Sedici Strada 2

Post date: Jun 26, 2020 2:44:37 PM

Today we're going to break down the Sedici Strada II helmet. The Sedici Strada 2 has been in development for a little over two years at this point.

What you're going to see here is a phenomenal amount of changes based on the Sedici Strada one, and the input received from people like you.

We're going to start by discussing the fact that the construction itself or the shell itself hasn't changed; it's still going to be a fiberglass shell with a Kevlar reinforcement at the top.

You're now going to have three versions. You can have the Sedici Strada, the Primo, or the carbon fiber version, a Snell-rated helmet. The main difference between the Strada 2 and the Strada primo is if you go with the strata two, you're going to have a drop-down Sun Visor, and it's going to be an ECE rated helmet.

If you go with the Strada primo, you're going to lose the drop-down Sun Visor, and you're going to get the snell safety rating. There's not going to be a price difference between the two; both will be available for right around the $200 price point.

There's also going to be a parlare version that will have a comm system built-in, as well as a carbon fiber version, but we'll get to those in a separate video. As I said, the shell itself the construction hasn't changed. It is still a fiberglass shell with Kevlar reinforcements running down the top.

Shell Sizes

You're now going to get three different shell sizes. If you're wearing this in a smaller helmet, it's going to have a spelter smaller look to it, and then you're going to work your way up the sizing range. The shell breakdown will be extra small to small, medium to large, and extra-large up to 3XL.

The safety rating will depend on which version is essential to you. You can go with the DOT ECE version that gets a drop-down Sun Visor, or you can go with the Primo, which is a DOT Snell rated helmet. Again, both are sitting around that $200 price point.

Weight

The weight will vary slightly depending on which one you choose. The DOT ECE version is going to come in around three pounds five ounces in a medium, and if you bump to the Snell Primo version, then you're going to be looking at around three pounds eight ounces in a medium. The big takeaway here is this is a lightweight helmet considering the price point.

Helmet Shape

The other thing you'll note here is that it is intermediate oval head shape. A little bit longer from front to back, a little narrower down the side of the head, this is going to work for the majority of riders in the American market.

The fit and the comfort has improved drastically over the previous version, and if you're not sure where to start, I would recommend you check out our how to size them by motorcycle helmets video.

It'll walk you through the importance of understanding internal head shape, and then it'll also explain how to get the right size for you.

But just a note there. For those of you that are starting in this world for the first time, what I want to dive into right now is some of the critical changes that you are going to see with this helmet.

First and foremost, you will notice that next to me I have got the outgoing version, this is the old version of the strata 1, and you can see now as it sits next to each other the relative shape of the shell hasn't changed.

It's now all integrated into the shell design, where before you had these larger vents and the spoiler on the back was stuck on as an afterthought, you now have it all integrated to the shell design itself.

What this is going to do it's going to help to improve ventilation, it's also going to cut down on wind noise. So it's going to be a quieter helmet, and it's going to vent better.

If you're taking a look at the top you've got dual vents up top, those are active vents you can open or close, and in the back, you're going to have a passive vent at the top as well as two vents down at the bottom.

On the front of this helmet, you are going to have a revised vent. On the chin bar, it has better actuation than the previous version. The main change that you can see just by looking at this is they've removed the side pods as far as the face shield mounting is concerned.

It was a massive problem with the previous version where the side pods, the little clickers that would lock it on could come undone some, folks lost them on the highway, and the shield itself wasn't seated as firmly against the helmet as it could have been which caused a lot of wind noise.

For the redesign version, they've eliminated the side pods; you now go to a standard easy on Easy Off internal mechanism, so again it helps to cut down on wind noise meets perfectly with the helmet shell.

A thoroughly revised system, much easier to use, and once it's locked into place, you don't have to worry about it coming off. The face shield has also been redesigned, this is a much thicker version and is optically better, so clear optics from this helmet.

The gasket is all going to be one single piece, so as you close this, it's going to give you a much better seal against the eye socket.

From a detent standpoint, you're not going to have any detents in the middle. You do have a city riding position where you can pop open the front vent, which gives you a little bit of ventilation in the city, and then you're going to go wide open.

There are no midpoints from a detent, so if you're like me and you like to ride with the helmet open a little more than the City position, you're not going to do that with this particular face shield.

Sun Visor

The drop-down Sun Visor is going to be actuated over on the left-hand side of the helmet, that hasn't changed and noted again that if you go with the Primo version, you get the bump to Snell safety rating. Still, you are going to lose that internal Sun Visor with this particular helmet.

Let's take a look at the inside. The first thing you'll note is the chin curtain. If you're like me, the biggest problem I have with chin curtains is it's hard to get the helmet on and off. It does help cut down on wind noise, but it usually falls out because they're not anchored in there too well.

The main design that they implemented is that the chin curtain snaps in, so if you like using a chin curtain, it's not going to fall out as you're getting the helmet on and off, if you don't like it you can pull it out.

It's just going to require a little bit more finesse to get out because it's not just in there flimsy.

As I pull this out and you can see it's straightforward to get out if you want to take it out, but if you're one of those who like to use a chin curtain, this will not come out very quickly for you.

Small attention to detail has been put in, especially considering the upgrades that we're talking about from the previous version. You get a reflective strip around the neck roll; you're now going to have the cheek pads which are more encompassing around the chin.

They designed them to cut down on wind noise. The chin strap is going to be a double D-ring design, and then what you're going to notice with the cheek pads is it's a snap in cheek pad, and it has a subtle contour to the face.

The cheek pads have been redesigned. The overall comfort on the inside of this helmet is ten times better than the previous version. The intermediate oval fit does fit a lot more comfortably, and the contour to the cheek pad is much better than the previous version.

You have pockets for speaker cutouts, and as I said, there will be a parlare version which has a comm system built-in, but if you want to go with the regular strata two and you want to add a comma some of your own, you are going to have that option.

When you look at the rest of the interior, I want to say that it's easy in and easy out as far as cleaning goes. Then take a look at the inside what you're going to have removable foam inserts five-millimeter pads at the front.

If you are a little bit more of round head shape and want to add a little bit of padding into the front or want a little bit of extra padding along the side, you do have the option.

You do have the option with the way the liner is set up to change the internal fit slightly using those five-millimeter pads included, which's is usually reserved for a more premium price point.

My biggest nitpick with the helmet from the inside is concerned is that I think the channels for the ventilation could have been a lot deeper. When we're looking at some other manufacturers, the channeling is more robust.

I think for all the improvements that we've seen, this is probably the one thing that I'd like to see a change in the next version is just some deeper cutouts and better channeling for the overall venting.

When we're looking at the fact that this is coming in at that $200 price point, and you're looking at a helmet that has been drastically improved over the previous version.

The previous version was a favorite for many riders. I think there's a lot of people out there that are going to be pleased when they see what the strata two has turned into.

Again just a reminder there are a couple of different versions, but if you're looking at the strata two, you have your main two versions coming around the $200 price point.

The version I have right here is the regular strata 2 with the drop-down Sun Visor, which is ECE DOT rated, then you have the Primo, which will give you that Snell safety rating you are going to lose that drop-down Sun Visor.