Arai Corsair-X

It’s an odd thing to say, but until some extremely clever person sat down and redesigned pretty big areas of the top-of-the-range Arai, I honestly didn’t think it could be improved much at all.

OK, issues with the previous version of the helmet were very obvious to anyone who’d owned one – the ‘visor side-pod-Oh-my-God-I’m-going-to-snap-this’ palaver was enough to keep my visors on for months rather than risk breaking the fragile clips. The venting was good but the visor latch wasn’t the easiest to use either.

But then the Corsair-X appeared and things improved again. Changing the visor is spectacularly easy (the fact that the lid still has sidepods while everyone else has ditched them for single-piece visor fitments says that the Japanese firm knows this system works well now).

The new visor latch is larger than the old system, easy to operate with a gloved hand and the unlatch system takes a push to clear and seats the visor back against the rim of the helmet opening perfectly. Venting and fit are exemplary, it’s a lot of money for a helmet but you can really feel where the quality lays with this sort of helmet. It is sumptuous and workable. The lining is washable with all the inner components of the helmet able to be removed and replaced easily.

The shell is a new shape, designed to be more round and smooth in order to dissipate energy in a glance-off contact during a fall.

Over the years I’ve ridden in every single incarnation of the top-of-the-range modern Arai and I’ve been very much in love with these helmets, but this latest version blows the others away. In terms of fit, comfort, usability and quality, this is where the game is right now. Yes, £600-ish is a lot of money and there are helmets out there that are rated as safe as this one, but there’s nothing out there I’ve tried that’s anywhere near as superb all-round as this helmet right now. Highly recommended.