Schuberth C3 Helmet

[Papa_Complex]

As a commuting rider I thought that I would give flip-up helmets a go, as it can be annoying and inconvenient to be constantly taking off and putting on a helmet, as I go around town.

I've been using a Shoei Multitech helmet, for about a year now, and have never really felt quite comfortable in it. It's not because it doesn't fit well, but rather because I always felt like it wouldn't stay on in a slide. The chin bar also felt annoyingly flimsy. I realize that it isn't a real full-face helmet but I sometimes wondered if it would stand up to a good sized rock, or a bird strike.

Then I read a review of the Schuberth C3 helmet, which is now available in DOT tested form, by a local journo I trust. His overall impression was good, so I did a little more research. WebBikeWorld also had glowing reviews of it, with only a few sticking points.

So I tried one on, liked the fit, and bought one. Unfortunately the Hi-Viz yellow wasn't available at the time, so I went for gloss black.

The truth is somewhere between the two reviews. WebBikeWorld commented that the padding was rather scarce, which meant that the inner material was in danger of being damaged by gloves, etc., that might be stuck into the helmet. This implies that the padding is lacking when, in fact, it's quite ample and comfortable.

The chin bar and locking mechanism are both more substantial than those of the Multitech; the former MUCH so, the latter somewhat. It takes a very positive push, to lock the bar properly, and the easiest way to do so is to press down on it, in the visor port, while hooking your thumbs under the main body of the helmet.

The chin strap is a ratchet lock setup, rather than a D-Ring, and I quite like it. It's easy to use, when wearing even heavier gloves, and I find the minimal neck padding comfortable enough. The straps also have a sort of bridge strap attached to them, which are also attached to rivets on the rear of the helmet. This is to help avoid the helmet being levered off the back of the head, in a slide, and they certainly contribute to a more secure feel, than I ever had with the Multitech.

Air flow is fairly good, but not up to the positive rush of air that you get from something like an Arai RX series lid. Then again wearing one of those is like wearing a baseball cap. If you're moving at above 35 MPH, then airflow is goot enough to keep the sweat down. Shuberth claims an air exchange rate of 7 Litres per second, at 100 Kmh (slightly over 60 MPH).

The visor mechanism took me about 10 seconds, to figure out. Removal is somewhat similar to that of Shoei, but better thought out. It's even easier to remove the shield, but you'll never be able to do it while wearing gloves. It would be nice if the ratcheting mechanism was tighter, and had smaller gradations of opening so that you could just open it a crack on really hot days, but that isn't the case.

I guess that the designers thought that's only done to avoid fogging, which isn't an issue because of the Pinlock Visor (inner anti-fog screen insert). It certainly does stop fogging, but I find it rather intrusive to have an additional border all the way around the inside of my visor. It also seems to scratch a bit more easily, than does the regular visor's material, and it also adds some annoying internal reflections. This isn't much of an issue in full daylight, but can be annoying at night. I'll likely buy another stock visor, them remove the Pinlock liner from it for summer use.

Which brings me to the best part of this helmet IMHO; the inner sun visor. WHY THE FUCK DON'T ALL HELMETS HAVE THESE?!!! It's controlled with a simple and easily used slider, on the clutch hand side of the helmet at the bottom. It's at the level of a Shoei or Arai "dark smoke" in tint. Its operation is completely unobtrusive. The last section of my morning ride, into work, has me facing east right into the rising sun. A quick flip of the lever and I'm good to go.

I'll try to put some pictures up, but for now.....

Shuberth's C3 Page: http://www.schuberth.com/en/products/motorcycle/c3.html

Costa's Review: http://cmgonline.com/content/view/3427/57/

WebBikeWorld's Review: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motor...uberth-c3-usa/