Shoei has been releasing helmets at a fairly rapid clip lately and the new GT Air is brand new for 2013.
The GT Air is very comfortable (as long as it fits your head shape).
It's also one of the quietest full-face helmets we've reviewed in a variety of conditions and it also has probably the best internal sun visor we've tried.
It also comes in three shell sizes, which helps ensure a more proportional fit.
So what's not to like? I had some difficulty fitting my sunglass frames inside and the snap for the extra length of chin strap is too high up on the opposite side, making it a bit difficult to use.
Other than that, this is my new favorite helmet!
Background
Shoei has been my personal favorite helmet brand for some time, for many reasons.
First of all, there's the ",Shoei fit",, which I find comfortable. Not many helmet manufacturers have a precisely standardized fit (even Shoei) but Shoei seems to adhere more closely to a standard fit than others. This means that I can pretty much pop on any Shoei helmet in my size, knowing it will be comfortable.
Also, the Shoei liner fabric and padding is nearly always very comfortable and plush, more so than just about any other manufacturer.
And the attention to detail is right up there with the best.
The GT Air is listed just above the Shoei RF-1100 (review) on the Shoei website and just below the Neotec flip-up (review). with the Shoei X-12 (review) still holding top spot in the lineup. I'm assuming this means ",street/sport/touring", and the inclusion of the internal sun visor is a telltale sign that the GT Air isn't a race helmet.
I've been wearing the GT Air over the last couple of weeks and we wanted to get a review posted as soon as possible, because there's a lot of interest in this helmet from webBikeWorld readers, so let's get started!
The Shoei GT Air: Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality
Shoei helmets aren't inexpensive and there's a reason for that. The overall finish, quality and the small details that make the difference in the brand's helmets also add to the cost.
Motorcyclists sometimes mistakenly compare an inexpensive helmet with a Shoei, Arai or Schuberth and think they're equivalent, but most of the time, the level of fit and finish and the small details are what makes the several-hundred-dollar helmet cost as much as it does. Pick up a Shoei GT Air, for example, and compare it with one of those $150.00 helmets and I'm sure you'll notice many differences.
The GT Air comes in a variety of solid colors (including Brilliant Yellow) and some graphics. The black/silver ",Journey", graphics on this one are very nice and compliment the overall design, if making it a bit difficult to get the details properly photographed.
We also had a silver GT Air for comparison and photos of that one are included in the slide show below and also in the slide show included in the Shoei GT Air Preview published on webBikeWorld a few weeks ago.
The graphics and paint and thick clear coat on this example are very nicely done with no complaints or obvious flaws. The clear coat feels exceptionally thick and it has a sort of ",waxy", feel that can be buffed back to a high polish after my greasy fingerprints have marred the surface.
All of those small details are here and once you handle a helmet at this level of quality and detailing, those sub-$200 helmets all seem so. well, cheap. The liner fabric, the way the liner is attached, the stitching and all of the little details on the GT Air -- like the eye port gasket, the automatically adjusting face shield and the quality feel of the hardware really do make the difference.
The GT Air helmet shell comes in three sizes and the shape is unique, with modern styling. There are some recesses and molded features that really do seem to help reduce overall noise levels, the GT Air ",cuts", through the air like none other. It meets the DOT standard only, for some reason, Shoei didn't go for the Snell certification on this one, probably to distinguish it from the RF-1100 (or perhaps due to the internal sun visor design).
And the Shoei ",AIM", shell (composite of fiberglass and ",organic fibers",) is specially designed to accommodate the internal sun visor without compromising the thickness of the EPS liner or padding. In fact, the GT Air has plenty of room in the forehead, as you'll learn in the next section.
Score: The Shoei GT Air gets an ",Outstanding", rating from us for paint and overall quality. See the Summary Table at the bottom of the page for a description of our rating system.
Face shield has an automatic adjustment system to keep it tight against the eye port gasket.
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Shoei GT Air Fit, Sizing and Internal Shape
Shoei apparently doesn't like to discuss the internal shapes of their helmets. But the GT Air seems compatible with what many motorcycle riders call ",the Shoei fit",, which is ",Neutral", to ",Slightly Narrow", in the webBikeWorld nomenclature.
One strange thing is that the size large GT Air that we had felt like the head size ran very small. Perhaps that size large used the smaller shell size, but large is my normal helmet size and the size large GT Air was so small that I actually couldn't get the shell over my head.
Shoei lists a 59-60 cm for the size large GT Air, but my opinion is that it fits more like a 58-59 cm, so you definitely want to try one on first.
[UPDATE: I asked our Shoei representative, who explained that the shape of the GT Air shell at the bottom is tighter than the other Shoei full-face helmets to help reduce noise. The design of the interior and shape of the shell inner dimensions are the same as the other Shoei full-face helmets, according to Shoei.]
The size XL shown here is listed by Shoei as fitting a 61-62, but we would also back that down a notch and call it a 60-61 to perhaps 61.5 cm.
Part of the issue may be due to the shell shape, which seems to taper in towards the bottom. This also probably goes a long way towards making this a very quiet helmet (getting ahead of myself here again). The narrower bottom can make the helmet feel smaller than usual, especially when first trying it on.
GT Air liner is removable. Optional cheek pads are available.
The internal shape is biased towards the ",Slight Narrow", part of the spectrum (as described in the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page ), with narrower sides and lots of fore/aft room in the top.
Anyone who has experienced forehead pressure in other helmets (and who has a narrow-ish head) may want to try the GT Air.
That there is this much room in the forehead and Shoei was still able to fit the internal sun visor is pretty remarkable.
The shell was specifically designed with a brow shape to house the sun visor without affecting the internal fit and it really does seem to work.
Rick tried the GT Air a couple of times but reports that the fit doesn't quite work on his ",Round", head. He has a wider, flatter forehead and the helmet apparently leaves too much room in the front and is too narrow on the sides.
The padding and neck roll are generous and the Shoei liner fabric is about as comfortable and plush as it gets. I wish I had a blanket made from this stuff!
The EPS in the ear pockets has round cutouts for speakers but I'm not sure which speakers exactly will fit. The ear pockets are lined and sized correctly, so no issues there.
I do have a bit of a fit issue with trying to work my sunglasses or eyeglasses into the helmet. The slightly narrower sides are probably at fault here and although there's a split between the cheek pads and the upper part of the liner, it's too high to get the arms or temples of my glasses through it, so the eyeglasses sit too high on my face.
Overall, we rate the Shoei GT Air as very comfortable and it should fit the majority of head shapes.
web BikeWorld Internal Shape Estimator: Shoei GT Air
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