I’m a fan of Suomy helmets. I like how they fit. I like how they’re made. I like it that they’re kinder to your head in a get off than anything carrying a current Snell rating (for more on this, see my essay on helmets).
For the past year or so I’ve been wearing the very high spec and high cost Suomy Extreme, a lid I like for its light weight and “look at me now” graphics. What I don’t like as well is the insanely difficult process of changing out a shield and the noise.
I recently picked up a flat black Suomy Vandal, a lesser but not less helmet than the Extreme. It’s built to the same specs as its big brother and features the same lush interior with easily removed and washed liner and cheek pads. From that standpoint, one of the best designs in the business.
During my ride, I experienced everything from pissing rain and mid 40s, howling winds, and blazing desert heat that topped out at 106. I rode in blinding sun, drab overcast, and total darkness. All in, it was on my head for 3700 miles, so a fair test I think.
What I like . . .
Suomy’s do a great job of internal venting. It’s nearly impossible to fog the screen. Ten points on that count.
Unlike the Extreme, changing the face shields is a low effort affair. Rotate and remove a metal dial on either side and the screen comes right off.
The helmet is all-day comfortable. This is obviously highly subjective, but I find that Suomy’s fit my head. The Extreme was tight but a perfect shape. The Vandal was just right out of the box.
I judge the Vandal to be averagely noisy. I haven’t ever worn what i would describe as a truly quiet helmet, but I would say this is towards the good end of the range. Still, ear plugs are a must. Without them, the howl at speed is unbearable.
The Vandal vents adequately on a hot day. If I was a full time desert rider I might look for something with more airflow, but I didn’t find myself bothered, even after hours in the sun.
What I don’t like . . .
As much as I liked the shield system, I was constantly afraid of dropping the little metal locking disks. Visions of one rolling away and leaping over some cliff plagued me every time I changed screens.
While the helmet vents well, the top front vents are a bad joke. They’re controlled by small rotary dials that expose a hole drilled in the helmet. Turning the dial with bear hands sitting still was a chore that often required an implement. In gloves . . . forget it.
There is a long plastic pokey thing that sticks down from the d-ring. It’s for snapping the end of the strap to. Mostly it poked me in the neck, got hung up on my jacket collar, and generally was a nuisance.
All in, a fine lid. I like it so much I bought another for my wife. Give it five stars.
Tags: SuomyVandal, Motorcycle Helmet, Snell, BCE, decision making, midlife rider, Suomy Extreme
A colleague sent me a link to a great review of this helmet. Biggest thing to note is the commentary on how noisy the helmet is (and how light). Upon reflection, he’s right . . . though I can’t recall wearing a helmet that wasn’t noisy: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/suomy-helmets/vandal/
Hi! Just bought a Medium Vandal and my 58cm head fits ok inside, but the problem is that my nose is really near the chin-bar, and I can literally kiss the inside if it! Size M Arai’s and Shoei’s allways fitted me perfect, therefore I ordered size M over the internet without trying it my head first (I know, it’s a mistake…). Please tell me if kissing the chin-bar is also possible in your case, and if your nose and chin are considerabily closer to the chin-bar in the Vandal comparing to the Vector of the RF1000. Thanks for the excelent blog!
Hmmmm. I don’t notice that it’s that close. In fact, I find that my Arai seems closer. I just asked my wife who also wears a Vandal and used to wear an RF1000 the same question. She finds there is at least as much room if not a bit more in the chin bar. As I think I said, I found that I had to buy new pads for my Extreme to get it to fit right. I found other Extremes fit differently when I tried them on at the store. So there is some variability I guess. Keep at it if you can. They’re great helmets.
I love the Vandal and I’m almost sure size L would be too loose in my head. This is very strange indeed because I’ve tried a lot of 58cm helmets and I don´t remember to have had this kind of problem, in fact contrary to you I have much more room in the chin var with Shoei and Arai… maybe my head is not a “Vandal head”. But I love the looks and build of this helmet.
Hi, I also have a black Vandal helmet and am very happy with it. My vandal is an XL, and am looking to buy a Suomy Extreme cathedral but reading around it looks like I might need to go to XXL in the extreme range. ( i have no local dealers so will need to order on-line unfortunately). Did you need to go one size down when you bought the Vandal? Thanks!
Dom
My experience with Suomy is that the sizing is a bit all over the place. I wear a large in Arai, Shark, and Shoei. I bought an Spec 1-R Extreme in large and it was waaaay tight. I had to buy the cheek pads for an XL (same shell) to get the right fit. When I went to a local shop that had some Suomy helmets, a large fit. In the Vandal, I wear a large and find it comfortable. I find in my correspondence with other Suomy owners that they have the same experience . . . so definitely try before you buy!