PRODUCT REVIEW
NOLAN N70-2X
Words & Photos : Ben Wilkins
D epending on your viewpoint , adventure helmets are either all things to all men or a jack of all trades but master of none . I kinda sit in the middle . I like having a peak to keep the sun out of my eyes , but I don ’ t like the pressure on my neck in a hard sidewind . For me , the peak ’ s advantage outweighs the negative . Nolan ’ s new N70-2X ( catchy name huh ...?) takes the adventure format and shoehorns just about every feature into the one helmet .
DAY AFTER DAY USE I ’ ve been using this lid for a couple of months now , covering over 6000km including a lap of the South Island just before Christmas , where I wore the helmet for eight hours a day for nine days straight . The trip was the perfect test for this helmet as it had everything from the humdrum of the highway , city riding , high country gravel roads , twisty tar seal and 4WD tracks . I ’ m a small to medium in most helmets and the small Nolan fits me just right . It ’ s tight enough that it won ’ t get baggy , but not too tight that it wasn ’ t going to give enough to be comfy . I had a pressure point on one side of my head , but a quick push of the foam at that point got rid of that . I ’ ll get to long term comfort a bit later .
FEATURES The designers at Nolan have thrown the lot at the N70-2X . There ’ s a removable peak , a removable chin bar so it can be used as an open face too , an integrated sun visor , the
62 KIWI RIDER