Bell Arrow: safer, heavier alternative

**SLAB City Jake** · 02-19-2010 08:07 PM

I previously owned a Bell drop and it was rad.
It was light and had good visibility and it wasn't too expensive.
I never thought the after market polycarb shields for the drop looked all that great, something about the curvy drop and the straight shield doesn't look right to me. Drilling the need holes for a good looking charly visor to fit doesn't seem like a structurally good idea either.
Also, above 40 mph I just didn't feel safe in the helmet. For pretty much anything I'll ever do DH oriented it would probably be more than enough, but after a certain point you start thinking about your lid instead of how much fun it is to be going super fast.

I sold the drop and just got a Bell Arrow in today. I wore a medium drop and I wear a medium Arrow, however the Arrow is infinitely more comfortable. It's heavier, of course, but not by much.
A medium Drop weighs in around 1040 grams. The Arrow weighs 1550 grams (just over 1 pound more). Perhaps at an elite level the weight difference might actually make a difference, but for me and my DH dabbling it's really not that big of a deal.
The feeling of safety, however, is a tremendous deal. I don't have that nagging feeling when I wear it skating and that's good bc I can focus on the fun part...skating really fast.
Oh yeah and it looks super rad too!

The vents are there, which is nice in the hot ass SATX summer heat (AZ/NM you have it even worse) but the vents are minimal, and close tightly. The visor is easily detached and switched out with others.
It was the lightest DOT rated helmet I could find with minimal vents and other crap hanging off the top.
$90 at leatherup.com
Motorcycle & Leather Clothing Store - Motorcycle Jackets, Helmets, Biker Boots, Leather Pants & Chaps

Just wanted to post this up so anybody who is looking for a DOT rated alternative might have a place to start.

peace