Last year Arai sent a Profile helmet to me and said that I should use the heck out of it and then do the review. I’m not sure if doing the review a year later was what they had in mind but I did/do use the heck out of it so I think I followed their directions.

I’ve always been the guy wearing the HJC and KBC helmets because, well, they fit reasonably well and didn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy. Since I never wore an Arai before I would need to get fitted at a local dealer.

After trying on Arai’s other models and finding my forehead getting squished, I tried the Profile which is built for a “long-oval” shaped head. Low and behold my previously assumed to be round head was in fact a long-oval; this means it is longer front to back than it is wide (side to side). The next step in the process was to determine what size I was; this is where it got tricky.

Arai not only makes different shaped helmets for different shaped heads but they also make different size padding for those helmets that you can get separately. The trick, I learned, is to try on the helmet without the cheek pads in and see how the fit is around the top of your head. While a large seemed to fit me perfectly with the cheek pads in, a medium fit much better at the top of my head with the cheek pads out.

I needed to get a slimmer cheek pad than what comes standard in the medium helmet but the medium was the way to go. All that was left to do was choose the color…..hmmmm…..this may have been the hardest part since Arai has some beautiful helmet designs. What to do when you can’t decide which helmet color/design to choose? Why, go with black of course so that is what I did choosing the Black Frost color.

I was very excited to get and wear my new Arai Profile as I imagined women fainting and throwing themselves on me due to my extremely cool high-end helmet. You can imagine my disappointment when that didn’t happen. Lucky for me just about every other aspect of the helmet was wonderful which distracted me from my rock star like fantasy.

The exterior shape of the Arai profile seems to be very round; almost old-school kind of round especially when compared to some of the new helmet designs. Arai claims a redesign from the Quantum II (the helmet the Profile replaces in Arai’s line-up) but the redesign is definitely more evolution than revolution. This of course is not a bad thing at all as why fix something that isn’t broken.

The first thing I look at on any helmet is how easy it is to remove and replace the visor. After I got the Arai I started hearing horror stories about how difficult and tricky it was to swap out visors. I can say that I found all the rumors to be false, or at least misleading. Yes the Arai system takes a little longer to get used to but once you put the time and effort into learning it you are rewarded with visor changes that can be done in less than 20 seconds (I can swap visors in under 10 seconds).

The interior of the Arai is what I would call moderately plush. I’ve tried on helmets that used softer materials in the lining and padding but the Arai is certainly nicer inside than a lot of other brands. Another nice feature is that the lining is completely removeable for washing.

Another important feature in helmets, and one that very few seem to have, is good airflow capabilities. In Florida no helmet feels like it is flowing air during the summer; 90+ degree air that is saturated with 80% humidity doesn’t feel cool no matter how fast you go. Keeping that in mind it is only when the temps drop into the 80’s that you can feel the difference between a helmet that flows a good amount of air and one that doesn’t.The Arai flows a nice amount through not only the chin vent (2 position adjustable) but also through the top vents.

Chin-strap placement is also spot on and does have the little red snap so that you aren’t beaten to death by the loose end. One thing I was and still am baffled by is the chin “spoiler”. This is a piece that slides out from the chin-bar to, I assume, help block cold air from going into the helmet when it is not wanted. I have deployed this “spoiler” while riding different bikes and in varied temperatures but I have never felt any difference in airflow. Other people swear it works so your results may vary.

As my first “high-end” helmet the Arai has definitely shown me that you do indeed get what you pay for. Is it more crash worthy than less expensive helmets?…..I don’t know and I’d rather not find out, thank you very much. I can tell you that when you factor in the light weight, airflow, and respectable noise levels, it is hard to justify not spending a little extra money and buying an Arai. Throw in the quickest shield change mechanism I’ve found yet and a build and finish quality second to none and it makes it almost impossible to settle for anything less.