Do Arai & Shoei helmets sold in Japan fit differently? Better for round heads? 

Thanks for the comment Joe - I had no idea about the flag - I just did a Google image search for 'Japanese Flag'. Not sure why I used the rising sun version in the video and the national flag for the thumbnail. Ignorance, I guess!

Thanks for watching Cesar. Yes, before I started buying my helmets from Japan, I used the massage the EPS liner with a spoon to reduce the hot spots. Obviously, this is not ideal!

Thanks for watching! If you send me that picture to judebikedude@gmail.com, I'll happily give you an eccentricity reading.

Hi Duc - I can only give you my experience of the two helmets I imported. Both the Shoei and Arai sizes state the same head circumference for S, M and L across both their domestic and export markets, but the difference in shape will alter the percieved size. For example, the Shoei Hornet size S in the UK feels too tight for me, but the Japanese version fits perfectly, even though they state the same head circumference of 55cm. The Arai was more pronounced; the Japanese size S (55cm) felt larger than the UK size S (also 55cm) because the rounder shape fit me better. I had to also buy the thickest liner. Note that I found the Japanese Shoei more oval than the Japanese Arai, but it did mean that I could wear the Shoei out of the box, whereas I needed thicker cheekpads and liner for the Arai. However, now I've had a chance to wear both for extended periods, I feel the Arai gives me the ultimate fit for my head shape. I hope this helps, and if you do import one from Japan, post back with your experience! Cheers, Jude.

X spirit is the x eleven rounder version

Hi, thanks for watching - yes, the S,M,L etc sizes given on sites like Revzilla (USA) correspond to the same head circumference as Shoei helmets sold to the EU market. The RF-1200 is the same helmet as the NXR; there shouldn't be a weight difference, but I have noticed that helmet weight does get reported differently by various reviewers and sellers, so I wouldn't read too much into it. If the UK NXR in large fits you, I'm sure the RF-1200 in large will fit the same. I note Revzilla won't ship that graphic outside of the US, but there are proxy services like: www.shipito.com/en/ that will allow you to ship to them in the US and then will ship to you. I used a similar service for the Japanese helmets. Good luck and welcome to the world of motorcycling! Cheers! Jude

Hi Cesar - as far as I can tell, the exterior shells are identical and this is true for both Arai and Shoei, so the regional fit differences must be achieved by altering the EPS liner.

Hi Patrick, thanks for watching - if you've not already discovered it, there's a video on my channel about using a broker service to import goods from Japan.

Hey, I've made a video that shows you how I imported my Arai and Shoei helmets from Japan, hope it's useful for you! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vO1fRq91u4Q.html

Hi Michal. I've never worn a Shoei Qwest and quite honestly I would only ever buy Arai or Shoei helmets from Japan now. The Hornet ADV for example. The Euro spec helmet is completely unwearable for me, but the Japanese market version is now my main helmet and is a perfect fit. I don't mention this in the video, but I also have a Schuberth C3 Pro and that is a *very* round helmet, especially considering it's a German brand. Plus there is an integrated Sena intercom available for that too.

​@@judebikedude6379 Does Schuberth C3 Pro fit well? I am going to buy Schuberth C3 Pro and have same head shape with you.

@@cff541 So the C3 Pro is so round that size small (the correct circumference) is too big for me and the helmet sits right on the top of my head and causes pain after about 30 mins. The place I bought it from (Motolegends) put in some extra padding, but really they should have swapped it for the XS since I purchased it with their guidance. Out of all my helmets, my favourite (full face) is the Arai RX7 for fit.

@@judebikedude6379 Thanks, I guess the best choice for me is also a Japanese version Shoei or Arai.

Hi, and thanks for watching. I would say you can't go wrong with either a Shoei or an Arai. Personally I prefer the visors and visor mechanisms on Shoei. They seal perfectly and are easy to swap between dark and clear - unlike any of the Arais I've owned. For a more round fit, then go Arai. If you're UK/ US - before you import anything, try the Shuberth C3 Pro.

Hi Kenji, are you able to post some links to these helmets? I thought I might try compiling a database of eccentricity values to help people find the right brand/ model for their head shape. Many thanks, Jude

@@judebikedude6379 Corsair X (also dt-x): "medium oval": www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/arai-corsair-x-helmet-2020 Quantum X: Round oval www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/arai-quantum-x-helmet-2020 Signet X: long oval www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/arai-signet-x-helmet-2020

@@kenjikenjikenj Thanks for this Kenji. First, I love how Revzilla actually make an effort to categorise helmet by head shape. I would, however, have to disagree with some of their categorisation. The Bell Bullitt for example is definitely not a round oval. My wife owns a couple of these and they're a serious head crush for me! I suspect Revzilla just go by 'feel' rather than try anything fancy like measure interior eccentricity. My method at least gives a way to both quantify and provide a relative assessment of 'ovalness' between helmet models. The Corsair X is the RX-7V here in the UK (intermediate Oval) and the RX7-X in Japan (round oval). It appears the Signet-X is the Arai QV here in the UK. If this is Arai's long oval offering, then no wonder it doesn't fit me! Although Arai UK told me the QV was intermediate oval. The Quantum-X appears to have no corresponding model here in the UK/ EU market. I'd love to get hold of these models (or at least a picture of the inside without the liner) and see how it compares to the Japanese imports and EU versions.

You may find this article interesting: motorbikewriter.com/riders-perfect-helmet-fit/ - "According to Australian Motorcycle Council Helmets Committee chair Guy Stanford, most helmets on shelves in Australia are shaped for people of European descent". Basically the importers are only interested in catering for the statistically average head shape of the Australian market: "Even though we have a growing number of Asians with Asian-fitting heads here, most of them do not ride motorcycles". So if you're of Asian descent in Australia and are one of the supposed minority who ride a two-wheeler, you're out of luck! The two helmets that I imported from Japan were both manufactured in 2019 according to the sticker under the liner. But that article I linked above basically says it all. Thanks for watching! Jude

@@judebikedude6379 Thanks dude. Man this really sucks. From now on I have to buy my helmets from Asia. May have to wait until my next trip to hongkong or singapore, as I feel internet orders are kinda risky if you can't return them. If the companies provided the 'eccentricity' values on every model of their helmet, I may feel more reassured ordering them online.

Well for my own findings the helmet manufacturers are not to blame here. As from my own experiences its mostly the motorcycle shops or the sales personals that are not aware of head shape correct fit for customers. To them they just think its a helmet. 95% of these shops don't even have sizes for customers. They mostly have L size 60mm throughout their stocks. These shops will tell u tht helmets don't have sizes and its free size, 1 size fits all. ✌🏼😅 Hahaha. And lastly its frustrating to communicate with these shops and their sales personals as they don't even know this information at all. ✌🏼😀 And don't get me started on gloves. Hahaha... 😅✌🏼

Hi. Unfortunately the shape of the inside of a motorcycle crash helmet is determined by the EPS (expanded polystyrene) liner. The comfort liner and cheek pads which are replaceable in some helmets - like the Arai XD-4 are the same regardless of which market they are sold to. They are available in different thicknesses, so can add more or less padding to fine tune the fit, but they do not affect the base (interior) shape of the helmet. I'm assuming you've tried on an XD-4 locally and have found it wasn't a comfortable fit for you? If I was in your position, I'd look at getting someone I know in Canada to ship a helmet out to me. Hope this helps - Jude.

@@judebikedude6379 Hi Jude, Thanks for the quick response. I'm not sure what is the best option. I have a guy from Arai Thailand telling me that the shell interior is the same and that I can order the padding from Europe, and it would be fine. Not sure if he is just telling me this to get the sale or not. I think buying it in Canada might be a better option. However, the price difference is quite a lot. It's $400CAD more for the same helmet if I were to buy it back home. I did try the helmet on and found it not that bad, except the D-Ring was digging into my jawbone a bit. For the cost of these Arai helmets, I want to be certain I get the best possible fit.

@@thesourboyrich If the guy was suggesting that comfort liners purchased in a different region will somehow alter the interior shape of the helmet, then that's just BS! I'd also say you need to wear a helmet for at lest 20-30 minutes before you decide if it's comfortable or not. I can squeeze into an oval shaped helmet and it's 'not that bad' for the brief period I have it on my head, but after a while I'll just want to tear it off. Like you say, an Arai is a significant investment, so don't make the mistake I did - listen to the sales guy who said 'oh yeah, Arai helmets are more round than other brands', buy a helmet that costs nearly £500 then have to give it to your wife because it's totally the wrong shape!

The shell is the same, but the EPS liner (the white stuff) is a different shape. I see that Shoei offer a custom fit service in the EU now to accommodate different head shapes, but the fit is adjusted by modifying the comfort liner which fits on top of the EPS liner.

Check out LS2

Sure Lan, check out my other video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vO1fRq91u4Q.html

Hi Mo and thanks for watching. Hopefully the takeaway from this video is to buy a helmet with the correct fit. I.e., what you shouldn't do is size up to fit an oval head into a round helmet - you're reducing the efficacy of the EPS liner to protect you in a crash. My advice is to buy a helmet with the correct size AND shape. Why not get an Arai RX-7V? It's basically the same helmet but for the N American/ EU markets and will be a more intermediate oval rather than round fit.

@@judebikedude6379 yeah dude. I totally understand the deficiency concept. On the other hand, when it comes to the helmet shape it won’t be comfortable due to unmatched head shape. As bike enthusiasts, we realize that comfort is also important as part of our safety “if you’re riding with comfort, you’re safe”. I honestly wasn’t convinced to go up in size since it’s very obvious what the Arai sizing table is providing. Although it’s Asian fit, the size is still the same. Bro, my question to you is since you bought the RX-7X Asian fit, do you really think it would fit normally with comfort on an intermediate head? I gotta tell you that I am lucky to find this vid reviewing an Asian fit helmet just like my desire.

@@MoneerAl-Jawad I can only offer you the following evidence from my own experience: As you know from watching the video, my wife has exactly the same diameter head as I do. This equates to a size small for Arai (and all other brands). However, my Japanese Arai is not comfortable for my wife since she has an intermediate oval head. Again, I would put comfort (and safety) above everything else.

@@judebikedude6379 strange. If your wife have intermediate oval should have pressure on forehead when she wear japanese Arai version because is shorter front to back. If she has temples pressure Arai is too narrow so more oval.

@@piotr.ber94 You're totally correct Piotr, that's a typo. I've edited my reply. Thanks for pointing that out, cheers - Jude

Hi, and thanks for watching. Arai didn't see fit to offer us any choice of internal shape options here in the UK so I don't know how the 'round oval' Quantum X compares to a Japanese RX-7X. My guess would be that the Quantum X round oval isn't as round as my RX-7X. If you can post a picture of the inside of the helmet with the comfort liner removed (via Dropbox or whatever) and link to it here in the comments, I can calculate the eccentricity and give you an absolute measure of roundness compared with the Japanese import.

@@judebikedude6379 hey Jude, I got my helmet and the rx-7x fits like a dream and nothing in canada compares! thanks so much for taking the time to make this video and sharing with us!

@@davidnoob9421 You're very welcome! I'm really pleased it all worked out for you :-)

Hi Joe, yes your observation appears entirely logical, and given a more accurate means of measuring the eccentricity of both heads and helmet interiors, you could probably get close to matching the absolute measure of eccentricity of a human head with that of a helmet interior. My crude, visual, measurement (which involves drawing an ellipse on the photo of a helmet or head) is useful for a relative comparison of roundness between helmets and heads only. I.e. we can say, using my method, that my Japanese RX7 is more round than a European equivalent, but you can't say a 0.44 head is a perfect fit for a 0.54 helmet. In actual fact, my Japanese helmets are a poor fit for Katie (they are too round), which seems illogical given the eccentricity values. If you used the same method as I did to measure the eccentricity of your head, then by comparison with both myself and Katie, a value of 0.52 would appear quite oval. But we only have three values to compare and we can't be sure the method used to calculate eccentricity was consistent. I would also observe that small changes in the eccentricity value result in quite large changes of ovalness, especially where the human head is concerned. Note the overlay of my head with Katie's. The increased width and shorter front to back measurement isn't that much in absolute terms (only a few mm) but it's the difference between a comfortable helmet and one with painful pressure points. If your eccentricity is 0.52 then I would say that is significantly more oval than Katie and perhaps the EU NXR isn't oval enough. The chin bar on the NXR does stick out - it's just the design of the helmet. Try a European Arai QV Pro; these were designed for long oval heads, and the chin bar is much closer to the face than the NXR.

Hi Piotr. What I didn't show in my video, and what would have been useful, was my method for calculating eccentricity, or more accurately, my method for measuring the inside of helmets and my head (and my wife's head). Since I don't possess a pair of calipers I took 'birds-eye' pictures of the top of my head and the inside of each helmet using the same camera and from the same distance. I then used a computer to measure the height and width of an oval that encompassed the head/ helmet. The measurement was taken in pixels (same camera, same resolution, same distance). Since eccentricity is the relation of x and y, you should in theory reach the same (or at least similar) figure using my method vs using real world measurements using calipers. However while my eccentricity measurements are useful for relative comparisons in my video, they are perhaps less useful for absolute comparisons. I expect that I would arrive at a different figure using my method to calculate your eccentricity. EU/ US Shoe helmets have never been comfortable for me, but I now own two Japanese Shoe helmets and they are the most comfortable helmets I've worn. I think you need to be guided by what feels right for you, although I accept that it is an expensive gable importing a Japanese model.

@@judebikedude6379 Shark helmets in EU is more round and it was too wide for me because was noisy and my head could move a little on the side to side so I think that my shape is not round like asian heads. My head lenght is longer than wide but a lot of helmets hurt my temples except HJC RPHA 70 in M size and Arai helmet. Shark also but it was too wide. My eccetricity is more oval than your wife but Shoei NXR hurt me it is very strange. I used this same method from your movie to calculate eccetricity. I taked a picture above the head to make measurments in computer but only head. I didn't compare it to the helmet because my helmet which good fit is 14 years old now and it is now little too loose. I am belive that I am between sizes and I am intermediate oval slightly round or neutral shape but in round direction.

So you have the opposite problem to me. Why not try something like the Arai Quantum-ST Pro? That's a helmet designed (according to Arai) for long oval head shapes.

@@judebikedude6379 long oval I tried from Arai or LS2 this hurt me temples a lot. I am not long oval shaped.

I know this a year late but if you live in a state where it's optional to wear a helmet then you can use a helmet of your choice. The other factor is insurance. If you insure your safety gear and it gives a discount on your insurance if you happen to be in an accident the insurance can potentially deny your claim if the helmet is not DOT approved. Read through the language in the policy.

Hey, thanks for watching. While a Japanese market Arai or Shoei will of course be as safe as a European market model, they don't carry any safety standard stickers that would be recognised outside of Japan. Technically, therefore, they are not road legal in the UK, and I'm guessing, Holland. I bought an ACU gold sticker from eBay for my Arai so that I could use it on track days (although the marshalls have never checked it; guess they see an Arai and know it's a legit helmet).

@@judebikedude6379 ah I see! Well I went to the store today and had a shoei personal fitting. Tried out many helmets also different brands. The shoei was for me the most comfortable around the head, no pressure points like I was used to with my hjc arpha or my icon armada. And no hamster cheeks! :D ordered the gt-air 3 and once it arrives in my size and colours they will be fitted according today's findings. Can't wait! 😊

@@user-pe8co5jl7d Cool, that's good news. I made this video 3 years ago during the COVID lockdown, and haven't been helmet shopping since, so I'm probably a bit out of touch now. Just reading about Shoei' s 'Personal Fitting System' www.shoei-europe.com/news-stories/shoei-personal-fitting-system/ seems like they're finally taking the variation of head shapes in the European market into consideration, which is great to see.