Hello All!

I know you've all be waiting with morning breath to read my review of my
recently purchased Vox helmet as many of you have seen located here:

http://sterlingtek.com/voxfufaflupm.html

I ordered my helmet last weekend and of course it shipped on Monday. I
was shocked when the helmet arrived at my door on Wednesday. I guess I
didn't read the shipping info well enough. I was under the impression
that the helmet was being shipped via Fed-Ex Ground and I was wrong.
The shipping was FREE and it was FED-EX 2-DAY AIR! That was a pleasant
surprise.

*My Initial Impressions*

As I looked over the box, I wondered if I'd purchased a piece of crap or
not. I mean $99 for a helmet that's supposed to compare to my HJC Symax
which costs twice as much, hmmm. I opened the box and pulled out the
cloth helmet bag and opened her up. I was indeed surprised at the
quality of the helmet for the price. It is a beautiful looking lid made
of ABS and an ABS/Polycarbonate alloy chin bar. I looked over the Vox
helmet closely and started immediately comparing it to my 4 year old
Symax helmet which I had resting on the table next to it.

The shell of the helmet looks to be the same quality of the Symax. I
tried squeezing the Vox from the sides and compared it with the flex of
my older premium lid. Everything cosmetically and structurally looked
just as good with the Vox as the HJC. The Vox looks like it has more
ventilation with the 6 vents which can be opened and closed. I spent
some time comparing the liner in the new helmet and came to the
conclusion that it is as nice or even more nicely lined than the Symax.
The Vox liner is just plain excellently done. Even the foam inside the
helmet looked no different than the HJC.

Next, I popped open the front of the helmet with my thumb with the
hidden button under the chin piece, and the hinged jaw piece opened up
nicely. I slid the helmet on my head and was amazed how nicely it fit.
I wear an XL in the HJC models and the XL in the Vox was a perfect fit.
No pressure points whatsoever. I have kind of an oval shaped head so
the HJC type helmets always fit me quite well. I flipped down the front
of the helmet and it smoothly closed into the locked position. If you
have a wide face, you may experience trouble with the manipulation of
the hinged jaw as I've read in another review. It works beautifully for
me. I can't compare the quality of the locking mechanism as I haven't
taken it all apart, but it seems to lock securely in place. The locking
tabs appear to be plastic, but that doesn't mean they aren't strong
enough to do the job. My Symax locking tabs were metal and now, from
the moisture over the years, the jaw is locked into place, frozen for
all eternity. My 4 year old HJC Symax is now a regular full-faced helmet.

The only difference I could see was that this Vox helmet is a little
shorter as I can feel my chin with my hand a little easier with this one
on verses my old Symax. However it isn't so short that you would scuff
up your chin in an accident. I feel there is adequate protection
there. Also my chin is a little closer to the jaw piece with the helmet
on and locked. Not an issue for me, but may be an issue for you if you
have a chin that juts out. The actual height of the face shield itself
is about a half of an inch shorter than that of the Symax, but in my
opinion, the Symax face shield is much too tall anyway. I could put two
strips of electrical tape on top of the HJC shield and it would not
interfere with my vision in any way. When opening the the face shield,
I notice it only has three opened positions. With the Symax I could
open the face shield just a crack if I wish, but with the Vox, the first
click opened opens the shield about an inch. Not a deal breaker in my
view as the Symax with the face shield opened just a crack is noisier
than all get out anyway.

I pushed on the slide mechanism on the left side of the helmet that
controls the sun visor that flips up and down. It takes a good deal of
pressure to move the lever, but I guess that's a good thing as I
wouldn't want the sun visor falling down on its own while riding at
night. I walked out the front door of my house and stared into the sun
with the visor in the up position and then flipped it down to compare
the sun protection. The visor's iridescent tint does the job nicely. I
wear a dark smoke shield on my Symax and I can live with the Vox's
standard sun visor just fine.

The Vox's helmet chin strap in thinner and made of a different material
than the HJC's strap. The buckle is the "D" shaped metal one. It's
more difficult to fasten the strap as it is a little more rigid and
frankly I haven't used it enough to be familiar with it. There is a
cool snap on the end of the strap which snaps onto the male side of the
snap on the other side of the chin strap to keep the loose end from
flapping in the wind. A cool feature.

*Impressions of the Vox Helmet on the Road*

The first thing I noticed was in my upright riding position on the
Silver Wing, the sun visor could be a tad lower so the bottom of the
visor doesn't come into view. If this helmet were being worn by a rider
on a sport bike in a forward leaning position, the helmet would be
perfect as is. I found that just rotating the helmet forward on my head
a little makes the visor position a non-issue.

With the helmet tilted forward slightly my chin is within a sixteenth of
an inch of touching the chin bar of the Vox helmet. After examining the
helmet more closely, I can see that the area where the button is you
press to open the jaw of the helmet is the area that gives my chin it's
needed room. I feel that I can trim away some of the rubberized
insulation on the inside of the chin bar above the button area to give
my chin adequate room even with the helmet tilted forward a bit. Not a
problem. Chin room was never a problem with the Symax.

The Symax helmet is not a quiet one and either is the Vox. The Vox may
even be a little noisier with the vents opened, but again not enough of
an issue to be a deal breaker for me. Around town, I can live with it
as is. On the interstate, I wear custom earplugs so again, not an issue
for me. I encourage everyone to wear earplugs at highway speeds anyway
to save on damage that will be done to your hearing over time. Both the
Vox and the Symax are incredibly quiet with earplugs in. ;)

I rode in 85 degree weather the other day and the helmet is hot even
with all the vents opened up. My Symax is also a hot helmet. I always
wear a bandanna with either helmet to help protect the liner from excess
sweat. I cannot comment on the fog clearing properties of the Vox as
I've not ridden in those conditions as yet. With the windshield on my
bike, no helmet gets enough air flow to fairly judge them on this issue
anyway.

The chin bar opens and closes so nicely that I can even open the chin
bar when I sneeze and close it back up again with one hand. The other
great reason to have a chin bar which opens is to be able to put on your
prescription glasses. With the sun visor built in, you don't even have
to worry about sun shades for your glasses. This is really a big plus
for many riders.

*Conclusion*

The bottom line for me is I'm buying another one of these Vox Helmets in
Red. I'm sold on it as a good quality pick for me. I would rate this
helmet as an 8 out of 10. You may buy one and feel differently about
it. Especially if you have a wide face or head or a prominent chin.
This helmet may not be a good choice for Jay Leno types. I've got a
thick head, not a fat one and the Vox fits me perfectly.

If you do buy one and decide to return it, SterlingTek has a 30-day
return policy. You will lose the shipping costs in both directions.
Read their policies on their web sight to know exactly what you are
getting into. All of the reviews I've read on the company have been
great! SterlingTek specializes in camera accessories, not helmets. I
have no interest in the company. I only have an interest in riding and
sharing my experiences.

If you have a specific question about the helmet that I failed to
address, feel free to email me at jbarnes@...

Enjoy the ride...

Jeff in Pittsburgh


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