed at about 125 kilometers per hour the day's exterior temperature was at about 31 degrees celsius or 88 fahrenheit but the interior temperature was about 30 degrees celsius or 86 fahrenheit this means that the sport modulator was one degree cooler than the outside which also matches it up against the likes of the schubert c4 pro and then showing you tech 2 for airflow even for noise the support modulator gave a strong performance coming in at about 100 decibels which means it is actually coming in quieter than the neotec 2 while still offering the same level of ventilation as far as our champion helmets ranking the sport monitor also does very well with this carbon fiber outer shell offered in three shell sizes the helmet earns five stars for material and thanks to the carbon fiber construction we also got a lightweight helmet at about 1 340 grams which also earns the agv helmet another five stars since the visor's coming pinlock prepared and in the box and also offers a decent field of view it earns four stars while the excellent noise result of a hundred decibels earns it another four stars a strong ventilation performance of the sport modular with one degree less than the outside earns it another five stars and though the reversible liner was clever and fairly comfortable it did not quite match the level of the shoei and schubert comparison earning the agv three and a half stars for comfort overall this brings the sport modular to a total of 4 stars at 26 euros per star which is another strong result next up we have the shoei neotec 2 one of the most recognizable players in the modular helmet market this is shoei's premium modular helmet designed for noise isolation quality and comfort and it will be coming at a recommended retail price of about 600 euros or 700 us dollars the helmet is constructed out of shoei's advanced integrated matrix or aim which is a fiberglass composite designed for light weight the helmet comes in three outer shell sizes and uses a dual density eps liner the shoei neotec 2 is ece 2205 pj certified which means that it can be used on the road with the chin bar up or down the helmet is also lightweight coming in at about 1 60 grams or three pounds and 10 and a half ounces for ventilation the shoei neotec 2 uses a single large chin air inlet and another large scoop in the brow all this hot air then escapes out the back exhaust under the spoiler the visor of the neotec 2 is pin lock prepared with the anti-fog insert in the box and not only is it a quick change mechanism but special springs ensure that you always get a good seal to keep the wind and weather out as with most touring helmets the neotec 2 comes with an integrated sun visor with the lever on the side of the helmet and the interior of the neotec 2 comes with shoei's premium comfort liner which is removable washable and anti-bacterial the helmet comes prepared for glasses and is designed to integrate directly with the cena srl2 communication system in order to give you a sleek and slim helmet profile while still being able to take calls and listen to music lastly the helmet uses a micrometric chin strap as an intermediate oval head fit and earn 4 out of 5 stars from sharp while remaining shut in 70 of impact tests when we road tested the shoei neotec 2 it was a great day with the exterior airspeed at about 120 to 130 kilometers per hour the day's exterior temperature was a hot 33 degrees celsius or 91 fahrenheit while the showing neotec 2's interior temperature was about 32 degrees celsius or 90 fahrenheit so that's one degree less this does mean that the shoei helmet offers strong ventilation and this means that it will match up well with the rest of the helmet's premium competition more noise as well the sony attack 2 did well with a noise level of about 101 decibels which is very good for a modular helmet especially considering that this type of helmet is often louder due to the wind creeping in through the chin bar mechanism as far as our champion helmets ranking the shoino tech 2 does excellent for materials since the helmet is made from fiberglass composited in three outer shell sizes it earns four and a half stars however with a weight of about 1 60 grams it earns only three for the visor since the helmet comes with a great field of view an excellent mechanism and the pinlock inserted included it earns 5 stars for noise result of 101 decibels the helmet earns 4 stars which is also respectable however with the ventilation results showing 1 degree cooler inside the helmet earns 5 stars thanks to the advanced liner and clever srl2 integration the helmet also earns 5 stars for comfort overall this brings the shoeini tac-2 to a total of 4 stars at 22 euros per star which shows both its strong performance and excellent value for money next up we have the neotec 2's main rival the schubert c4 pro this is another top modular helmet that has come out as very popular as well due to its slimmer design and top-notch features the schubert c4 pro is coming at a recommended retail price of about 600 euros or 700 us dollars and is fully constructed out of fiberglass through schubert's direct fiber processing method which ensures that the helmet is strong and lightweight by minimizing the chance of any excess shell material the helmet is also available in a carbon fiber version the c4 pro is also offered in three outer shell sizes for a proportional fit and comes in weighing in at about 1 640 grams in a size m or 3 pounds and 9 ounces for ventilation the shubert helmet comes with a spring loaded chin vent and another large scoop in the brow though there is no exhaust the helmet does include numerous eps screws to allow air to escape from underneath the neck roll the shubert c4 pro's visor is coming pin pinlock prepared with the anti-fog insert in the box and the visor is also wide to make touring more comfortable and comes with a drop down sun visor with a lever along the lip of the helmet the interior of the shubert helmet is lined with a suede-like material and it is removable washable and antibacterial it also fastens with a micrometric chin strap fits glass as well comes with an intermediate oval to round head fit and is designed to directly integrate with the schubert sc1 advanced communication system which is simply plug and play the schubert c4 pro is also ece 2205p certified so it can only be used in the closed position and it earns three or five stars from sharp while staying shut in 100 of tests when we road tested the schubert c4 pro it was another great day with the day's airspeed at about 115 to 120 kilometers per hour with some gusts of wind the exterior temperature for the day was at about 31 degrees celsius or 88 fahrenheit while the interior temperature of the helmet was a surprising 30 degrees celsius or 86 fahrenheit which means it was one degree cooler this means that it is already stacking up very well against the neotec 2. however for noise the shubert helmet showed a much stronger performance with a noise level of about 99 decibels which places it among one of the quietest modular helmets we've tested to date and will also mean it will be more comfortable on long rides on the highway this strong performance means that the c4 pro also ranked very well for materials since the helmet comes in three outer shell sizes and is made of fiberglass it earns four stars however with its weight of about 1 640 grams the schubert does keep to 4 stars and for the visor it did earn 4 stars because of the great field of view and included pinlock insert for noise with the result of 99 decibels on the meter the schubert earns itself an excellent 5 of 5 stars and it receives the same 5 star score for ventilation since it was 1 degree cooler than the outside lastly for comfort the premium suede feel liner with all the features earns the c4 pro and other five stars overall this brings the helmet to a total of four and a half stars at 21 euros per star which makes it come out slightly above the shoulder tech 2 while still delivering stronger noise isolation though the hjc still comes out on top in that category before we head to our final results we'll first go over our three runner-up helmets each also top tier of their respective companies these helmets include the roof boxer carbon shark evo gt and the nolan n105 plus starting with the roof boxer carbon this is the roof's top 180 degree flip up modular helmet designed for style and urban riding the helmet is coming at a recommended retail price of about 530 euros or 620 us dollars and is coming with a carbon fiber outer shell the helmet includes numerous air inlets in the chin bar with a venturi vent on top of the head and the visor is only anti-fog treated and also uses an auto up auto down visor system the interior is removable and washable and that the previous boxer v8 earned 405 stars from sharp while remaining shut in 57 percent of impacts the new boxer carbon's closure mechanism should see an improved results when we tested the helmet the day's average airspeed was at about 125 kilometers per hour the exterior temperature for the day was at about 24 degrees celsius or about 75 fahrenheit and the interior temperature for the helmet was at about 26 degrees celsius or 79 fahrenheit so the helmet was 2 degrees celsius hotter even with this ventilation though the box of carbon was noisy with about 105 decibels in the helmet making it the loudest in today's guide in both the main lineup and for our runners up as far as ranking with its carbon fiber outer shell the helmet earns four and a half stars for its weight of about 1 550 grams in a size m it earns three stars and since the visor is only coming anti-fog treated but steals poorly and is complicated to remove it earns one star for noise with the loud 105 decibels in the helmet it also earns two stars however with the decent ventilation result of being two degrees hotter the boxer carbon earns three stars nonetheless the simpler comfort liner only earns it two stars overall this brings the roof boxer carbon to a total of three stars at 34 euros per star making it quite a low value for money helmet though it is focused more on style the nolan n105 plus is another recent release from nolan with its updated liner and strong setup features though coming in at the mid market segment and not quite performing to the same level as its ex-lite cousin this is a very well respected helmet that deserves to be in this lineup though it is coming as a runner-up the n105 plus is coming at a recommended retail price of about 440 euros or 510 us dollars and comes with an adjustable chin vent in front and an adjustable scoop in the brow for more airflow the visor of the n105 plus is pinlock prepared with the insert in the box and uses a quick change mechanism the interior of the n105 plus helmet is removable washable fits glasses and is antibacterial as well as featuring a liner adjustment system to get your ideal fit when we took the nolan helmet out on our road test the day's airspeed was at about 115 to 130 kilometers per hour while the exterior temperature was at about 15 degrees celsius or 59 fahrenheit the interior temperature during our test of the helmet was at about 14 and a half degrees celsius or 58 fahrenheit which has strong ventilation in the nolan helmet however the strong ventilation has come at a cost since our road test found the helmet's noise level to be at about 104 decibels with the ranking of the 105 plus the polycarbonate outer shell in two shell sizes earns the modular helmet two stars and with its weight of about 1750 grams it earns three stars nonetheless the pinlock prepared visor with the included anti-fog insert and retractable sun visor and instant nolan helmet four stars with the noise result of 104 decibels the n105 plus does dip again though to two stars and for ventilation the n105 plus did come back again since the interior and exterior were at the same temperature which earns it four stars for comfort because of the helmet's improved adjustable liner it also earns four stars overall this brings the n105 plus to a total of three stars at 23 euros per star which also makes it a budget friendly helmet thanks to its value for money finally for our testing we come to the shark evo gt this is the latest helmet from shark replacing and massively improving on the e412 and coming in above the shark evo es with its recommended retail price of about 430 euros or 500 us dollars the shark evo gt is mainly constructed out of injected thermoplastic and is coming in two outer shell sizes for ventilation the evo gt comes with a venturi vent in the chin and there are two redesigned adjustable vents in the brow hot air then escapes out the back exhaust of the helmet the visor of the gt is coming pin lock prepared with the anti-fog insert provided in the box and it has a drop down sun visor and it has a new microtech fabric interior it is removable moisture wicking washable and antimicrobial and it fits glasses lastly the helmet can also take the shark tooth prime communication system when we tested out the evo gt it was a nice autumn day with the day's average airspeed at about 120 to 130 kilometers per hour the exterior temperature for the day was at about 14 degrees celsius that would later drop to 13. throughout our test the evo gt actually outperformed our expectations since it managed to stay one degree cooler throughout our entire road test even with these temperature changes for noise the evo gt also did very well with about 101 decibels inside the helmet which is also very quiet and a significant improvement over its predecessor now let's see how the shark evo gt actually ranked according to its performance for material since the shark helmet comes in two outer shell sizes and is made of polycarbonate it earns two stars it does step it up though for weight with three stars since the helmet came in at about 1 680 grams in a size m since the visor mechanism has been improved and the helmet comes with the pin lock inserted in the box the shark earns 4 stars for noise as well we were impressed with the helmet's improvement so with the result of 101 decibels the shark earns 3.5 stars even with these strong numbers the evo gt pushed the envelope even further by earning 5 of 5 stars for ventilation since it was 1 degree cooler lastly for comfort the evo gt's new liner and extra interior options earns it 4 stars overall this brings the evo gt to a respectable 3.5 stars at 20 years per star which means that the shark has clearly over performed and that you get a lot of helmet for a low price since this means that the evo gt actually beats the r490s carbon for the value for money but nonetheless this helmet was held back by its material category but it is still a strong runner-up so now let's see how these helmets all compare together since all our road tests are complete starting with ventilation looking at our results we can see that the shoei shubert and agv are at the top similar to last year since they were all one degree cooler but we do have a surprise climber here today in the evo gt since in last year's roundup the previous evo12 was near the bottom with a temperature difference of six degrees so that improvement to a minus one degree difference is astounding but the x-lite hjc and the nolan helmets have also done very well since they are also coming in at about the same temperature as the outside with the htc also showing some good upwards motion last we have the roof boxer carbon coming in at the bottom with a difference of two degrees to the outside which was a shame considering the number of chin vents however there's always the option to flip it 180 degrees to fully open up the helmet for airflow as far as the biggest question for noise we also have some shakeups for 2021.
whereas the schubert c4 pro previously sat at the top as the quietest helmet with 99 decibels the hjc r490s carbon has overtaken it with a noise result of 97 which was definitely surprising following these two you then get the sport modular at the 100 decibel mark and the neotec 2 and evo gt at about the 101 decibel mark however the shark was on the slightly louder side of this 101 which is why it was that half star lower these two helmets are then followed by the x light and nolan coming with 103 and 104 decibels respectively and again we get the boxer at the rear with his 105 decibels however looking at the results overall this is a solid set of noise isolation data especially considering that modular helmets can often tend to be louder than full face elements due to the additional components and areas for air to creep in looking at the rankings overall now we have an interesting picture the schubert c4 pro and the shoei neotec 2 are still both at the top as the two best performing modular helmets with consistent strengths across the board in their ventilation noise isolation and comfort though the schubert keeps that slim half star lead overall but the hdc alpha 90s carbon has started closing the gap and not only has it improved in material and weight but it's made great strides in noise isolation earning an impressive 5 stars the agv sport modular has held onto its position thanks to its excellent construction and features and the x-1005 and the shark evo gt were also surprise high performers here they definitely came out with a strong level of performance and the evo gt shows improvements across the board compared to its predecessor this has even led to the helmet becoming our top value for money modular since it offers excellent performance given its price point the nolan also showed a decent performance overall and though it is a runner-up it also came close to making our main lineup with a balance of value for money price and performance finally though the boxer carbon does not score as high as we'd hoped this is unsurprising giving its main focus is going to be on style but then again it does also have that great feature of being a 180 degree flip up helmet which is still fairly novel if you'd like to learn more about any of these helmets then make sure to check out championhelmets.com where we have our lowest price guarantee and plenty of bundle deals including an additional visor or discount communication systems that wraps up our quest to find the best modular helmets of 2021 we've gone through these top helmets on our road test and brought you back our real world data to really determine which comes out on top though hjc shark and x-lite are clearly starting to turn up the heat the shoei and the schubert are both still keeping their crowns with the schubert even eking out a slim lead over the neotec 2. if you liked the video then make sure to subscribe and check out the rest of our youtube channel for our individual reviews and data driven road tests of these and many more helmets i'm sebastian from champion helmets and thanks for watching
2021-01-22 14:12
