An aggressive looking helmet from Icon, the Airflite is a stylish budget helmet. The design of this helmet itself is innovative. The visor, spoiler, and the graphics variation of this helmet will definitely catch your eyes.
Even Icon calls this Airflite helmet “A neo-retro glimpse into one possible future.” And that’s supposed to be the “vessel of your dreams.”
Indeed its eye-catchy design and graphics make this helmet unique from most of the helmets out there. And other features are also pretty impressive as the unique face shield, Hydradry liner, and this helmet meet all world standards. There are plenty of features actually, and all these come at a very reasonable price, so let’s start the review without further ado.
Icon Airflite Helmet Review
Structure and Design
Like I said earlier the design of this helmet is pretty cool along with its funky wide range of graphics. And also the visor colors go very well with those graphics of the Airflite helmet. I personally liked RST Dark Gold and the Dark Smoke one, so be sure to check those out, you might love those. For its small structure, we select this on as one of our best low profile full face motorcycle helmet.
Actually, most of the Icon helmets have a flashy and eye-catchy design, take the Icon Variant Pro, Icon Airform for an example.
The aerodynamic shape of this helmet sits steadily on your head when you are riding. The spoiler is also pretty cool and you can buy different colored spoilers from Icon that’ll give the helmet pretty cool looks.
Now, the ventilation mechanism of this helmet is quite unique because the airflow actually comes through the face shield. You might say the visor is unique, it’s long, all the way to the bottom of the chin bar.
The ventilation structure of this helmet contains 4 intake vents, channels, and 2 exhaust vents. You get increased airflow with its large chin bar vent (Motocross Style) that directs air through the helmet. The neckline of this helmet was also modified to lower the weight and drag that avoids jacket interference.
Safety Measurements
The foremost job of a helmet is to keep your safe head from any potential impact and this helmet is also supposed to do so. It’s made of an Injection-Molded Polycarbonate Shell, not so surprising for a $300 helmet.
What’s impressive about this helmet is it meets or exceeds all major safety standards. This helmet is DOT (US), SAI AS1698 (Aus), ECE 22-05 (Eur), and SG (Jp) approved. However, it got a 3-star OUT OF 5 at the SHARP test, which is somewhat acceptable considering the price I think.
There’s also the EPS foam liner that absorbs impact energy and creates a flawless rider-friendly interior.
Overall, you can’t say that it’s the safest helmet but it’s not half bad for average use or daily use or even adventure tour.
Face Shield or Visor
I gotta say the visor of this helmet is uniquely designed, this large face shield of the AirFlite actually goes all the way to the bottom of the chin-bar. And there are a bunch of holes it the chin area of the visor that lets the airflow through the chin vent into the helmet.
And it’s super easy to operate, I mean to lock it or open the visor, all you need is your thumb. This helmet also features a quick-release mechanism, just pull-off the side pods, open the visor and it’ll spring off from its mounts. Another impressive thing about this helmet is its viewport is wide enough. This large viewport confirms an overall better riding experience with satisfaction.
Well, this helmet doesn’t feature Pinlock but it offers an optical clear vision. And it was made with a 3D molding process. The visor features a fog-free coating that works pretty well and prevents fogging effectively.
This helmet comes with an internal drop-down sun visor and that’ll save you from the hassle of changing the visor or carrying a sunglass all the time. And it’s super easy to operate, all you need to do is pull off or on the slider behind the left visor axis. Unfortunately, the sun visor is not anti-fog coated, so it’s probably a good idea to keep it up when you think it might fog up.
Interior
The interior of this helmet is comfortable enough if it fits correctly. It’s made of Hydradry liner that moisture-wicking and also provides decent comfort. And it’s completely removable and washable, so just pull the liner off the helmet and get rid of the dirt and sweat, piece of cake.
The padding is actually designed to pass through the air coming from the vents, and it helps your head to be cool. The liner also gets rid of some of the heat building inside the helmet.
This Hydradry liner of this helmet itself is made of force-absorbing EPS foam. And it does exactly as it sounds, absorbs the energy from any potential impact. Not to mention the helmet comes with a detachable breath deflector. So, you can say that this helmet might bring out perfect rider satisfaction (most of the time).
And for the chin strap, this AirFlite helmet got a Double-D Ring chin strap, that’s no surprise, almost every helmet has this type of chin strap. However, you can purchase the quick release one that’s available online or any motorcycle helmet or parts store.
Fitting and Size
Well, fitting is a really important thing when you buy a helmet, you should feel comfortable when you wear a helmet. So try to purchase the one that fits you perfectly.
For this Icon Airflite, it is an Intermediate Oval shaped helmet and it got helmet sizes from XS (53-54 cm) all the way to 3XL (65-66 cm). This Icon helmet comes with 3-shell sizes. And also it’s a light weighted helmet, the helmet’s weight is only 1.72 kgs or 3.79 lbs, so it shouldn’t bother you after a long ride.
Although this helmet was reported to be noisy at speed because of the vents it got, so keep that in mind.
Pros
- Cool Design and Graphics
- Oversized Vents for Better Ventilation
- Quick-Change Visor
- Anti-Fog Coating on Visor
- Removable and Washable Hydradry Liner
- Meets or Exceeds All World Standard
- DOT (US), ECE 22-05 (Eur), SAI AS1698 (Aus), And SG (JP)
- 3 Shell Sizes
Cons
- Noisy at High Speed
- Not the best Interior Material
Conclusion
Well, The Icon AirFlite got some impressive looks you gotta admit, the design, graphics, visor, overall it’s a cool helmet to wear around. Especially the funky graphics of this helmet, it really stands out in a crowd and if you get an iridium gold or silver visor it looks totally sick!!
However, putting the looks aside, it’s also a reliable helmet in this budget. Not to mention it got all safety certifications. But it also has some drawbacks like this helmet is a bit loud when you ride at speed and the inner padding could be better.
Overall, it’s a pretty sweet deal, if you are looking for a cool looking helmet that easily stands out with its unique looks. Then this AirFlite helmet might be the one you are looking for.
Happy Riding!