Favorite Full Face Helmets?

Shopping for a new SNELL 2015 SA helmet. I don't want to pay unnecessarily for carbon or fancy brand names but I do want safe and comfortable.

I've been looking at the Roux helmets but unsure if I want to get all the wizbang stuff like radio/cooling/drink tube. Are the cheaper end race quips and the like in the 250-300 range decent or do we need to get up to the Bell etc around 400-450 for quality

You absolutely have to try them on, particularly if you wear them for any length of time.  I finally realized this recently when I tried on 6 different kinds in a row at a gear supplier at a NASA event.  The fit differences are amazing, you have to find the one that fits your head.  I was about to buy a Roux when I found it didn’t fit my head well.  Arai was the most comfortable to me, followed by Black armour. I have had a Pyrotect pro airflow for years and it fits me fairly well.  I often wear my helmet for 3-4 hour endurance race shifts (as long as 5) and over that long you learn how important the comfort is

Its just so challenging to find anyone local with a variety of sizes/brands

Go to a track day and walk around asking if you can try on helmets. 

I wear Bell myself for a closed face - because they fit and I don't mind the slightly higher price than bargain basement every 10-15 years.

The one that fits best. My cheap Bell Sport fits every bit as well as my $$$$ Stilo WRC (rally) helmet. But a dozen helmets in between don't fit me well at all. 

Find a race shop, try as many on as you can. 

The Simpson voyager has been my go to for years. Not crazy $$$ and a very good quality piece.  I like the big eye opening. 

i had to get a new helmet a couple weeks ago...and decided to make the 70-odd mile journey to OG racing to test fit (and buy) as I was afraid the one I was going to order wouldn't fit right.  My head is bigger then average & my comfort level is different.

Glad I did...the Gforce I was going to order didnt fit my head...much at all.  my whole jaw was exposed.  Brian (iirc) had me try an HJC and a Bell, each slightly more in price then the other (not that my CC cared much).

I ended up choosing the HJC over the Bell, it just seemed to fit me better.

The moral of the story is TRY THEM ON

If you can try them on that's best.

The lower priced  brands can be surprising so don't eliminate them. 

G Force fit me properly. 

+1 on Bell sport they fit me well. I like the Bell K1 but haven't tried one on yet.

I'm currently using a Zamp, a friend complained about the bulky  cheek pads but as I'm skinny that's a bonus for me. My understanding is they are or were Euro-Bell which would make sense from a fitment standpoint. The fit and finish is average but I don't care. The interior bits are removable so you can at least clean them.

Arai, for me these are the ultimate and naturally they are in the ultimate price range.  

I use helmets no more than 7 years but I prefer 5. On my last one I went 6  1/2 as I wanted to get in sync with the Snell releases. 

I have a Simpson Bandit that I love, but I got it for $100ish off because it was a SA2010 when the SA2015s came out

In reply to Tom1200 :

I can attest that Zamp and Bell fit and feel the same. I have used Bell/Zamp since I was in my teens. I have used Simpsons and Gforce as well, but they just don't work with my head shape. Been said already, but you must make the effort to try on a variety before you choose  brand. Be sure to wear your balaclava for test fitting! And do some proper head shakes to check for zero movement.

Someone should do a warby parker for helmets. I mean some people might get mad when they didnt send them back and got charged for some but it would be a good way to get to try on a bunch

I got myself a SA2015 Pyrotect Pro Sport last year, it looked like the best dollars-per-year deal available. Don't try to save money by installing your own HANS posts, it costs the same after shipping etc.

I owned two Bell Sports (an SA95, then an SA2005), but upgraded to a Bell M8 (lighter, a bit more expensive) when I bought an SA2015.  In general, most helmet manufacturers use a common head shape across their product line, scaling it up/down with the different sizes.  So I have a Bell-shaped head, I've tried Arais and G-Forces and a couple other brands and none of them fit as well as a Bell.  This means that if you've had a helmet in the past that fit well, there's a decent chance that you can order another from the same manufacturer and it'll be probably be fine. 

If the helmet is just for autocross and you're only going to wear it a minute or two at a time, then you can get away with one that doesn't fit super well without it being a big deal.  If you're going to wear it for 20-30 minute track sessions that's a bad idea, and if you're going to wear it for 2-3 hour LeMons/Chumpcar sessions, well, that's a terrible idea.  If you're buying it for one of the latter two cases and you haven't had a well-fitting helmet in the past, then it really is worth going to a racing supply store, even if it's a couple hour drive.  The "about" thing says you live in Oceanside?  There's got to be somewhere in LA that'll have a decent stock of them. 

In reply to dean1484 :

I was going to say that.    I never had a problem with fit, just got the size their chart said.