New Viper owner looking for helmet advise

[ViperVT]

Hello all, New to the site, as well as Yamaha and 4 strokes. But plan on doing more riding than I have in the past and looking for an all day helmet.
I was looking at the Castle X-950, which seemed comfortable and is close to home to try on. But my brother in law also mentioned the Skidoo Mod-3. The closest place to try one on is about an hour away. Can anyone compare from personal experience? Would it be worth driving to look at the Mod-3?

 

[Wannaviper]

I have not had direct comparison experience, but I currently ride the Castle X-950 with an electric shield, and I am very happy with the helmet. I have run several different modular helmets over the years, and I have never been totally happy with any of them. Most recently I had an FXR Fuel helmet, which I liked, but I had to run the electric shield most of the time, and the sun visor would almost always fog up on me.

The Castle helmet is by far the best modular helmet I have ever owned. I only have to use the electric shield occasionally, with the helmet staying fog free most of the time, and that includes the integrated sun visor. The helmet is very comfortable, but does fit in tight to face, which I think may help to explain why it rarely fogs up. It seems to be a warm helmet, with minimal drafts (for a modular) and we run Bluetooth communicators that come through loud and clear, so I think it is a relatively quiet helmet. If the helmet is sized to fit you, and you like the feel of it in the showroom, I think you will be very happy with it on the sled. I would still spring the extra for the electric shield; it does come in handy on rare occasions.

 

[Vmax]

I use the FXR Torque X Evo with electric shield and it has never fogged in 2 years of riding in extreme cold or mild. For the price it is a winner IMO

 

[ViperVT]

Thanks for the info! I’ve currently got a Fulmer modular non heated and it fogs terribly. My HJC has an electric shield but is so old the inside is deteriorating. I haven’t seen the FXR carried anywhere locally, but I’ll take a look online as well.

 

[cannondale27]

Look at ckx modulars

 

[smoothride]

Breaking the law wearing a skidoo helmet on a Yamaha.lol
But if you wear one and it fits good you will still be ok.lol

 

[TILAM1]

One thing I pick up from the original post is "try on". Hopefully when you find the helmet you like that you will buy it from the place you tried it on and not on-line. We need to support our local dealers so they will still be there when we need a belt right now or emergency service. Give the dealer a chance to try to match or come close to the internet price. They don't make much money just selling sleds and we want them around. Buy local.

 

[ViperVT]

Breaking the law wearing a skidoo helmet on a Yamaha.lol
But if you wear one and it fits good you will still be ok.lol

I'm pretty much a misfit these days anyway. Riding a Yamaha with an Arctic Cat coat, and a 1980 something helmet...Haha We'll get there eventually, now that I finally bought a comfortable sled to ride!

 

[ViperVT]

One thing I pick up from the original post is "try on". Hopefully when you find the helmet you like that you will buy it from the place you tried it on and not on-line. We need to support our local dealers so they will still be there when we need a belt right now or emergency service. Give the dealer a chance to try to match or come close to the internet price. They don't make much money just selling sleds and we want them around. Buy local.

I agree 100%. We don't have a lot of shops around here, so we definitely try to keep the local guys in business. I'm just wondering if it would be worth the hour drive to try on the BRP (not skidoo! Haha) modular 3 or not.

 

[tony2times]

I have both of those helmets - The Castle X 950 and the Mod 3. They are both great helmets.

The Ski Doo Modular series of helmets have a reputation for being a great fog free helmet without the need to run a heated visor. I ran them for years because I didn't want to deal with heated visor cable (fuses, bad connections, shorts, tangles, etc). The downside of these helmets is also what makes them great; the breath box. The rubber breath box works so well because it is tightly strapped to your face and covers your mouth and nose. I never really had a problem with it; however, I know some riders that didn't like having it stuck to their face all day. Additionally, the breath box collects a lot of moisture. BRP sells packs of cotton pads to line the breath box to combat the issue and they work well, but it does represent and additional cost over the course of a year. Lastly, if you are interested in running a Bluetooth comm unit, you are going to have a hard time doing it with the breath box covering your mouth.

I switched to a 950 last year solely for the ability to run a communicator. Running a cable to a heated shield did not present the issues I thought it would. Initially I would forget to unplug the cable when I'd stop to refuel and end up yanking it out of the visor. The cable will come unplugged every once in a while, especially if I'm really active in how I'm riding that day. After a few rides, dealing with the cable really becomes second nature and I don't seem to have any issues with it now. You'll figure out the best way to route the cable down your jacket and over your bars and those issues will go away. I've also never had an issue with fuses. I run an RCA adapter to the 12v on the dash.

The 950 has been a great helmet, I find myself using it more than the Mod helmet based solely on the ability to run the bluetooth comms. I also have come to appreciate not having the BRP breath box strapped to my grill all day. I don't think you are going to go wrong with either. One last thought, if you buy the Mod 3 and want to run a comm. unit, or get sick of the breath box, you can always get a heated visor for that helmet and ditch the mask. With the 950, it will fog without the heated visor over the course of a day. Both helmets are comfortable and I never had a problem with leaks. I do believe the Mod 2 has and extra vent that the Mod 3 does not. The 950 has 2 vents that work well.

Scorpion makes the 950 for Castle X. It's the EXO AT950, shop them both, you may be able to find a deal.

Either way you go, try them both on, a properly fitted helmet is going to save your life. If its too loose or tight - you're going to have an F'd up day.

All of this is just one man's opinion - except for the part about properly fitting your helmet!

 

[SAB1]

I'm on my third season with the Castle 950 with heated shield and love it. Great helmet.