Baironhorse
Well-known member
Took your advise. I tapped helmet side vents. What a difference. Good call . thanks
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Good alternative to Icon helmets?
- Thread starter 2wzilla
- Start date
In recent years I have had lengthy experience with the Icon Alliance, and the HJC CL-17.
Alliance Pros:
-Cheap
-Comes with a clear and dark smoke visor (great value)
-Available in XXXL for big headed people
-Decent ventilation
-I find it very comfortable, your mileage may vary.
-Visors are relatively anti-fog even without a pinlock (I seem to get more fogging in the Bell Qualifier for example). And what little fogging I get in the Icon tends to be more of a smear, than a full on opaque fogging. For most people this will suffice without having to drill holes in the Proshield visor and install pins for a pinlock or using after market anti-fog sprays.
Cons:
-Vents are cheaply made (the top vents are easily broken . . . had my helmet in the bag it came with, and also inside my gym bag. On the way out the door, helmet bumped into glass part of my front door . . . broke one of the top vents, yes they can be replaced, but at ~$45 to replace them (Icon's Super-Vents), that's getting really close to 1/3 of the original price of the helmet).
-Though fogging is not bad, no ready to install pinlock visor
-Visor does not make a solid seal with gasket along the entire perimeter . . . likely significant source of wind noise
HJC CL-17 Pros:
-Comes with pinlock for free, and it is absolutely amazing. I notice the smear on almost every ride with the Icon and get a little actual fogging in cold/wet conditions when stopped, but on the HJC, no fog, ever.
-Much better quality vents, and slightly better overall venting than the Icon
-Better seal between visor and gasket
Cons:
-Even though the visor seal is much better than on the Icon, with all venting closed the CL-17 is at least as loud if not slightly louder than the Alliance
Yes some things can be improved on the CL-17 tp help it compete with the higher end more expensive stuff. But right now, if I had to get another helmet, considering pricing, I'd go with an IS-17 (very similar helmet to the CL-17, but with an internal flip down sun visor, and still sub-$200). I'd get the darker smoke internal flip down visor, run HJC's pinlock for this visor/helmet, and call it a day. I've compared it head to head with a Shoei GT-Air, and I honestly cannot see how Shoei can justify pricing ~3 times the price over the IS-17. The IS-17 is lighter than the GT-Air, vents just as well, and I like the HJC visor mechanism better than Shoei's. It both works better, and has a higher quality feel to it, i.e. when you raise the flip down visor out of the way, it does so smoothly, and not with a snap/smack. The Shoei feels like a slider mechanism held in place by friction. I really wanted to like the GT-Air, but when comparing them side by side, take away the company labels, and there is no competition for me, I like the IS-17 more.
I personally find changing visors on both the Alliance and the CL-17 quite fast/easy. The Icon takes a few more seconds than the HJCs mostly because of the visor side plates. But I can literally change a visor in 30 seconds, maybe a minute at the side of the road. Yes, the first visor change or two, the Icon was more difficult, but now that I am familiar with both, I find them to be of similar difficulty to use, and similar quality mechanisms. I usually spend more time unpacking and packing the visor I'm not using, and wiping the fresh one clean than I actually do using the mechanisms to change out the visor on either helmet. I find both visor mechanisms of similar quality.
Alliance Pros:
-Cheap
-Comes with a clear and dark smoke visor (great value)
-Available in XXXL for big headed people
-Decent ventilation
-I find it very comfortable, your mileage may vary.
-Visors are relatively anti-fog even without a pinlock (I seem to get more fogging in the Bell Qualifier for example). And what little fogging I get in the Icon tends to be more of a smear, than a full on opaque fogging. For most people this will suffice without having to drill holes in the Proshield visor and install pins for a pinlock or using after market anti-fog sprays.
Cons:
-Vents are cheaply made (the top vents are easily broken . . . had my helmet in the bag it came with, and also inside my gym bag. On the way out the door, helmet bumped into glass part of my front door . . . broke one of the top vents, yes they can be replaced, but at ~$45 to replace them (Icon's Super-Vents), that's getting really close to 1/3 of the original price of the helmet).
-Though fogging is not bad, no ready to install pinlock visor
-Visor does not make a solid seal with gasket along the entire perimeter . . . likely significant source of wind noise
HJC CL-17 Pros:
-Comes with pinlock for free, and it is absolutely amazing. I notice the smear on almost every ride with the Icon and get a little actual fogging in cold/wet conditions when stopped, but on the HJC, no fog, ever.
-Much better quality vents, and slightly better overall venting than the Icon
-Better seal between visor and gasket
Cons:
-Even though the visor seal is much better than on the Icon, with all venting closed the CL-17 is at least as loud if not slightly louder than the Alliance
Yes some things can be improved on the CL-17 tp help it compete with the higher end more expensive stuff. But right now, if I had to get another helmet, considering pricing, I'd go with an IS-17 (very similar helmet to the CL-17, but with an internal flip down sun visor, and still sub-$200). I'd get the darker smoke internal flip down visor, run HJC's pinlock for this visor/helmet, and call it a day. I've compared it head to head with a Shoei GT-Air, and I honestly cannot see how Shoei can justify pricing ~3 times the price over the IS-17. The IS-17 is lighter than the GT-Air, vents just as well, and I like the HJC visor mechanism better than Shoei's. It both works better, and has a higher quality feel to it, i.e. when you raise the flip down visor out of the way, it does so smoothly, and not with a snap/smack. The Shoei feels like a slider mechanism held in place by friction. I really wanted to like the GT-Air, but when comparing them side by side, take away the company labels, and there is no competition for me, I like the IS-17 more.
I personally find changing visors on both the Alliance and the CL-17 quite fast/easy. The Icon takes a few more seconds than the HJCs mostly because of the visor side plates. But I can literally change a visor in 30 seconds, maybe a minute at the side of the road. Yes, the first visor change or two, the Icon was more difficult, but now that I am familiar with both, I find them to be of similar difficulty to use, and similar quality mechanisms. I usually spend more time unpacking and packing the visor I'm not using, and wiping the fresh one clean than I actually do using the mechanisms to change out the visor on either helmet. I find both visor mechanisms of similar quality.
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