I love flip-ups. If its allergy season and I need to sneeze, its great to be able to lift the chin bar, sneeze, then go back to normal again. Same with talking to somebody during a stop. My last helmet was a Nolan N90, (also a flip-up) and I was very happy with it, but it was getting a little old and showing its age. I figured I would just get a new Nolan N104, but as I was reading up on it, I noticed a few things I didn?t like, such as the spring-loaded sun visor.
I?d read a lot of reviews about the Neotech, but didn?t think I could justify the big difference in price, but finally made the leap.
And I am really happy I did, because I could not be more pleased with the Neotech. Yes ? the higher cost is worth it.
Fit ? I think the N90 and the Neotech fit similarly shaped heads. Both work for me, but with the bigger cheek pads of the Neotech, the fit is very snug yet without any hotspots for me, even after a long two-day ride. The ear cutouts not only give my big ears some comfort, but don?t press the temple pads of my glasses into my skull. I found I can put the helmet on with my glasses in place, but need to remove them before taking the helmet off.
The Neotech comes with the pinlock system built in, but as I seldom have a problem with fogging, its not something I can comment on in this review.
I was truly surprised at how much quieter the Neotech is than my N90 ? and I hadn?t thought the Nolan was particularly loud. Some folks had reviewed the N90 and said it was quieter than most flip-ups. But the Neotech is considerably quieter than my old Nolan. By the way ? some reviewers have said the noise level increased in the Neotech when the top vent is open ? I haven?t noticed any difference myself. I wear hearing aids, and when I ride in the city, I do not wear ear plugs. (Before I get inundated with ?wear ear plug? comments, my hearing aids actually block noise when a certain noise level is reached.) On the road, I wear plugs. In both cases, the noise level is lower than my N90.
Though the Neotech seems to be at the higher end of the weight scale for flip-ups, I can?t say I noticed the weight. Maybe its because it is so well balanced.
But the biggest surprise is ventilation. I live in a very hot and humid area ? deep south Texas. Even on a commute ride home, my helmet liner would be soaked wearing the Nolan. But, after a 6 ? hour ride last weekend in very high temps and humidity, the Neotech liner was no more than damp. I can truly feel the difference when I open/close the top vent on the Neotech. I have my Cee Bailey +6 set up so I can see over the screen, and thus the top of my helmet is in the wind stream. The scoop type top vent seems to work well that way.
Sun visor ? I had a small problem with the big nose notch on the N90, but the Neotech?s shield is a bit lower and well out of my line of vision. Depending on the sun position, I sometimes need to adjust the position of the sun shield so that my road vision goes through the shield, but vision to my instruments does not. I could not do that with the spring-loaded Nolan N104. The Neotech?s shade seems to be a bit darker than the N90s, but not much ? as Charlie b once pointed out, there are standards regulating how dark they can be. I have clip-on dark lenses to go over my eye glasses, but the clip-ons and Neotech sun shield combination is too dark, unless riding directly in to a sunrise or sunset.
There is one thing I miss ? the microlock adjustable quick release chin strap on the Nolan. I can fasten/unfasten the Nolan?s strap with gloves on, but can?t do that with the Shoei?s double d-ring system. I usually use the chin strap as a carrying handle for my helmet, and the d-ring system takes a moment or two longer to fasten than the micro lock. Not a big deal ? just a convenience factor.
If your head shape matches, I recommend the Neotech very highly.
I?d read a lot of reviews about the Neotech, but didn?t think I could justify the big difference in price, but finally made the leap.
And I am really happy I did, because I could not be more pleased with the Neotech. Yes ? the higher cost is worth it.
Fit ? I think the N90 and the Neotech fit similarly shaped heads. Both work for me, but with the bigger cheek pads of the Neotech, the fit is very snug yet without any hotspots for me, even after a long two-day ride. The ear cutouts not only give my big ears some comfort, but don?t press the temple pads of my glasses into my skull. I found I can put the helmet on with my glasses in place, but need to remove them before taking the helmet off.
The Neotech comes with the pinlock system built in, but as I seldom have a problem with fogging, its not something I can comment on in this review.
I was truly surprised at how much quieter the Neotech is than my N90 ? and I hadn?t thought the Nolan was particularly loud. Some folks had reviewed the N90 and said it was quieter than most flip-ups. But the Neotech is considerably quieter than my old Nolan. By the way ? some reviewers have said the noise level increased in the Neotech when the top vent is open ? I haven?t noticed any difference myself. I wear hearing aids, and when I ride in the city, I do not wear ear plugs. (Before I get inundated with ?wear ear plug? comments, my hearing aids actually block noise when a certain noise level is reached.) On the road, I wear plugs. In both cases, the noise level is lower than my N90.
Though the Neotech seems to be at the higher end of the weight scale for flip-ups, I can?t say I noticed the weight. Maybe its because it is so well balanced.
But the biggest surprise is ventilation. I live in a very hot and humid area ? deep south Texas. Even on a commute ride home, my helmet liner would be soaked wearing the Nolan. But, after a 6 ? hour ride last weekend in very high temps and humidity, the Neotech liner was no more than damp. I can truly feel the difference when I open/close the top vent on the Neotech. I have my Cee Bailey +6 set up so I can see over the screen, and thus the top of my helmet is in the wind stream. The scoop type top vent seems to work well that way.
Sun visor ? I had a small problem with the big nose notch on the N90, but the Neotech?s shield is a bit lower and well out of my line of vision. Depending on the sun position, I sometimes need to adjust the position of the sun shield so that my road vision goes through the shield, but vision to my instruments does not. I could not do that with the spring-loaded Nolan N104. The Neotech?s shade seems to be a bit darker than the N90s, but not much ? as Charlie b once pointed out, there are standards regulating how dark they can be. I have clip-on dark lenses to go over my eye glasses, but the clip-ons and Neotech sun shield combination is too dark, unless riding directly in to a sunrise or sunset.
There is one thing I miss ? the microlock adjustable quick release chin strap on the Nolan. I can fasten/unfasten the Nolan?s strap with gloves on, but can?t do that with the Shoei?s double d-ring system. I usually use the chin strap as a carrying handle for my helmet, and the d-ring system takes a moment or two longer to fasten than the micro lock. Not a big deal ? just a convenience factor.
If your head shape matches, I recommend the Neotech very highly.
