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While the race track is like no other I also enjoy long hours in the saddle. Doing 500-700 plus miles a day, you quickly learn what works and what doesn’t. Over the years I’ve narrowed my gear choices down and occasionally will try different things but as far as helmets go I’ve never found one that was what I’d call nearly perfect for long days in the saddle.

The first time I used a flip style helmet (about 7yrs ago) I immediately fell in love with the advantages of the flip helmet. Spending hours in the saddle you need to eat, drink and just get some fresh air….without stopping! The flip helmet design does this. Problem was every flip helmet was uncomfortable, fair to poor quality, very noisy, heavy and not the best in terms of user friendly. The latching systems were weak at best.

In early 2000 I read about the Schuberth helmet from other LD riders and immediately sourced one through a fellow internet buddy in Germany. The Schuberth was obviously of better quality, decent latching system that only required pressing or pulling one latch (new concept at the time), innovative venting with the face shield that pulled out slightly to prevent fogging, first aid data storage on the outside of the helmet and best of all a drop down dark half shield thus no longer requiring putting on or taking off sun glasses.

Fit wise the helmet ran one size small and fitment was average for my Arai RX7RR head. Bad points….helmet was very heavy and in my opinion one of the loudest helmets I’d worn. Especially so with the faceshield in the popped out position. According to my wife (and I’d agree) it was an ugly helmet too. Looked like a giant fishbowl on my head. Maybe it was the XXL size I required for my large head!

Well, after nearly 5 yrs and I’d estimate nearly 150K miles it was time for a new flip helmet. My first look was at the Schuberth line. Sure enough the new C2 had just hit the market and promised to have addressed all the complaints and Schuberth went so far as to say it was nearly as quiet as their new S1 helmet….I can tell you the S1 is a quiet helmet. Problem was the new sticker price for the latest and greatest….$550. A bit much for an everyday helmet so I began to look elsewhere.

Long story short…I ended up with the new Schuberth C2 just a couple days before my Colorado trip. After nearly 3000 miles of usage I can say that Schuberth has made one of the best flip helmets to date and frankly one of the best helmets I’ve owned (flipped or non-flipped).

Besides the S1 it is the quietest helmet I’ve ever worn. I wear ear plugs regardless if its a 5 mile trip or 500 mile trip. I don’t like the noise and find it really wears me out at the end of the day. On this trip I found I actually rode without ear plugs for a couple hours on one day and had no issues with ringing ears or fatigue. Remember, I was not behind a fairing but on my Aprilia Mille R catching a full wind blast. Venting actually worked well, though the pop out position of the face shield did add a lot of noise. The face shield worked well in each of its opened positions even while at speed. The old C1 version did not have enough tension to hold the shield in place while at speed. The flip down dark shield was a good as ever. Fitment was much better but I’d place it in above average. Nothing as good as my custom fit Arai.

How did Schuberth get the helmet so quiet. Remember, it still has all the latches, first aid patch, hinges and vents as the C1. One way they got the helmet so quiet is it fits snug all the way around the base. The front portion has a velcro’d add on piece that I removed. With this portion in place and all the vents closed there was virtually no air flow inside the helmet…great for those in colder climates. With vents open it was fine in our Phoenix, AZ desert heat.

Downside to the close fit around the back of the neck was a bit of irritation after some 4 days of 400+ miles per day. Nothing too bad but relevant. I should note it didn’t get any worse after some 7 days in the saddle. The latch system is still a single button that you slide forward (a bit stiff but should get better with time) but now you get dual “indicators” inside the helmet to let you know if the helmets two latches had properly latched. I’m sure this was added due to some US rider and their happy attorney who couldn’t take responsibility to ensure the helmet was properly closed and latched…sorry, rant off.

The system seems to work as I tried to gently close the helmet and partially close the latches without locking them…..the indicators correctly identified which latch was not in the locked position.

As for looks, it no longer looks like a giant fish bowl. I got a thumbs up from the wife so all is good. As for sizing, I still needed an XXL verses my normal XL size with other brands. Other positives… the inside is removable/washable and the ear cup is quite large. If you wear ear plugs or those who wear earphones you won’t have a problem fitting those and causing problems with fitment over your ears. There’s so much room you could easily install large speakers under the lining with no problems either.

The outer clear shield appears to be of the same high quality as the C1. I only had to replace one shield in all that time due to scratches. The inside still has the anti fog layer so care should be taken when applying anything other than water and soft cloth to the inside. As for the dark shield its the same as the C1 and of high quality/anti scratch. I never had to replace my old one.

I can say that the $550 entry price was hard to swallow but after spending some time with this new version Schuberth did their homework and have a real winner on their hands. My Arai helmets may never get worn again!