Arai Challenger S Helmet

ARAI CHALLENGER S HELMET

EVALUATIONS

Overwhelmed by the major questions of helmets or not and mandatory usage vs voluntary, is another, calmer debate.

In simplest terms, there are riders who cannot see why so much fuss is made in behalf of what’s known (to them) as carracer helmets; full coverage, with only a narrow opening for vision. Road bikers are not racers, the theory goes, and they would benefit more from light weight and good vision at touring speeds than they would from the complete coverage first seen on car racers and the Daytona two-wheel crowd.

It’s a fair debate. At this writing there has been no conclusive proof that a full face helmet is more likely to save a life than an open face helmet will. There are studies which show facial injury is less likely, but that can be countered by the light weight and greater comfort and vision of the open helmet.

The question is open. It’s mentioned here because we have been impressed by Arai’s Challenger model, a race-certified helmet that weighs no more than the flimsy old pudding bowl jobs.

Certification: Rather than repeat all the

rules, suffice it that the Challenger S meets the Snell 75 standards. The AMA requires professional racers to wear Snell 75-certified helmets. Toughest set of standards in the world.

In terms of actual protection, thank goodness we once again cannot say first-

hand. None of the three Challenger S owners here have fallen on their heads.

Comfort, though, is known. This model helmet is made with reinforced fiberglass and it’s light, 2 lb. 9 oz. by our scales, compared with the 3 lb. plus of the average open face high-ranked helmet. There’s generous padding of brushed nylon and satin and the helmet seals out wind, doesn’t wag back and forth. An 18-hour helmet, one might say.

Price is $64.95 for the open model. Arai offers the same rating, padding, etc., in a full face helmet for $74.95 and due out soon is an even lighter open Snell 75 job with an even stronger shell, the CLC (Complex Laminate Construction), as worn by Heikki Mikkola, for $125.

Arai is expanding its dealer system: two of our local shops have just added the line, which is how we know about it, but the surest source of a dealer is the Arai distributors:

Accessory Distributors, Inc., 175 Fair St., Palisades Park, N.J. 07650, in the east, and

Wheelsport Distributing, 2424 N.E. Riverside Way, Portland, Ore. 97211. in the west.