Shoei GT-Air 2 review

Recently had a helmet discussion with a colleague of mine who just started riding. He made the mistake of getting a helmet online without going to the physical shop to personally try on the helmet to get the right sizing. Long story short, he bought two helmets which were in the wrong sizes. Told my friend about the discussion and the next thing I knew she was looking at full face helmets and comparisons online and one name always came up on top: Shoei GT-Air 2. We came across the new Shoei 2020 Graphics and this particular graphics caught our attention.

When I first saw the design it reminded me of Wolverine. Mind you I do not mean the modern Wolverine uniform which we see in the X-Men movies but his uniform from the 1990's:

Enquired about this particular design from a few shops we know and Sheng Fatt got back to me. They have this design in stock in their headquarters and it so happen to be the last unit and in the the size we require. We asked them to bring it in for us to have a look at it in person as sometimes the color we see online is different to the one in person.

About a week later they called to inform that the helmet has arrived and we can pop by the shop anytime we are free. At the shop, the sales manager; Xing, informed us that when the helmet first arrived and he took it out for inspection there was a customer who was at the waiting lounge saw the helmet and wanted to get it. We were touched that Xing told the customer that this helmet has been reserved.

Trying on the new helmet

After trying on the helmet for a certain amount time to ensure that it doesn't give any pressure points and that the helmet is in the correct size (after performing all the test), comes the final question to see if this helmet can be added to the collection: "Do you like the color?"

I believe this clearly answers that question

The helmet comes in the usual Shoei box. If anyone is interested in how the box looks like, check out the Shoei Neotec II post. There is one little thing I like when I got the helmet from Sheng Fatt. They have this nice little touch:

This little envelope contains your receipt. There was a packet of sweets but sadly it did not survive until the photo session

 

This is what it comes in the box: Pinlock, stickers, instructions and some helmet accessories

The more I look at the color of the helmet, the more striking it is. The photos does not do justice to the yellow and blue color. This is one helmet where you would need to see it in person to appreciate the colors

  

  

Overall 360 view of the helmet

There is a emergency removal cheekpad for the EMRS team in an event of a crash. It has 'instructions' printed at the side of the helmet to guide the EMRS team on what to pull to safely remove the helmet safely without causing any additional damage. This is a nice feature which was not available in the Neotec II.

 

The  printed instruction at the side for the EMRS team

 

There is a large chin vent at the front of the helmet which can be easily found with gloves. This directs air to the visor which helps prevent it from fogging while on the go. There are only two positions for the chin vents: open or close but most riders will leave it in the open position.

 

Open (left) and close position (right) of the chin vent

Since we are still at ventilation, there is a large vent at the top of the helmet which helps to keep the wearer's head cool while on the bike which has three positions. It is easy to locate and operate with gloves.

Top vent of the helmet

As this is a classified as a sport touring helmet, there is a internal sun shield built in. It is operated by a lever which is located at the left side of the helmet, just under the visor.

The sun shield lever

   

With the sun shield up (left) and down (right) position

 

I like how the close the sun shield is to the breath guard when it is down. This will definately have more coverage and eliminates the 'split' image when the sun shield is not low enough. As with the Neotec II, the GT-Air 2 comes with the micr ratchet strap instead of the double D-ring. Some like it and some do not but personally, I like it.

Let's have a brief look at the bottom of the helmet. You can see the two red straps at either side of the helmet. Those are the emergecncy cheek release tabs for the EMRS team mentioned earlier. The padding looks very snug which is good to reduce wind noise while touring.

As with the Neotec II, the helmet comes with the intergrated bluetooth communication system by Sena. It attaches nicely to the helmet and will not have the communication set at the side of the helmet. I cannot comment about how well the ventilation and the wind noise is as it is not my helmet. From what I gather while we were at the Grik trip, the helmet is quiet and it does not feel hot. I would take it as good ventilation and wind noise.

 

*Update July 2021: I have recently acquired a GT-Air 2 as a second helmet and it is very comfortable and the padding seals the noise nicely which makes this one of the quietest helmet I tried on with the earplugs. The sunvisor drops down and covers the eyes nicely and the tint is nice and dark. As perfect as this helmet is, I have some minor gripe with it.

First would be lane splitting. I feel this helmet sits higher than the HJC and the chin guard area is thicker. While lane splitting I find it a bit hard to judge the width without looking down. Maybe this is just me and I need to get use to the helmet. Secondly would be while traveling at high speed. This helmet is not aerodynamic and I am able to feel the wobble of the helmet against the wind. This could happen due to the windscreen height on my bikes.

I would still recommend this helmet as it is worth the price just for the quietness of the helmet itself and the comfort.

 Remember to ride safe, be vigilant and keep the rubber side down