5 Of The Best Arai Motorcycle Helmets On Amazon, According To Users

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

A quality helmet is the single most essential piece of protective equipment that a motorcyclist can invest in. You only get one head after all, and protecting it should be at the very top of your list of priorities any time you ride. There are a lot of great brands on the market to choose from. One of the more premium brands that you might have seen floating around is Arai. This helmet manufacturer was founded in the 1950s and was one of the first to start making motorcycles in Japan. Arai is still a family-owned company, but it has expanded significantly over the decades. Its modern helmets are made from a blend of proprietary resins and a special kind of fiberglass called Super Fiber, which is 30% stronger than regular fiberglass. This allows Arai to make helmets that maximize fiber content in order to keep the shell's weight low and its impact resistance high. Many of them also sport an R75 rounded shape that is designed to make impacts glance off the helmet rather than having the concussive force absorbed by the padding (and your skull).

Those who have been considering getting one of the company's helmets may first want to know a bit more about which of these models has the highest ratio of user satisfaction. A quick search will tell you that, while Arai makes dirt bike helmets and open-faced urban helmets, it's their full-face street and racing helmets that regularly score the highest among users. By taking a look at what customers have had to say about these top-rated models on Amazon, you can get a much better idea of which Arai helmets offer the best in terms of fit, comfort, features, and, most importantly, safety.

The first time you search for Arai helmets on Amazon, you'll quickly notice that several variations of the Arai Corsair-X are among the top-rated models that the company manufactures. That isn't much of a surprise, though. The Corsair-X is Arai's flagship racing helmet. It's designed with aerodynamics, ventilation, and stability at the forefront, giving it a streamlined look and feel that's perfect for motorcyclists who like to push their machines to their limits. It has a VAS Max Vision Shield visor, which reduces fogging to enhance visibility in all weather, as well as adjustable air inlets to provide improved sealing and reduced noise. The helmet has a quick-release latch face shield. The helmet has DOT, FMVSS 218, and Snell safety certifications.

Each color and decal design of all the Arai helmets has its own separate listing on Amazon, but the name Contour-X pops up over and over when looking at the highest-ranked models. Nearly a dozen of these helmets have perfect 5-star scores on Amazon, while several other variations are close behind with ratings in the high fours. Users regularly praise the high safety rating as well as the comfort, fit, and ventilation. "What I like about this Arai the most is the comfort, you can feel the upgraded comfort the second you slide it on," said one user. "The hand-painted graphics obviously add to the price, so that's what you're paying for: top-tier graphics and comfort. It's the Mercedes-Benz of Helmets." The editors at Motorcycle.com seem to agree, giving the helmet a stellar 92.75% score in their testing, with a perfect 10/10 for both protection and design.

The Arai Signet-X is another highly rated model. This one is ever-so-slightly more affordable than its sibling, with smaller fins at the rear and a slightly longer, narrower, and more ovular shell. The helmet boasts a peripherally belted, complex laminate construction that promises performance while keeping the weight down and the price a bit lower. This is why the Signet-X is often regarded by users as one of the best lightweight helmets out there. It has the same VAS Max Vision faceshield with adjustable air inlets as well as the quick-release on the visor. Like the Corsair, this helmet also boasts both DOT and FMVSS 218 certifications as well as Snell Memorial Foundation M2020D certification.

This Arai model also has several variations with perfect 5-star scores on Amazon. Customers frequently cite comfort (particularly the narrower head shape) as well as aerodynamics and ventilation as reasons for their positive reviews. "I have had Arai and Shoei helmets in the past and knew that was the quality I was looking for," one reviewer stated. "This helmet does not disappoint and is well worth the money, knowing I got the best of the best on my head."

Pro reviewers seem to appreciate the helmet's design as well. Gary Ilminen of Ultimate Motorcycling stated that its high safety features actually make it a good value, in spite of the sticker shock. He explained that "it has the essential safety-related qualities a person would want in a helmet. After that are features that affect the user experience—weight, comfort of fit/sizing, ventilation, ease of use, functionality of controls, wind noise suppression, aerodynamics, faceshields, graphics/colors, fit and finish, accessories, and a five-year warranty." Add all that up, and it's easy to see why customers like it too.

Next up, we have the Arai Contour-X — another oval helmet that resides in the more intermediate price range. You might notice quite a few design similarities between the Contour and the Signet. Both have a similar shape, both feature similarly placed aerodynamic intake and exhaust ports, and both have earned DOT and FMVSS 218 certifications. The Contour was designed with comfort at the fore, with a widened entry point that makes donning and removing the helmet easier and more comfortable.

It might not be at the absolute top-end of Arai's lineup, but the Contour models still regularly place in the 4.8 to 5-star review range. This newer street helmet is regularly praised for its aerodynamics and stability, but the comfort is what most people point out. One user who claimed that they had been wearing Arai helmets for nearly 25 years stated, "This Arai Contour-X Helmet is the very best one so far, and that's putting it mildly. The comfort level is the most lasting impression among the various aspects of this premium product." 

Several people also pointed out that it has built-in spaces where riders can add a communication system, making this helmet easy to customize. Ryan Adams of Motorcycle.com reviewed this helmet and gave it an 89%. He called the comfort "unrivaled," stating, "The Contour-X has proven to tick every box I could ask for in a helmet during our unusual weather shifts here in California. I'd be grabbing it each time I left the house anyway, thanks to the comfort, but those extra features have highlighted just how versatile this setup is." He also praised the aerodynamics and ventilation, while saying that one of the few downsides is that the shield locking mechanism can be a bit tricky.

The Arai Quantum-X is a helmet that's all about prepping for the crash you hope never happens. It's another intermediate range helmet with a rounded shape and a super smooth shell that's designed to slide and deflect in the event of a crash rather than absorb impact. This is why nearly everything on the helmet is rounded out, to reduce the number of sharp points that could catch on the passing asphalt. It has the VAS faceshieled with a dual-pivot system that lowers the helmet's temple area, further reducing impact energy absorption. It has a QVF three-position intake and QVR exhaust ducts as well as side vents that exhaust when the shutter is closed. It's DOT, FMVSS 218, and Snell certified as well.

The Quantum is still quite new, and there haven't been many reviews on Amazon as of yet, but those reviews that it has received have almost unanimously been 5 stars. Customers who prefer rounder designs seem to love the Quantum-X, as it provides many of the more premium features that you might typically find in the company's more oblong-shaped models. "Perfect fit for the round shape head," one reviewer said. "Well ventilated for hot climates." Simon Mallinson of King's Motorcycle Gear had a similar experience putting the helmet on. "The round, oval shape fits my head perfectly, providing a snug yet comfortable fit that I haven't experienced with other helmets." He said the ventilation system works well, and that while he initially struggles with the VAS shield system's operation, he eventually came around to liking it. "I feel confident in its protective capabilities, which gives me peace of mind on every ride."

The last helmet on our list is another newer addition to the company's lineup: The Arai Regent-X. This is often cited as one of the best motorcycle helmets for new riders, according to bikers, as it offers the brand's legendary build quality and its unique safety features at a lower price point than most of the other helmets that the company manufactures. It has dual intake vents as well as brow and chin vents, an oval outer shell designed to slide and deflect, and a redesigned shell that makes it easier to put on and remove. The ratings on this helmet aren't quite as high as the other models we've looked at from Arai. 

One or two models have managed to hold onto their 5-star ratings, but most seem to be hovering around the mid-4s. Even so, the helmet still comes highly recommended by the vast majority of reviewers. "It is so comfortable it feels like I'm putting my head in a giant marshmallow," said one. "Flipping the visor up while riding is not as easy as it should be. Other than that, it's a stellar helmet." Evans Brasfield of Motorcycle.com reviewed this helmet, giving it an overall score of 91.75 out of 100. He spent a few days using the helmet while riding around Japan and had a lot to say about it. "The Regent-X felt like it was fully broken in from the first time I put it on," he said. "While I was never bothered by the tight opening of previous Arais I've tested, donning the Regent-X is noticeably easier. Second, the helmet is remarkably quiet at highway speeds with the vents open...Finally, the Regent-X has the lowest retail price for a full-face Arai street helmet that I can remember."

I've been riding motorcycles for over 17 years and have done my fair share of research on protective riding gear in that time. In making this list, I started by going on Amazon and searching for the top Arai helmet models, then sorting the results by the average customer rating. I looked at the top models, checking to make sure that scores remained high across multiple color variations and sizes in order to be sure that the ratings were relatively consistent across the board.

There weren't many reviews available on most of these products on Amazon, however, so I also decided to look into professional reviews from reviewers who did their own testing and reported their personal experiences with the helmets. That way, I could verify with a degree of confidence that the praise heaped on these helmets by the relatively slim number of reviewers wasn't skewed in any way.