Which helmet for trackdays, with built-in sun visor and massive amounts of ventilation?

Hey folks, I need a helmet for trackdays in the central Texas summer heat. It'll also be used for street riding.

1. Must have excellent vision when leaned down in full-tuck racing position
2. Must have built-in sun visor (I freaking love these)
3. Must have tons of ventiliation for 100+ degree days

I've got an intermediate oval head, which I think is the most common.
Was looking at an AGV K5 helmet but one of the reviews mentioned having to push up on the chin of the helmet when in full-tuck position or they couldn't see out very well.

The Shoei GT Air II is something I'm considering, but is a bit expensive. I'll pull the trigger if I have to.
The Scorpion EXO-ST1400 and HJC RPHA 70 ST are all in my preferred $400 price range.

 

That's a problem with all helmets with a built in sun visor.

 

You are not providing happy answers.

 

But it makes total sense now that I think about it. arghh.
Maybe I should look into tiny little tankbags specifically made for carrying two pairs of glasses (my eyes suck).

 

Having to make room for the mechanism for the built in visor is always going to come at the expense of field of vision.

You could do the photochromic shield available for the Bell helmet line.........clear at sundown, tinted during sunny days, and some of the best visibility from any helmet line.

 

I'll go check out this thread for helmets then.
http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/any-opinions-on-helmets.362342/

Whoah, I have not heard of this magic before. I'll research it. Thanks guys!

Edit: Shoei apparently has it too, it's called->
Shoei Transitions

 

What about the Bell that has the transition visor? Never have to worry about needing to carry extra visor, extra eyewear, or even needing to hit a lever in order to activate the drop down shade.

Dammit, NemesisR6 beat me to the punch.

 

Okay, it looks like only Shoei and Bell have the photochromatic face shield options.

The Shoei RF1400 and X14 offer it as an optional $200 accessory.
The Bell Race Star Flex DLX Tantrum 2 Helmet comes with it by default.

So you're looking at about the same out-the-door price whether you choose the $600 Shoei (plus $200 shield) or the $800 Bell (comes with shield by default).

And I also realized that I can ask my optometrist to make my next pair of riding glasses photochromatic as well.

Thanks again for the quick advice!
It was helpful.

 

Get a copy of your prescription and go to Zenni and get the glasses there. You can get photochromatic glasses CHEAP there (and good quality) or get prescrip sunglasses. Last order I did there was photochromatic glasses and prescrip sunglasses for a tick over $100 delivered.

 

I think some trackday providers don't allow the internal sun visors. I could just be making that up, but it's probably worth looking at before buying a helmet specifically for trackdays and then not being able to use it.

Also, I vaguely remember somebody making a stick-on visor insert (basically a tear-off that goes on the inside) that did the color transitioning thing, though I can't remember who it was or how long ago it was...

 

A strip of electrical tape across the top of the shield can cut glare down a good bit for not much $$.

 

pretty sure the Bell eyeport is one of the larger ones on the market. Every Bell helmet Ive had fit tight for about 30 mins then like a glove afterwards. Sometimes my ears got folded putting it on but easy to fix

 

Scorpion EXO R1 for the win here.

VERY light helmet, vents well, and for the purchase, you get a very easy to swap tinted shield included in the cost.

Hit up Jimmy Fox at Sportbike Track Gear for the best forum price on a fantastic helmet that won't break the bank.

I bought two last year and absolutely love them....I got one for racing and one for street riding.

 

None of the internal visor helmets pass Snell testing.

 

Yeah, I have been using Zenni for the last several years but have not been happy with any of the progressive glasses I've gotten (starting using progressives two years ago). Or service.
I wonder if this idea would even work though. I just read that photochromatic glasses use UV rays to darken.
And if the faceshield blocks UV rays then the glasses won't darken as well as otherwise. This is why they don't work as well in cars.

I also read that photochromatic lenses, including the Bell shield, lose their capability to darken after a year. They stop getting real dark. Some people say to put them in a freezer to "recharge" but that has apparently been busted as a myth.

I'm still researching.

edit: This link summarizes the cons of the photochromatic shield. Which I still want.
https://www.theridesofar.com/2017/09/the-downside-of-photochromic-helmet-faceshields/

 

You don't need to spend $800 on the full-zoot carbon Bell Race Star to use that shield.

Best thing about the Bell Star line is that you can use any of the "Panovision" shields on anything from the bargain Star models all the way up to the (now discontinued) Pro Star.

You can find the Star (non-carbon) helmets regularly for under $300, and the ProTint shield can be had pretty regularly for less than the typical $150 on eBay.

Bell Star helmets pop up pretty regularly here in the classifieds, as well, so keep an eye out or do a quick search and you may have some luck.

 

I think my schuberth S1 had an integrated visor and was a top notch helmet

but it was neither as light not as ventilated as the SR-1

 

I love my LS2 Arrow. Dont know if they are still being made (ie date code stickers for racing orgs). But I like the easy change visor, the ventilation, weight, everything. And the biggest thing for me is the field if vision. Its HUGE, even in the tuck.

 

Checkout our friends over at Sportbiketrackgear.com. Brian has a few videos talking about helmets and which ones might be better for the track.

 

We used to go to the local window tint shop, get a small piece of limo tint (usually free) and do a 1 inch strip on the inside.

It was a step above the electrical tape version.