ARC MX220V gear

[Jake250ex]

I was looking at the new ARC gear in rocky mtn ATV and they make this stuff look and sound really good. As a 17 year old kid who pays for it himself I cant afford the best of the best and this looked like a good option. Right now I have a THH SX10 helmet and Fox Tracker boots and it gets the job done well, but its time for something new.

The MX220V boot is full grain leather like the TECH 8's, and they have a pivot built in at the heel to help movement forward and backwards. They seem like they would be really comfortable and look good too. They are really cheap at $160, the only thing I wish it had is the little inner bootie.

The helmet is supposedly 3oz lighter than the Shoei VFX-R and looks great also. The liner is removable, and they claim it has the highest impact rating of any off road helmet made.

What are you guys thought/opinions on this stuff? Any body have any experince with them? Thanks

Originally posted by Jake250ex


The helmet is supposedly 3oz lighter than the Shoei VFX-R and looks great also. The liner is removable, and they claim it has the highest impact rating of any off road helmet made.

BULLLLLLLLLLLSHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!
Probably the highest rating in its category or price range.

Spend the absolute MOST money you can on a helmet. If you have to, don't ride for a month or 2. A head is one thing you can't replace.

[PismoLocal]

Spend the absolute MOST money you can on a helmet. If you have to, don't ride for a month or 2. A head is one thing you can't replace.
i dont agree with that, just make sure the helmet is snell and dot approved and it will get the job done.

Originally posted by PismoLocal
i dont agree with that, just make sure the helmet is snell and dot approved and it will get the job done. You have alot to learn. A Shoei V-Moto is alot safer then a HJC.

[coolex]

ive got a hjc and it worx perfect theres no need for a 100000000000000000000000000000000 helamt

Originally posted by coolex
ive got a hjc and it worx perfect theres no need for a 100000000000000000000000000000000 helamt If you have a $100 head, buy a $100 helmet.

[Racing Rice]

BS on the most expensive helmet crap.. I've own Shoei, Suomy, KBC, Bell, Thor, etc.. You pay for the name, features, ventilation, and graphics most of the time.

Those high dollar helmets don't always provide the most protection

Check out this article. It refers to sportbike helmets, but the same could be said for dirt helmets as well.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/hatz/

I'm about to give the ARC boots a try myself. I'm curious to see how they compare to my old AlpineStars, which I loved.

[MOFO]

Originally posted by MXFourTwoEight
If you have a $100 head, buy a $100 helmet.

To a degree this is correct, however the high price tag is not based on safety ratings alone. Comfort and looks are another variable that play into the price.

There are PLENTY of good helmets out there that will protect just as good as ones that cost more.

The worlds most expensive helmet is not needed just to provide good protection.

Hi Zach,
I appreciate your interest in this subject and will do what I can to help.I have been in the Snell lab and observed their testing standards personally.
There are a few more things to consider when evaluating helmet safety.

Evaluating more than just the Snell standard and the philosophy around each standard is a good starting point for considering what you want in a helmet. The ECE, Snell and DOT operate under different philosophical approaches as to how a helmet should protect our heads. The different approaches are more subjective than objective which sparks a big debate in itself. In very simple terms and only from what I understand, the Snell organization wants to prevent your brains from spilling out no matter how sharp the impact on your helmet. They are not really concerned with preventing concussions but brain damage. Their standards handle some of the heaviest impacts out of all the standards out there. The ECE (European Standard) standard takes a little different approach. The ECE will be more likely to prevent a concussion but less likely to prevent your brains from spilling out. My choice of wording here is more extreme than actuality but you should get the point. Now these are still subjective evaluations at the best because it is very difficult to present the test data in correspondence to actual head trauma measurements based on our knowledge of the brain, skull and lack of test subjects. Lab rats are probably not the best test subjects for helmet testing. I haven’t seen a comprehensive study comparing and contrasting all of the world wide standards but it would be great to know so as individuals we can decide how to protect our brains. The Australian and European helmets are not available to us here.

There was a recent article ‘Motorcycle Helmet Performances: Blowing the lid off’ at http://motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/hatz/ that really starts to shed some light on how results of helmet testing can be analyzed. In many cases Korean made helmets finished with better results than helmets made in other parts of the world and in other cases much lower price point polycarbonate helmets tested better than more expensive FRP (fiberglass) helmets.

Unfortunately, there are not as many resources going into the studies around helmets as most of us would like. Not only is there not enough money available to these non-profit organizations, but the money has decreased considerable over the past 10 years. The decrease in funding is in large part due to large retailers selling bicycle helmets without requiring the Snell standard such as Wall Mart for example. When Snell lost income from the low price point helmets in the bicycle industry it was a major loss of revenue. Snell receives a small amount of money for every Snell sticker used on a helmet. There was a time when Snell had 3 offices throughout the US and was receiving funds from the bicycle industry. So in short, our resources are better used to assist these organizations with their studies, educating ourselves and the consumers instead of knocking on the helmet manufacturers themselves.

Hope this helps and not confuses.


Originally posted by Racing Rice
BS on the most expensive helmet crap.. I've own Shoei, Suomy, KBC, Bell, Thor, etc.. You pay for the name, features, ventilation, and graphics most of the time.

Those high dollar helmets don't always provide the most protection

Check out this article. It refers to sportbike helmets, but the same could be said for dirt helmets as well.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/hatz/

I'm about to give the ARC boots a try myself. I'm curious to see how they compare to my old AlpineStars, which I loved.


With all of the recent head injuries and deaths I have done a lttle research (with the prodding of a good friend) on the different helmets. This might be a long post so bear with me but I wouldn't take the time to post it if I didn't think it was important to everyone.
I always thought that all helmets with a Snell certification sticker on them were the same. Maybe not? In order for a helmet to become Snell certified it has to pass their testing procedure. I recently talked to the head man at Snell and I will give you a mini version of how they test helmets. They put a dummy head in the helmet and then drop the helmet from a certain height onto a steel object. If the "G" forces that are transfered to the dummy head exceed 300 G's then the helmet fails. If the G force measures under 300 then it passes and receives the Snell certification sticker. Here is the catch....I have been told by a very credible source that the Korean made helmets such as Thor, HJC, Fox, 661, Troy Lee, etc. usuall all pass with a rating of 275 to 295 G force and receive the Snell approval. Good news right? Not so fast....Shoei and Arai helmets typically pass at 160 to 180 G force. Now I am not saying that these riders such as Ben Davis would be with us today if they were wearing a Shoei or an Arai but all of these riders that died were wearing a Korean made helmet. I asked Snell for a copy of the testing reports for the various helmets and was told that they can't release that information except to the helmet manufacture. I think we need to lobby for these results to be made public. If I was Shoei or Arai I would not have a problem doing this, however if I was a manufacture that is coming in at 295 G's I would. I for one have ordered a Shoei helmet for myself even though I currently receive other helmets free. Hopefully my sponsor will understand. If not, oh well....I'm not going to compromise safety to save a few thousand dollars. I know list price on a Shoei or Arai is over $400.00 and the others are half of that, but can you really put a price tag on this? Most of us have an aftermarket exhaust ....if necessary stay with stock and use the money for a better helmet.


I've done my research.

Why did you delete your post MOFO

[MOFO]

Originally posted by MXFourTwoEight
Why did you delete your post MOFO

Because I've stated my opinion above and dont care to further discuss this topic. Its not interesting to me - not enough to discuss with people on the internet. :D

[Racing Rice]

MXFourTwoEight,

No offence, but your post doesn't really prove anything. I don't doubt that there are a lot of helmets out there that barely pass with high G force ratings. However, your post is to broad and has no real facts.

It's fine. I'm just trying to educate people on saftey and common sense. If they're not receptive to that, and continue to claim that their $70 helmet is just as good and "get's the job done", then they should be wearing a $70 helmet, because they have a $70 head. I'm done.

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by MXFourTwoEight
It's fine. I'm just trying to educate people on saftey and common sense. If they're not receptive to that, and continue to claim that their $70 helmet is just as good and "get's the job done", then they should be wearing a $70 helmet, because they have a $70 head. I'm done.

I'm just curious, if you accidently dropped your $400 helmet on the ground (it fell off your quad or something) would you trash it and buy a new one?

Originally posted by Racing Rice
I'm just curious, if you accidently dropped your $400 helmet on the ground (it fell off your quad or something) would you trash it and buy a new one? I'd check the shell for damage, and if it was fine, then no. If it hapened to get cracked or damaged, then yes.

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by MXFourTwoEight
I'd check the shell for damage, and if it was fine, then no. If it hapened to get cracked or damaged, then yes.

You do realize that a helmet can be damaged without being able to visually tell don't you? Technically, you should send it in to the manufactuer and have them inspect it.

What I'm getting at is, we all take chances in life to save a buck or two. I can completely understand where you are coming from and respect that.

Originally posted by Racing Rice
You do realize that a helmet can be damaged without being able to visually tell don't you? Technically, you should send it in to the manufactuer and have them inspect it.

What I'm getting at is, we all take chances in life to save a buck or two. I can completely understand where you are coming from and respect that. I have a Shock Spot-R too, which alerts you if the shell has been damaged. I realize that i'm not going to be able to race for a living, so I try to protect my head as best I can:)

http://www.motosport.com/product.jsp?path=-1|4268|5927|305815&id=210478

Originally posted by PismoLocal
A lot to learn lol, your 15 Just because i'm younger then you doesn't make you superior.

[Jake250ex]

sorry to interupt but could we please get back on the subject?

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by Jake250ex
sorry to interupt but could we please get back on the subject?


Honestly, when it comes to the topic of gear it can get very touchy. A lot of people believe that the more you pay, the better protection you get while others believe that your just paying more for the graphics, name, features, etc. I would get a helmet that is DOT and SNELL certified, and one that fits you properly. You never did say exactly which helmet you were looking at buying, was it the ARC MX220 helmet? I would probably wear it, but that is just my opinion.

I will be ordering the ARC MX220v boots here in a few weeks. I have owned a set of AlpineStars in the past, which I loved. Unfortunately, after I sold my quad, I sold my boots as well. I've been using a cheap set of Ocelot boots, which were only okay at best. I broke one of the straps the last time I went riding, so I'm going to order a better set of boots. The MX220v boots look really nice, and have replaceable hardware. I've read some reviews on other sites of guys that have bought them and loved them. Even more so then they liked thier old AS boots.

My opinion is give them a shot, I'd rather spend $160 on a set of boots and learn I don't like them, then spend $300 on a pair and not like them. Besides, you can always send them back and get something else if you get them and not like them. (Just don't wear them out.)