This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 pm and is filed under Helmets, Motorcycle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
December 22, 2008
I’ve been browsing blogs about motorcycle helmets and it seems the lack of visor versatility is one of the biggest complaints. Most motorcycle riders default to a tinted visor on their helmet since most of their riding is done in daylight and hopefully warm sunny conditions. It makes sense then to prefer tinting but even in the Southern states where the riding season is extended, or even year round, sundown comes way too early. Evening commuters have to either wear shades and a clear shield or pack a replacement shield to accommodate the lighting conditions. Other issues arise when the constant rotation of the shields results in reduced shield life and breakage.
Hawk Helmets has released its H6600 series helmets with a dual visor design. Any body who has seen the movie Top Gun or a NASA shuttle launch knows that pilots have the advantage of an inner dark tinted visor that flips up when not needed. I don’t want to know what the Government pays for this feature in these helmets but I’d venture to say that it is substantially more than the famous multi-thousand dollar aircraft toilet seats. Hawk Helmets has brought this concept to their H6600 Series Motorcycle Helmets and not for an astronomical price either.
The Hawk Dual Visor design is one that much over due and need for motorcyclist. The H6600 is deceivingly light and feature packed. It has an airfoil above the rear air vent that creates a vacuum effect to draw more fresh cool air through the helmet when the crown vent is open. It has a chin vent, chin curtain, visor venting, anti-fog shield vent, and plush removable padded lining. Oh, it is also a modular helmet. The chin guard and clear outer visor flip up for easy on and off and locks securely.
The dual visor feature is slick and totally solves the above mentioned problems. The inner dark tinted visor operates easily with the control leaver easily accessible and conveniently mounted at the top of the left hinge of the chin guard at about ear level. When not needed the inner dark shield rotates up and stores between the outer shell and the expanded polystyrene liner.
I wear eye glasses and the usual method of putting my helmet on requires there removal and then dawning the motorcycle helmet and then slipping the eye glass ear piece between the padding and my cheek back to my ears. This method usually results in the deforming of the ear pieces. Not so with the Hawk H6600 series, I was able to easily put the helmet on without removing my eye glasses.
Judging for the lack of availability of the Hawk H6600 series motorcycle helmets they have become very popular. Currently they come in five colors. The H6600 is Gloss Black, the H6630 is Gloss Silver, the H6640 is Flat Black and the most popular color, then the H6650 in Gloss Pink with a white “Queen” card design, and lastly the H6670 Gloss Black with white cross design. It is called the Black Cross.
Priced right at $100.00 it easily compares to DOT-approved motorcycle helmets more that twice the price. I think it is one of the best motorcycle helmet values on the market.