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By Jimmy, 2010/07/18 11:48 pm

When it comes to helmet brands, the two that quickly come to mind are Shoei and Arai.  Hailing from Japan with both industry-leading quality and feature sets, they also represent some of the priciest helmets a rider can buy.  But what about riders who can’t (read: don’t want to) plop down $300-$800 for a helmet?  Is there a viable option in the $150-$200 range that serves up most of the high-end elements that riders want?  This is a question I’m very interested in answering and here is one of the candidates I wanted to review.

Enter Bell (www.bellbikehelmets.com), a hallmark of protective headgear formed here in the United States.  Well-known for bicycle helmets, they’ve also released a line of motorcycle helmets from the $99 Arrow to the $600 Star.  The reviews for Bell’s Star have been very complimentary, and that got me interested in checking the company out.  Sitting firmly in the middle of the line-up, but offering a stunning array of class-leading features, is the $189 Bell Vortex Roland Sands Design Apocalypse helmet.  It’s a handful to say, but it’s the designer end of their $169 Vortex lid.  The details list is long; the helmet has: a fog-free shield, chin curtain, wind collar, brow vents, magnetic strap holder, and a few other surprises.  The Roland Sands Design Apocalypse version has a somewhat fanciful depiction of angels on horses set against an attractive red and gray color scheme.  With so much to examine about the Vortex, I compiled some highlights.

In short, it’s easy to get caught up in all the details, but the most important things that you should be aware of are the Vortex’s interior proportions and shell size.  I found the Medium-sized helmet to fit on par with similarly-sized Shoei and HJC helmets.  However, the Vortex suffers from the balloon effect, where the company used extra padding to fit my Medium head into a shell that would probably accommodate a Large or even Extra-Large head.  It’s noticeable in the pictures and it turns an otherwise beautifully designed helmet into a middling one.  I’m not sure how many different shell sizes are available (maybe only one or two?), but this seems to be a misplay on Bell’s part.  I believe that the Vortex will be a better match for those with larger heads as the discrepancy won’t be as great, so it’s definitely still very much worth the effort of checking out.  Though, as a reviewer in search of the next killer (and slightly smaller) helmet, I’ll keep on looking.

• The Vortex’s Roland Sands Design graphics look fantastic.  Beautiful light gray background pattern with white angels on horses and red roses along the rear.
• Roland Sands Design tag and logo are present along the sides and upper rear of the helmet.
• The script says “Forever a Servant to the Gods of Speed”.
• The Vortex’s front features numerous air intakes – two at the top, four vents above the brow, and two vents in front of the mouth.
• Intake vents are single-position open or close, but there’s enough movement in the switch to half-open them if careful.
• Vent switches felt flimsy, I wish there was more resistance to opening/closing them.
• There are 4 exhaust vents at the upper and lower back.  These are not adjustable.
• The breath guard is removable.
• The helmet’s chin curtain is not removable.
• There’s an additional foam layer along the bottom of the helmet (wind collar), designed to block additional wind and noise.  The material covering this foam is less breathable (thus better at blocking incoming air).
• The Vortex helmet’s straps closes via magnet, which is convenient when already wearing gloves, although not more secure than a snap enclosure.
• The helmet’s visor is quick-release and anti-fog/anti-scratch/UV-ray protected.
• A quick test of the visor’s anti-fogging showed that it worked slightly better than other stock anti-fog shields.
• The visor allows 15 different positions for opening.
• It’s important to note that there is a large initial opening from closed position (much too large for just anti-fogging purposes).
• A black tab on the left of the visor serves as a (second?) grip, doesn’t allow any sort of visor locking.
• The Vector’s cheek pads were quite thick, although there was a noticeable lack of cushioning in the rear and around the ears.
• The interior liner’s mesh material was more abrasive and lower quality than expected.
• The helmet exterior is rather large – bigger than an equivalently-sized Shoei RF-1100, closer to my L-sized HJC FS-15.