Shoei XR-1100 Helmet - Review
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Incredibly well ventilated and constructed all round helmet that seems to tick all the right boxes
Cool and Cool
Initial Thoughts
The XR-1100 is Shoei Helmets newest product line and one that has been in development for over 5 years, opening the box gives you a rather unusual shaped lid when viewed from the top with its very definate oval shape towards the rear of the helmet. On the top are 6 slide vents and on first touch they are perhaps the most solid and well made feeling vent switches I have ever felt, one thing is for sure though on viewing this lid for the first time - it has been made with ventilation in mind!
Construction
With 4 outer shell sizes the XR-1100 is clearly on the road to offering a comfortable fit for any head size and it feels incredibly light for a non Carbon Fibre construction. Wearing the helmet reveals a rather sculpted feeling interior that just fits - nicely! It is difficult to explain but rather than feeling soft and supple all round where most helmets eventually loosen up the Shoei XR1100 almost feels as though there are moulded areas under the padding that cosset your cheeks and brow, it feels like no other helmet I have worn to date. Out on the road and the shape seems to come into its own with the integrated spoiler on both the back of the head and neckline keeping your head nice and steady, reducing fatigue and making for a more comfortable ride, on the majority of the test rides it was quite windy but I had the opportunity to try hot sunshine, rain and night riding also with the Shoei XR-1100 performing admirably in all conditions.
With mentioning the night riding it leads me nicely on to another brilliant feature of the helmet and that is visibility! The new CW-1 Visor has a staggering field of view with amazing peripheral vision, couple that with the Pinlock system and you have a totally fog free ride in all weather, one of the new features of the visor system is the Q.R.S.A. (Quick Release Self Adjusting) function whereby the visor is pulled by a spring upon closing to ensure a better all round fit and a reduction in associated wind noise which seems to work quite well although on my helmet I did need to adjust the screws on the visor base plate in order to align the visor better, not that it was a problem but the visor didnt lift as smoothly as I would have liked from the off.
With the helmet so clearly designed for ventilation it was time to put them all into practice, with the 2 brow vents having 2 open positions and the 4 top venturi vents a standard open and closed as with the chin vent for the visor there are a number of combinations you can try to get the right feel and flow, first off the bat I tried everything closed which surprisingly yielded pretty good results in terms of face ventilation but obviously nowhere else. With the brow vents open the helmet went from lower than average noise to a little above average but the sheer volume of air being forced into the lid was quite surprising, even more so when the top venturi vents were all opened up - you can actually make out the directionality of the airflow through the helmet its that good! Of course the downside to all of this air is always going to be noise and I found a happy medium with the front vents all closed but the top 4 open, as pretty much is the case with modern helmets you should always be wearing correctly fitting earplugs anyway and as long as you have these in you can enjoy all vents fully open and feel like you are in an open topped helmet!
Designs wise the XR-1100 range is quite limited at the moment with a lot of black/white and silver combinations along with the solid colours, I like a bright coloured lid and the XR 1100 was no exception, initially I had hoped for the rather tarty Sylvian design but due to time and stock restrictions I went for the black white and silver Monolith TC-2 graphic, the quality of the design and paint job is as you would expect from a high end brand like Shoei with no visible flaws and the fit and finish across the entirety of the helmet superb in every avenue - If you are looking for a replacement helmet at any time in the near future this is certainly worth a good look in!
Shell in AIM+ Modular EPS liner system with a dual density Mist-retardant CW-1 pinlock visor Double-D ring Chin Curtain
Fibreglass, Organic Fibres and high performance fibres are layered for a shock-absorbent shell with optimum rigidity.
Optimised protection through EPS elements with different shock-absorbing levels.
With safety locking mechanism and dual resistance visor seal, fast and simple exchange.
Easy to use and always perfectly adjusted.
All XR-1100 come with a draught excluding chin guard.
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Editor reviews
Reviewed by Leigh Godson September 20, 2009
Last updated: February 11, 2012
Top 10 Reviewer - View all my reviews
Conclusion
The XR-1100 is a truly superb helmet and I would expect a lot of other brands to follow suit with its design's over the oming years, in terms of construction it is exceptional with all of the fittings having a solid and expensive feel to them.
Ventilation is huge, I have never felt anything like it from a helmet before but with this comes a noisy downside so unless you are wearing your earplugs it might get a touch loud with all the front vents in action. Surely you are wearing your plugs though - right?
In terms of the Sharp rating it has not been tested as yet so until then it gets the standard 3 star rating I give other helmets but I would expect the Shoei to be as highly rated on safety as previous models.
Overall this is a remarkable helmet, a great shape leads to reduced fatigue and ventilation that will keep your head cool and dry in the hottest conditions - 5 star rating from me!
User reviews
Average user rating from: 2 user(s)
ok helmet
Bit boring on graphics but it works well enough on me head and when you are giving it beans the vents work but too well sometimes so its noisy.
nice but noisy
Nice skid lid but a bit noisey compared to some. the vents open blasts you with air so it is nice in summer but winter can get a bit cold even with them shut. I think the graphics could be better though shoei.
I quite like mine but probably would look at one of the newer models if it needed replaceing because of the noise even when i have my ear plugs in
