This is the review I wrote for the one I bought from Revzilla.
I have been helmet shopping for quite a few months. What prompted this what the acquisition of a Bluetooth system last year and my realization that it isn't gonna work in my noisy sub quality modular. My "shopping" is limited to online as there are no quality motorcycle gear shops close by,everything caters to the harly pirate look and there helmet selections are pretty cheesy. I was considering 2 different helmets ,the Shoei Neotec [which I actually tried on at a show] and a Shoei GT Air,both have very good reviews especially the GT Air. Both are in the md to high 500s usd price wise. The GT Air had my eye the closest and I was ready to pull the trigger on it til I saw the Shuberth C3 on sale.
Im setting here right now with it on. My first impressions of it when I picked it up was that its certainly a better made lid then the pirate shop offerings I have been wearing. Upon installing it to my grape it fits the way a new helmet should,its snug all the way around with no real pressure points. I am having difficult getting the chin bar to snap into battery without pushing on the back of lid so I can push harder with the front. Its due to my fat face which is keeping the cheek area spread open far enough so the contact posts are binding. The wind deflector and optional anti noise pad take some manipulating to get over my chin as well and if I take care doing that correctly then getting the chinbar locked comes easier. compared to the chinbar on my other modular the shub will take some getting used to. The chin strap though much more engineered then a common double d ring is also a bit of a pain and the pads under it aren't long enough to fully protect my neck but its not bad. With the much tighter neck roll I wont be getting an insulated balaclava under this helmet for cool weather riding but the shub feels much better insulated then my other modular did so I may not need it. Next step is to go for a ride with it on later and see how that feels.
That was before I rode with it a few minutes ago. The ride consisted of a half hr sprint and rip through my local countryside,speeds varied up to about 100 mph or so just to get a feel for the way the lid took all the conditions.
Venitilation was very good and compared to my hjc mod and fulmer 3/4 lid it was like having a little fan across the top of my scalp,the vents worked well and also closed well and allowed no breeze at all when closed. The chin vent directed air properly and kept any fogging off the inside lens without having a major eye drying blast to do so.
Fogging,I didn't get any even with the pinlock shield not in place. I will see how it goes tomorrow on way to work in the early damp AM and update this later.
Buffeting and aerodynamics. Brilliant! I had no buffeting of any sort no matter how I positioned my head behind my stock Tiger screen. When I stood up in clean air the wind tunnel work they did on this lid was apparent. The air flow was very smooth even when head checking with no whistling or chatter at all.
Noise. This is the one area I feel let down,its no quieter then my other modular . It is mechanically quieter though, and by that I mean no creaking,squeaking or crackling from the actual helmet itself. The C3's better engineering is again obvious in that aspect.
Visual clarity. the screen is also brilliant,much clearer then any visor Ive used,the inner sliding visor is also very clear but to a lesser degree of clarity.
outer and inner visor mechanics. The outer visor has a few settings that I did not bother counting but the one I think that will get the most use is the "city setting" which is just one click away from being closed and lets just enough air in for comfort and defogging if needed. One hard click down and its fully closed and secure. There are finger tabs on both sides of center to allow either hand opening or closing. The inner dark visor works very well and locks securely in the up and out of the way setting despite some complaints I have heard to the contrary.It comes down far enough to be effective and I like it.
Chin strap. I don't like it,its bulky and has a choking affect when looking down but it is secure and like all things German,its overbuilt. I rather like my chinstraps simple double d rings but I will get used to this one.It sort of reminds me of a big zip tie to be honest.
Chin strap revision after a few hundred miles.
I like it,the initial bulkiness of it has disappeared and I love the quick disconnect to take the helmet off.
Chin bar. It locks on 2 metallic studs right in the vicinity of your rearward jaw area.It operates much like a car door latch and seems very sturdy. Because my face is rather fat the studs tend to get pushed further apart then the engagement mechanism in the chin bar and that cause latch up to not be as smooth as it should in my case.When I first had the helmet on in the house I was ready to send it back just for that but I learned I need to finesse it a bit so tried it on a ride. Out on the road I tried using the lift up chin bar several times and it closed up well and sure all half dozen times. I think it will break in fine.
Update for chinbar. its still iffy its gonna close correctly. I have thinner cheekpads on the way to alleviate the locking pins from spreading so far apart.
paint and cosmetic finish. I bought the anthracite model thinking that would be a matte finish but its a glossy greyish blue. The finish is very nice and the paint seems durable enough. The fitment of everything is very clean and sharp as it should be for a lid of this cost.
Interior. the comfort liner is well made and fairly plush but not as thick and cushiony as some other lids I have seen including the Chinese stuff Im used to. I get the impression that the liner is far better made and of better material then others I have experience with even if its less plush.
I love this lid,I do not foresee ever going back to the subquality helms I used in the past.
Nuff said
