PHOTO : Greg Smith , iKapture
We don ’ t change our helmets all that often . We buy one we like and it lasts for five or more years of daily / weekly / monthly ( delete as applicable …) use . As the outlay is pretty substantial , we often stick with what we know . I ’ ve done that for a long time . I know the shape of Arai helmets works with my cranium , so I ’ ve had many of them over the years . Mostly I ’ ve gone with race-derived models as I used to race a little and spend a far bit of time on track . These days I sneak in a couple of track days a year if I ’ m lucky .
CHANGED PRIORITIES So , with a big ride coming up ( the Hayabusa
South Island Trip from the August issue – read about it here ), I started prepping my gear and noticed my trusty Rea-replica Arai RX7V I ’ ve had since 2015 was well past its use by date ( that ’ s an actual thing – the manufacturing date stamp for most helmets is etched onto the fastening D-rings ). So , I started looking for its replacement . And considering most of the mileage I do now is on the road , I opened my search to include road , rather than race , oriented models . Racederived helmets prioritise features like venting , airflow and sweat-wicking liners . They ’ re great at keeping you cool , but all that airflow makes