VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P85
STANDOUT FEATURE
The most comfortable helmet in
Arai's lineup.
RIDER ANALYSIS
I've worn more Arai helmets over the
past 10 years than I could possibly
imagine. Most of these have been the
race-spec Corsair-X. I liked the way it
fit and the huge amount of airflow the
shell offered.
That helmet came out in 2015
and until recently I used one as my
daily, but that's now been shoved
aside for the Contour-X. This new lid
is vastly more comfortable than the
Corsair-X for the kind of riding I do on
a day-to-day basis thanks primar-
ily to the brushed nylon interior. The
Regent-X had a similar liner but didn't
offer the same level of venting, as a
result it would get overly hot on long
rides and didn't wick sweat away
like I wanted, hence going back to
Corsair-X's.
The Contour-X has a similar level
been, as I don't like having two dif-
ferent colors (light and dark) in the
same field of vision.
This gripe aside, the Contour-X has
shot right to the top of my street rid-
ing helmet list. It doesn't replace the
Corsair-X on track—it's not supposed
to—but the comfort, airflow and com-
munication unit integration can't be
ignored.
Rennie Scaysbrook
• GREAT VENTING
• EXCELLENT COMFORT FROM
THE LINER
• NICE SPEAKER INTEGRATION
• STILL NO TRANSITION SHIELD
of venting to the Corsair-X but is way
more comfortable, plus the integrated
speaker pockets (the Corsair-X has
them too, just not as deep) means
I can fit big, quality speaks like the
JBL units in the Cardo Packtalk Edge
and not feel them pushing up against
my ears and ruining the sound (little
things, I know, but they all make a
difference).
Riding at speed, there's hardly any
buffeting and overall noise isn't too
much to handle—I always ride with
earplugs so noise isn't much of a deal
breaker for me.
I wish to God above that Arai would
hurry up and make a transition shield
that goes from light to dark. Many
others and I have been asking for this
for years, it can be done as Bell and
Shoei have proven, so I'd love to see
it finally happen. That said, the face
shield can handle a pinlock but I'm
not a fan of the Pro-Shield system as
seen in the riding shot, never have
LIST PRICE: Starts $739.95 up to $889.95 for solid and
standard graphics and $899.95 for race replica colors
WEBSITE: https://www.araiamericas.com/contour-x-variation
Removal of the face shield is
the same as the race-spec Corsair-
X. Just pop the side panels via the
black tabs and the roll the shield
out. The shields themselves can
accept a pinlock, as usual, but
there's still no transition lens avail-
able from Arai despite the con-
stant pleas from riders. So, you'll
either need to wear the Pro-Shade
system that has a small dark
shield attached to it or you need to
carry a clear visor for night riding.
Go riding all day and you'll probably not
find a more comfortable helmet.
