motorcycle gear reviews: Icon Airframe Helmet

Although a relatively new company, Icon have established themselves as a motorcycle gear manufacturer known for offering style and quality products at reasonable prices. Their new for 2008 Airframe Helmets are no exception.

style

There are seven different painting schemes of the helmet (offering both mens and ladies versions), five which have stunning detailed graphics, and two solid glosses. Most of the designs also come in various colors as well. The 'seventh seal' graphic is of particular interest - it looks like it came out of scene from the video game DOOM.

update:

New for 2009 is Icon's Victory Death Or Glory version of the Airframe helmet. This is the perfect accompaniment with the Victory Death Or Glory jacket.

features

The venting system has fins and a spoiler on the back, it has a basic chin vent and an air splitter on the breath guard to guide the air coming in. A removable molded breath deflector reduces shield fogging to almost nil.

The shell is deep enough to cover your chin giving you that extra sense of security. There is also a removable chin curtain underneath the front of the chin area to block out wind and undesired noise.

One of the really cool things is that the cheek pads can be custom fitted to suit your size - as Icon sells an entire set of both thinner and thicker cheek pads for the Airframe.

The liner fabric covers the entire shell and there are no bare surfaces inside the helmet.

Like the customizable cheek pads the helmet's visor can be swapped out for various tinted visors. The visor when closed, locks into a small metal rivet at the front of the helmet ensuring it does not fly open when rapidly moving your head.

Like all of Icon's helmets, the airframe comes in sizes ranging from xxs to xxxl. One of the things we enjoy about Icon's helmet line is that their sizing is consistent across all of their helmets that they manufacture. (It is rather frustrating when trying to find a lid that fits from a particular manufacturer whose helmet sizes vary depending on the model you choose.)

Female riders will enjoy the fact that Icon has made the airframe in a design specifically for women - the airframe regal. The airframe regal comes with all of the bells and whistles as it's well respected brother and is just as stylish.

safety

Excellent style is not the only thing this helmet offers - it's fiberglass, carbon fiber and Dyneema composite shell is both DOT and Snell approved.

quality

Looking closely at the paint jobs on each of the airframe designs you can tell that there was extra attention given to the detail work. The designs are fluid across the entire helmet with the exception of a few minor imperfections on some of the designs. We have a small compliant regarding difficulty in removing and reapplying side-plates on the visor, however, this is a minor issue. The liner fabric is comfortable and is made of Icon's "HydraDry" material which is supposed to wick away moisture.

show me the money

The helmet is also reasonably priced with a suggested retail value of USD $300.00. The solid gloss versions (black, white, or silver) are a bit cheaper ringing in at USD $250.00.

overall

All things considered, this helmet rocks. It's style, coming in various fashions, is only matched by it's performance factor. It has excellent ventilation. The customizable cheek pads allow the wearer to fine tune the size of the helmet to fit their head. The helmet's visor can also be customized with either a tinted or clear visor.

rating

• Style: 10/10
• Features: 8/10
• Safety: 8/10
• Quality: 8/10
• Price: 7/10
• Overall Value: 8/10