Product Review: Shoei J.O Waimea

I’ve never been an open face helmet user, mainly as I’ve mostly ridden sportsbikes up until last year. I’m enjoying all types of riding these days, a bit like my early journalism days in the early 2000s. As a result, I now get to wear lots of different gear, more comfortable than full leathers, too. This year, for all of my running around and cruising about, one of the lids I’ve really grown to love is the Shoei J.O. Mine is the Waimea version and I have a tinted and a yellow tint visor. It’s an extremely comfortable lid and of course, being a Shoei, finish and quality are of the highest standard. 

The Shoei J.O is a great open face lid for general running around and cruising, anything under 100km/h is comfortable and the flip down screen is brilliant.

I have covered approximately 2000km wearing the J.O, through Autumn, Winter (the warmer Winter days) and now Spring. I find it useful for running around and commuting in, as I don’t need to take it off when I stop for fuel, shopping or at the post office. I also enjoy the breeze in my face and the freedom of the open face lid. Of course, I personally would not push on hard wearing an open face lid but that is a personal choice…

The neat features I like with the J.O are, first and foremost, the solid feel that is has as a fibreglass outer shell helmet. At 1050 grams it is solid enough while still being lightweight and as the sides come well forward past your ears, covering your cheek bones, the J.O feels more secure than some open face lids. Secondly, once fastened, the J.O feels very secure. The lining is really plush and comfy and I’ve had no itchy scalp! Also, the lining is removable and I have hand washed it once.

The J.O Shoei lining is removable and can be washed. Fitment is quick and easy.

The lining clips in and out quickly and easily for washing.

The goggle strap is handy for carrying the helmet around, but I haven’t used it for securing goggles as the integrated visor is fine. The visor can be set to three different positions with a stop button that allows you to set the visor to stop just above your nose, although with my big nose it still hits!

Height of the visor is three way adjustable.

The visor itself is optically good and the Dark Tint version I mostly use is just right, even as it starts to get dark, although in full darkness a quick and easy change to the clear visor is required.

For an open face helmet, the J.O is exceptionally quiet and amazingly, pretty warm! Obviously you get a cold face in any open face lid but the rest of your noggin remains toasty with the J.O. It is also, in my opinion, really stylish.

The goggle hook is handy for carrying the lid as well as securing goggles.

Any negatives? At speeds over 90-100km/h, the J.O begins to lift and if I tilt my head forward, the visor presses uncomfortably hard on my nose. Also, over 80-90km/h there is air turbulence behind the visor, which makes my eyes water. So, I have to stick to off freeway or open road speeds while wearing the J.O. which in all honesty, is no problem! All up, a really impressive helmet that is showing no signs of wear, is easy to clean and I for one am looking forward to using to cruise around the esplanades this summer. Worth a look if you are in the market for an open face, retro styled helmet.

2017 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Shoei J.O Features

MULTI-PLY MATRIX AIM SHELL
• Shoei aim 6 layer composite shell for optimum rigidity
• 3 Shell sizes and 4 eps sizes ensure perfect size and fit from XS through to XXL
• Superlight weight – from only 950 grams!
• Ultra-compact design ensures low, snug fit

INTEGRATED CJ-3 VISOR
• Integrated CJ-3 visor with protection from 99% of harmful UV rays
• Adjustable in 3 positions for perfect comfort
• Accessory visor colours available separately: Clear, Dark Tint, Hi-Def Yellow
• Wind tunnel design to restrict turbulence
• 100% optically correct

DUAL-LAYER / 4 PIECE MULTI-DENSITY EPS LINER
• Multi-density EPS liner for premium impact absorbtion
• Optimised protection through eps elements with different shock absorbing levels
• No safety compromise due to visor – most helmet manufacturers sacrifice the thickness of the EPS-liner in the front of the helmet to provide room for an internal visor. This results in a big loss of safety. Shoei keeps the same thickness EPS through the entire helmet so there is no compromise to safety

DETACHABLE AND WASHABLE 3D INTERIOR
• Premium 3D comfort liner with leather edging
• Fully removable, washable and replaceable interior
• Multi-layer 3D contoured cheek pads offer maximum comfort & hold
• Non-reflective liner material around visor opening reduces reflection for enhanced visibility
• Cheek pads available in varying thickness for custom fitting

DOUBLE D-RING RETENTION SYSTEM

REAR GOGGLE STRAP with SHOEI logo.

SOLID COLOUR RRP $529.90
GRAPHIC RRP $629.90
CJ-3 VISORS (CLEAR, TINT, YELLOW) RRP $79.95

Special thanks to McLeod Accessories.