HJC RPHA 11 Pro

A good helmet can change your life. That's a bold statement but quite verifiably true. The HJC RPHA 11 Pro greatly enhances your ride experience, and you become a safer rider because of this.

You might be surprised at just how many people are apathetic when purchasing a new helmet. It astounds me to this day when a new customer comes in to the shop and requests the cheapest helmet we have in stock. What happens next is I tread a fine line between up-selling for the sake of profit and encouraging the customer to break his budget to consider a safer helmet.

One of the ways in which I act like I didn't even hear such a request is to put an HJC RPHA 11 Pro in their hands and onto their head. Then I let them compare the "cheapest" helmet we have in stock. Sometimes this is enough to persuade him to quickly set the lesser helmet down and forget about it. Once I determine head shape and size, I help him to try on the helmet (you'd also be surprised at how many people also have a difficult time with this). And with the RHPA 11, he is usually immediately in awe of the lightness, the balance, and comfort of the high end HJC model.

One of the key components to help sell the RPHA 11 over some of the more expensive high end helmets is cost. For a carbon fiber, Aramid and fiberglass helmet (HJC's Advanced P.I.M.), the cost is minuscule compared to a similar helmet from AGV or Arai. All of this for $399.99 (solids) seems like an insult to the company and a boon to your savings account. Now consider the AGV Pista GP, which retails for $1050 to 1399, or the Arai Corsair-X at a more manageable $850 - $980. HJC pricing the RPHA at the four hundred dollar range is simply ludicrous. 

The Are-fa is incredibly compact, much more so than say a Shoei X-Fourteen. You feel that on the road as wind buffeting is reduced, as is strain on your neck muscles. This compact design did not, however, negatively impact the airflow, and more often than not you will find that the included Pinlock anti-fog insert is unnecessary. The visor replacement is about as easy as mechanically possible. Rapidfire, indeed. The top vent dials are variable in five increments, though I find myself skipping everything in between open and closed.

In the Apparel Department at Pete's Cycle I will rant and rave about this helmet to customers, colleagues, and generally anyone who walks by the HJC display. It's a fantastic helmet that the company got very right, and I'm positive this new helmet will overcome any residual negative effects leftover from Lorenzo-gate a few years ago. This could very well be the best performance helmet on the market today.

The bonuses with this helmet includes a dark faceshield, anti-fog Pinlock insert, as is a chin curtain. And finally if I've done my job right, the customer has already forgotten about the cheap helmet and is deciding whether to get the solid RPHA 11 or a loud graphics model.

Full disclosure: I'm a Shoei guy. I've proudly been wearing Shoei helmets since the RF-800. My go-to helmet is the X-Twelve Daijiro Kato replica, a quite sentimental helmet personally. But in 2013 I wore an RPHA 10 on a road trip, and it was perfect. Now I seem to be a two-helmet guy. But that's what a perfect fit and a light and strong shell will do for you. It will change your life. For the better.