Post date: Jun 30, 2020 1:36:21 PM
Today we're going to do a product review of the all-new Icon Airframe Pro helmet. This helmet is brand new, ground up, and has broken some new ground.
Prices begin around $350 for the solid colors. For the graphics, you will pay around $400, and they have carbon lids available for around $600. At the end of the day, the thing that differs between the helmets is color and the shell material.
It comes in a fiberglass shell, the high-end $600 coming in full carbon shells. Everything I'm going to share with you is the first-hand experience. I didn't just read the catalog and talk around it; this is my helmet.
I rode in this helmet to evaluate it, and I got to tell you I loved it. This is hot off the heels of that successful Icon Hermana, if you've watched any of our videos or helmet shootout videos, I give that Hermana top marks.
In its price bracket, I think it's a dominant product, they do a great job, and I have one with a hoodoo graphic that I ride in all the time because I enjoy the helmet.
Sizing and fit pattern
This one is intermediate oval, what does that mean? It means it's going to fit most of us in North America with an intermediate oval head shape. I usually wear a medium, and I measure 58 centimeters with a cloth tape, the medium fits me precisely as I would expect.
One thing I noted between this and the Armada is the on and off effort with this is a little easier than we had with the Hermano. I already told you that we'd got a fiberglass shell, and we have a carbon shell.
This helmet is solid black, size medium, three-point three-five pounds on our hunter digital shipping scale. This is a three hundred seventy-five dollar helmet three point three five pounds that are significantly lighter than some competitors selling for three times the price. As we all know the weight definitely can make a difference.
It has a very aggressive look to this helmet. If you look at the lines on the helmet, they're strong; they're bold, they've got this whole angle the tack thing.
When I look at this helmet, it looks like a Simpson auto helmet, when I first saw it, I thought it's pretty cool, but when you put it on and see it on a rider, I think it looks phenomenal.
It is certified ECE and DOT certified and track-ready anywhere in the world. It's a world certified helmet, quality product, Iconic helmets kick-ass there's no doubt about it.
Field Of Vision.
Top to bottom, the eye socket is massive, no blind spots for me whatsoever. When I was in a tuck position looking up, I wasn't struggling to see. The top of the helmet didn't obstruct the view; It has a great periphery vision.
It comes with a fog-free shield. The carbon version will also come with a track-ready shield that accepts race tear-offs, which is new for Icon.
Ventilation
With the Airframe pro, you're going to be expecting airflow. It has two intake vents on the front top of the helmet. You can switch them on or off, and it has great action from all the vents, they feel good, excellent quality.
It has another intake vent in the chin area with a vent on either side of the chin bar vent bar. There are side exhaust vents for each side chin bar vent together with another on the rear top and one of the bottom back part of the helmet.
The airflow through the helmet is tremendous, and also quiet. I rode without earplugs, a little freeway, and a little around town, and at those speeds, the helmet was perfectly quiet. Personally, I wouldn't require earplugs.
When I ride on track, I wear earplugs. The engine noise of the bike is loud, and the air rushing past the helmet at those speeds is also a lot higher, so, on track, I would wear plugs for racing. Around town, I would not wear plugs.
Shell Sizes
It comes on four shell sizes, that keeps the profile low. For a medium, especially when you have it on, it looks really small.
You don't have that bobblehead appearance, and they have a new five-piece interior.
It allows for 27 different fit patterns from this helmet, which is more than any of the competitors, even the High Line competitors are selling for nine hundred dollars.
It comes with high-quality interior fabric, locking shield, and wicking liner, I like the aluminum d-rings, which were a nice touch in different colors.
It comes with a chin curtain, something else that was unique with this helmet is how they shape the interior support at the back.
The reason they did that is for jackets or suits with a race hump. Some helmets, if they come down too far on the back they interact with the helmet; it's distracting, so they relieved it.
You can get into a full race tuck unrestricted, which's useful both Street and track. The fog-free shield comes as standard.
To undo the shield block, lift it up, push back the clips on each side where it attaches to the helmet, and it comes right off.
Interior
To remove the cheek pads, release the snaps by putting your fingers in between the helmet EPS and the back of the cheek pad. You'll hear the snap disengage, grab it at the front and pull it out.
We have two snaps at the back and two more snaps at that midpoint for the top pad.
You're able to adjust the fit on the sides in the temple area if it's too loose or too tight, so there are a lot of options with this to be able to dial in the fit of this helmet.
The vital part of the helmet, the stuff that saves your life, is the EPS. This manages the energy in the event of a crash. You can see all of the heavy channeling built into this helmet, specifically the channels in the brow area.
The channels line up directly with the vents in the front of the helmet to introduce air directly into the lid. Using the channeling provided, it pushes the air inside the helmet through all of these channels, so they all work together to give you an excellent, even cooling effect throughout the helmet.
This helmet has come a long way since the first Airframe. The first one was a good helmet, this is the best helmet they've made, and that's saying something because I love the Airframe Pro.
The Armada is a phenomenal helmet; the bottom line is the new Airframe Pro is simply a better helmet, as it should because it's more expensive than the air model.
I would compare this anything on the market selling at a similar price. This helmet is going to meet and, or exceed the quality and performance of those helmets.
Show less