Bell Moto-3 - Classic Matt Black Motorcycle Helmet

Love the look and happy about the purchase for that reason, but I did expect that a Bell product would be manufactured with higher quality. The chin strap is single layer webbing (feels cheap and floppy to feed through the rings compared to my MX-9. The bill rattles on the snaps and is so hard to remove I feel I may break it. The paint finish is very nice, but the narrow fit will never allow for my communication system. I'm a medium oval head and this is tight, so much that I need to reach in each side and unfold my ears! My MX-9 is the same size, has room for comm and ears freely conform. If you want a cool-looking helmet that is a pain to put on, go for it. Otherwise there are more functional helmets....-m-2018 SUZUKI--

I will freely admit that I ordered this helmet because of how it looks. I'm about the furthest thing from a hipster out there, but I love the "modern classic" bike aesthetic and ride a Triumph Street Scrambler. This helmet really goes with the territory and when I saw them starting to get scarce I grabbed the last one in my size on Revzilla. It took me about a minute after it arrived to figure out it wasn't going to live up to my hopes. Thoughts below (please not that I haven't ridden in this helmet, so I can't comment on things like noise and airflow):Fit - the helmet fits large by my standards, but a bit weird too. It feels very tight around the ears on me, but with a bit too much wiggle room at the top and around the forehead. Kind of gave me a head-in-a-vice ... MoreI will freely admit that I ordered this helmet because of how it looks. I'm about the furthest thing from a hipster out there, but I love the "modern classic" bike aesthetic and ride a Triumph Street Scrambler. This helmet really goes with the territory and when I saw them starting to get scarce I grabbed the last one in my size on Revzilla. It took me about a minute after it arrived to figure out it wasn't going to live up to my hopes. Thoughts below (please not that I haven't ridden in this helmet, so I can't comment on things like noise and airflow):Fit - the helmet fits large by my standards, but a bit weird too. It feels very tight around the ears on me, but with a bit too much wiggle room at the top and around the forehead. Kind of gave me a head-in-a-vice effect. Also felt like my ears were going to rip off taking this helmet off. For reference, I'm an intermediate oval and a medium Nexx XG200 fits like a glove right out if the boxQuality/Safety - Safety was/is my number one concerns and will always win over other factors for me. First, let me say that this helmet is DOT approved/ECE certified. And I haven't crashed in it, so I can't speak to outcomes, only impressions. But I will say that I have purchased crappy bicycle helmets from Walmart that seem to have a higher build quality than the Bell Moto III. There are better options out there. I'll get to that later. First of all, the shell itself just feels cheap. Too much flex, contacts the face in all the wrong places. This is the one time where a full face helmet is probably just as effective as an open face helmet. Any (even light) contact to the face guard portion will bring it smashing directly into your jaw. Better than asphalt, I guess, but not much. Internally, the impact foam is barely covered by a thin layer of terry cloth. Cool. Retro. Really freaking uncomfortable and offers zero extra padding/protection. Did I mention thin? You might as well be wearing this helmet without the liner or using a washcloth instead. Tapping on the top/sides of the helmet with an open palm I felt like I was going to get a concussion. There is almost no impact absorption. Compare this to my Scorpion EXO R420 - I could probably survive a direct hit from a wrecking ball in that thing. Not a fair comparison with a bare-bones retro helmet, I know. But still. The whole thing just felt ridiculously cheaply made. You are definitely not getting your money's worth.Features - There are none, really. But that's not why you're buying this helmet anyway. I will say that the extra large eyeport is great for accommodating pretty much any google you would want to use. So that's something. And it's a super light helmet, which is nice.Style - This is where the Bell Moto III gets all of its points. This is the original, classic, badass retro helmet, and it looks awesome. Enough to make me hesitate about returning it for approximately…. 30 seconds. I don't think I have ever looked cooler. The version I ordered was the basic white version with "Bell Moto III" in black text around the face. But there are tons of awesome graphic options and they all look great. Big win here. But not worth the tradeoff in the other areas, in my opinion. Not even close.And that brings me to alternatives. I was truly sad that I couldn't justify the compromise on quality/style with the Moto III. In looking around for alternatives I came across the Nexx XG200. Very similar concept, much better execution (at a bit higher cost, but not much). I had previously tried some Nexx helmets when I attended a bike event in the UK this past winter and the fit wasn't great, so I didn't have high hopes. Ordered one anyway (medium) and the thing fits like a glove. The interior liner is MUCH higher quality (thickness, padding, materials used, even the design aesthetic - yes, the liner has a sweet design) than the Bell Moto III, as is the shell (sturdier, same weight). Much better impact absorption and all around feels like a much safer helmet. Extra features include small forehead vents. Similar awesome graphic options. Fits my Oakley goggles just fine, even with a somewhat smaller eyeport. The 3-snap design can also accommodate a huge range of other aftermarket face shields, etc., unlike the Moto III's 5-snap design. It's also DOT-approved (for what that's worth) and while it doesn't have the ECE sticker if you buy it in the US, the same helmet is ECE-certified in Europe (I called to check after seeing it listed as ECE-certified on EU websites but not on US ones). You are easily getting twice the helmet for 20% more money, in my opinion.For those of you that care about more than just how a helmet looks, hopefully this review provides a bit of a counterpoint to the other style-centric reviews for the Bell Moto III I've seen on a bunch of sites. Thanks for reading!

Well finished and great fitting lid. Lining is an unusual ‘terry towelling’ texture which really works and is very comfortable. Airy to wear with goggles or glasses. Peak does not act like a sail which was surprising given it has no vents.Finish is superb and the shell size on the medium is perfect for me.