Best Off Road Motorbike Helmets In Vietnam 2020

For the adventure motorcycle rider the fun is usually found off-road, and Vietnam has plenty of backroads, muddy playgrounds, and less-traveled routes to explore. For this type of adventure, you’re going to need the best off-road gear.  Your motorbike helmet needs to protect that adventure-seeking brain of yours. Let’s look at the best options in Vietnam for 2020.

What Is An Off-Road/Dirt Bike Helmet?

The dirt bike helmet is noted by the protruding peak at the top of the helmet, the large visorless opening in the front to accommodate goggles, and if you pick one up, they are considerably lighter than most other helmet options.

Easy to spot amongst a long line of standard black motorcycle helmet options, the dirt bike helmet is usually the most artistically abstract design on the shelf and could be considered a vibrant addition to your high visibility safety gear. It’s not to say they don’t dawn the black on black looks like most modular or dual sport helmets, but if any helmet was going to stand out, it’s going to be the dirt bike helmet. This design usually reflects the loud personalities of those that wear them.

 

What To Look For When Buying An Off-Road Helmet

Ventilation. The dirt bike helmet has the most venting of all closed face motorbike helmet options. When riding off road the rider is physically working harder to negotiate rough terrain and obstacles like mud and sand with limited airflow to keep them cool at these low speeds.
The dirt bike helmet has a very large opening in the front where the mouth is to allow maximum airflow. The helmet also typically has vents near the cheeks, above the forehead, and vents at the back to help expel air and moisture. You’ll want the most venting options possible when selecting a dirt bike helmet.

 

Safety. Designed for low-speed accidents or falling from the distance of your bike seat to the ground, dirt bike helmets are safe, but not intended to handle high-speed impacts or highway crashes.
The helmet rating system used to qualify an ECE, DOT, and SNELL rated helmet are applicable to dirt bike helmets as well, but a dirt helmet is certainly not your best choice for an accident at 110km/h.

Comfort. On the plus side, these lightweight helmets intended for off-road use are one of the more comfortable helmets you will find to ride in. With plenty of air vents, wide openings for goggles, and a lack of mechanics like those in a modular. Getting used to a day wearing one of these lightweight off-road motorcycle helmets is generally pretty good.
Any lack of comfort might be found when you’re riding in really hot conditions or riding really hard trails that will cause you to sweat around the foam liner on your googles. Take them off, you’ve got dust in your eyes, leave them on and you’ll develop a light irritable itch. If you spend time ripping down the highways, you’ll find the soft, floppy peak on the helmet isn’t intended for high speeds and will catch the wind. This erratic buffeting gets old fast.

 


Pre-Purchase Checklist

✅Safety ratings
✅Ventilation
✅Comfort

Off-Road Motorcycle Helmets For Sale

1. BELL MX MOTO-9 MIPS

One of the most advanced off-road motorbike helmets on the market, especially in Vietnam. The MX Moto-9 integrates technology and premium safety standards into this great looking dirt helmet.

Starting with safety, this helmet ticks every safety standard available, meeting the DOT, ECE 22.05, Snell ratings, and includes MIPS technology. BELL is also the only company to use magnetic cheek pads that easily pop out in the event of an emergency where you’ll need to get the riders head out quickly. If you value what’s in between your ears, this helmet is one of the best available to help protect it.

 

Adding to the high standard of safety in BELL off-road motorcycle helmets, they integrate a lightweight composite “Tri-Matrix” shell to help keep the weight down. The helmet is outfitted with BELL’s highly breathable Velocity Flow Ventilation system and SEVEN exhaust ports! Plenty of ports along with added air intakes in the adjustable bridge visor will help keep your head as cool as it can be while on the trail. The visor was designed to adjust with gloves, and you can make adjustments on the fly. This Moto Moto-9 even has some of the top off-road motorcycle helmets reviews.

 

When it comes down to comfort, the MX Moto-9 was designed with an improved magnetic strap keeper to prevent the strap from smacking you in the face during your ride. As well, the chin strap is padded to keep you comfortable when it’s tugging at your face on those 8-hour long ride days.

How does it measure up?

  • Safety Ratings: DOT, SNELL, ECE 22.05, MIPS
  • Ventilation: Velocity-flow ventilation system with multiple ventilation ports on the face and rear exhaust ports.
  • Weight: 1500 grams (large)
  • Comfort: Intermediate Oval

2.BELL MX-9 MIPS HELMET

The kid-brother to the Moto-9, this quality MX-9 is less money and a bit less bang for your buck. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. When it comes to purchase decisons around the MX-9 and Moto-9, the MX-9 is a great value helmet to get you started, and the Moto-9 is the premium version if you’re the type who likes to have all the bells and whistles.

 

The difference between the Moto-9 and the MX-9: The MX-9 holds the DOT, ECE, standard and uses MIPS technology, but doesn't have the Snell rating like its big brother. When it comes to the shell, the MX-9 uses a less-expensive injected polymer composite shell. The results over whether this type of shell is better or worse is still an ongoing debate. Not up for debate however is the cost, the MX-9 is definitely cheaper.

Ventilation is ok, but not quite what it is on the Moto-9. On the MX you’ll find two chin, two head, and one mouth vent, but nothing around the visor area of the helmet. On the rear are four of the seven exhaust ports found on the Moto-9.
Much like the Moto, it’s designed for easy cleaning with a removable and washable comfort liner made from antibacterial materials. Overall if you’re looking to get into the sport or don’t want to shell out the money for the premium Moto-9 version, this is a great place to start.

How does it measure up?

  • Safety Ratings: DOT, ECE 22.05, MIPS
  • Ventilation: Velocity-flow ventilation system with ample, but not over the top venting.
  • Weight: 1450 grams
  • Comfort: Intermediate Oval

3. LS2 MX437 Fast LS2 

Anyone looking to get into an off-road motorcycle helmet in Vietnam for the first time or at an extremely affordable price, the LS2 MX437 Fast line is a great place to start. The helmet color options come in the in-your-face shade of “Fast Beats” and the slightly more subtle stylings of “Fast Spot Blue”. If nothing else, your friends should at least be able to identify you when your dripping in mud.

The MX437 helmets are comprised of a durable Kinetic Polymer Alloy (KPA), that meets the safety standards of DOT and ECE ratings. Ventilation in this helmet is a bit limited, cheek vents in the face, a couple on your forehead, and then four rear exhaust ports.

 

 

The main difference is going to be the features. In a dual sport helmet you’ll have a visor or at least the option to use a visor. Most models, like the Yohe 632A, will come with a drop-down sun visor too. The peak is stiffer to handle wind and buffeting better. As well, the helmets interior construction is made to fit more snug, making it safer, and to help reduce wind noise at higher speeds.

These extra added features mean you get more out of your helmet, but you also get more weight. If you think your riding is going to shift gears into more highways and street riding, you might want to upgrade to a dual sport helmet. For those crossing over, a nice easy transition is the LS2 Pioneer MX436, or the Bell MX-9 Adventure. It’s basically an off-road motorbike helmet with some dual-sport features thrown into it.

4. LS2 Pioneer MX436 - Shifting Into A Dual-Sport Helmet 

 

 

One bonus is for those of you who ride with eyeglasses or sunglasses, the MX437 Fast helmets are designed for use with prescription or sunglasses as well as standard googles (link to eyeglasses article). The front opening is a bit limited for those of you who wear large goggles, medium or small is your best fitment here.

How about your head? The head fitment here is a long oval shape unlike the more popular Intermediate oval of a lot of helmets. Those of you with big long brains, this lid is for you!

How does it measure up?

  • Safety Ratings: DOT, ECE 22.05
  • Ventilation: Standard, but not over the top. 5 on the front and 4 exhaust ports.
  • Weight: 1500 grams
  • Comfort: Long Oval

 

Taking Your Off-Road Helmet To The Streets

Once you’ve ridden all the dirt roads in Vietnam you might be looking for a lid that you can take from the off-road and into the streets. The natural progression for a trail rider would be to step into a dual-sport helmet. The look of the off-road and dual-sport helmet is generally indistinguishable, but what goes into the dual sport helmet is slightly different.

The main difference is going to be the features. In a dual sport helmet you’ll have a visor or at least the option to use a visor. Most models, like the Yohe 632A, will come with a drop-down sun visor too. The peak is stiffer to handle wind and buffeting better. As well, the helmets interior construction is made to fit more snug, making it safer, and to help reduce wind noise at higher speeds.

These extra added features mean you get more out of your helmet, but you also get more weight. If you think your riding is going to shift gears into more highways and street riding, you might want to upgrade to a dual sport helmet. For those crossing over, a nice easy transition is the LS2 Pioneer MX436, or the Bell MX-9 Adventure. It’s basically an off-road motorbike helmet with some dual-sport features thrown into it.

4. LS2 Pioneer MX436 - Shifting Into A Dual-Sport Helmet 

 

The LS2 Pioneer MX436 is a classic example of a dirt helmet with dual-sport features. LS2 designed it for the intermediate to the serious off-road rider in mind. The helmet has a removable front visor that can also be used with goggles, there is the drop-down tinted visor, and it still comes with plenty of venting for when you get heated up maneuvering through the backroads.

 

A few design bonuses that this helmet has is that the features were constructed to use with gloves on; sun visor, front visor, and even the chin strap release. For safety, it’s DOT and ECE rated, and for comfort, there are cut-outs in the foam for use with prescription or sunglasses, just like the MX437 Fast line of helmets. If it has any drawbacks as a dual-sport helmet, it’s that there is still a fair amount of wind noise that gets inside. If you plan to do long trips, pack some earplugs.

How does it measure up?

  • Safety Ratings: DOT, ECE 22.05
  • Ventilation: Good venting for warm weather. The eye vents don’t close, so if you plan to ride a lot in North Vietnam you’ll need a liner.
  • Weight: 1600 grams
  • Comfort: Intermediate Oval
  • Can be used with goggles

5. Bell MX-9 Adventure - It's the MX-9 made for Dual-Sporters

The Adventure version is simply the Bell MX-9 plus a face shield, so it has all the off-road characteristics like its sister MX-9, lightweight and with good airflow. Goggles can still be used with the MX-9 Adventure, without having to remove the face shield. Maneuvering backroads and feel the need to use goggles with the face shield up? No problem. About to hit the rain or just long stretch of pavement up ahead? Just drop the shield and without having to adjust or remove the goggles. 

 

Ventilation seems to be the strongest point of this helmet. Loads of vents, three chin vents, two forehead vents, and four exhaust vents. According to some folks who ride in very hot weather, the ventilation on this lid does a fine job under the 30+ degrees C hot weather. However good ventilation comes with bad noise isolation, as this helmet tend to be very loud on the tarmac. So pack some earplug if you plan to do long trips on the pavement. 

How does it measure up?

  • Safety Ratings: DOT, ECE 22.05, MIPS
  • Ventilation: Velocity-flow ventilation system
  • Weight: 1698 grams (large)
  • Comfort: Intermediate Oval
  • Has no drop-down sun visor, however, can also be used with goggles