John BraunPhoenix Wheels Examiner
In the world of helmets, Arai ranks at the top. They have a reputation for outstanding quality of construction, fit and finish. So, I had very high expectations for this particular helmet.
The design of the XD3 is a hybrid of on road and off road helmets. It has the full face shield of a full face road helmet, but the dropped chin of the off road helmet. As a result, the shield is much wider than a normal road helmet. Initially, it looks a little strange. However, riding with it only briefly made a believer out of me.
The larger face shield improves the rider's field of vision considerably, particularly helpful in any situation where you have to turn your head more than a little such as parking lot maneuvers, u-turns, and just about any turn off-road. The large face opening in the XD3 allows the rider to easily put on sunglasses. Other full face helmets that I've used were difficult, if not impossible to wear sunglasses under.
Another difference between the XD3 and a road helmet is the visor. Road helmets don't have them, and frankly, it looks like it would catch a lot of wind at highway speeds. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that even at 80+ mph, the visor did not give me any problems with lift. In fact, on sunny days (and we have plenty of those in Phoenix), I quickly began to appreciate it's ability to provide a little shade over my eyes.
Helmet fit is a very personal issue. Heads are simply shaped differently. Initially, the helmet fit nice and snug as a new helmet should, but it bit into my forehead a bit. After a few days of riding, things settled out, and the fit became perfect.
An interesting feature of the helmet, and one that we all hope will never be used, is the quick detachable cheek pads. This feature allows emergency personnel to quickly remove the cheek pads from a downed rider's helmet, thus allowing them to easily (read with the least amount of additional trauma necessary) remove the helmet from the injured rider. The feature should prevent aggravating any injuries by having to pull a tight helmet off. Hopefully, it will rarely be used.
Phoenix has a lot of hot days. I ride full time, even in hottest months. Even though Arizona does not require riders to wear helmets, my wife does (and I'm completely on board with her decision), so I had the pleasure of testing the airflow qualities of the XD3. I was not disappointed. The vents at the front and rear were easy to use, and they were effective. The face shield also tilts and holds to any position, even though it's not indexed.
I also had the opportunity to use the helmet during a full day of cold, rainy riding. With vents closed, the helmet kept my head dry, and warm even. The only issue that I had was fogging. To mitigate the issue, I kept the visor cracked just a bit. A quick email to Arai revealed that the pin lock system is available for the XD3. With two pins installed in the face shield, the rider can select one of five inserts (clear, light ting, dark tint, orange and yellow). These inserts are made of a moisture absorbing material, and have a gasket that presses against the inside of the face shield creating a barrier which eliminates fogging. I have used this system for about a month now, and even in forty degree mornings, have had no fogging issues. Brilliant.
Finally, the finish. What a great helmet to look at. I attended riding schools in South Carolina and California. Both coasts agree that the frost gray color made a great looking helmet.
Weak points? The visor screws. To remove the visor, or replace the face shield, four plastic screws have to be removed. The screws are slotted perfectly for a quarter or nickel. They were obviously not high-torque. I was very surprised when my quarter began to spin and spin on the last one indicating that the screw had broken. Without a spare, I replaced it with a stainless screw and nylon washer. I'm sure Arai has their reasons for the plastic screws, but I'm somewhat mystified by them at this point.
Overall, this helmet is a hit. I had originally intended to use it for adventure riding only, but it has proven so comfortable and functional that it has become my primary helmet.
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