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Overview
The GT Air is Shoei’s answer to need for a sporty looking helmet for commuters and sports tourers. It features an integrated sun visor, a huge amount of ventilation and intercom ready. If you’re looking for all day comfort, this should be a serious contender. And when I say all day comfort I mean you can wear this thing for a full 10 hours plus, without complaints. One of the key comments from the press is around the excellent stability the GT Air provides even at speed. For me the biggest downfall is the 3 star SHARP rating, which from the test looks like it had an area on the right side of the helmet that caused it to drop to 3 stars, as the rest of the safety critical areas performed well. It’s very lightweight at around 1450 grams, which adds to it’s ability to provide all day comfort.
At the end of the day, it’s a Shoei, it’s going to be great.
Price
The average price of a Shoei helmet at SportsBikeShop is £399. So the GT Air helmet comes in above average, priced from £429 to £509. But as you’ll see shortly, it delivers above expectations. The majority of the range can be picked up at £429, but there are some newer funkier paint schemes that attract the higher price point.
The average price of a helmet at our partner site SportsBikeShop is around £215. The GT Air comes in well above the average, but for anyone that’s ever owned a Shoei, you’ll know why. For anyone that hasn’t you will need to try one to appreciate the higher price point. We’re confident that even at £400+ you’re getting what you pay for with the GT Air.
Quality and Safety
Ok let’s address the elephant in the room. It’s a £400-£500 helmet and it only scored a 3 star SHARP rating. Not great. So it’s worth exploring some of the facts. For a start the GT AIR is of course ECE 22.05 approved, this is a legal requirement in the UK for a road legal helmet. The ECE 22.05 rating carries out it’s own safety tests to ensure the helmet provides an adequate level of safety. Tests include rigidity, abrasion resistance, impact absorption, retention system, peripheral vision and chin strap. Whilst we’re disappointed in the 3 star rating, there are lots of positives when it comes to safety on this lid.
The image below shows where the GT Air let’s us down in the SHARP test, which suggests that the right side of the helmet let it down. I’m speculating, but this could be because there’s additional space within the helmet to support intercom systems.
Quality
In terms of quality the Shoei has plenty going for it. The shell is made from the same advanced AIM multi composite fibre construction as the Shoei NXR. The benefit of the AIM construction is that it’s made up of a number of fibres for added protection and comfort. Five different types of fibre are used to provide various layers of rigidity and elasticity to absorb impacts, whilst keeping the helmet extremely light.
The same level of safety goes for inside the helmet, the technology that goes into the liner is pretty cool. The EPS liner has multiple levels of density to provide safety and impact absorption where it matters. The liners are removable for easy cleaning. The GT-Air features a built in visor which I’ll talk about later. Shoei claim to have kept the full level of support from the EPS lining, meaning the sun visor hasn’t compromised protection. Something few manufacturers can claim, as often the sun visor takes up precious space that would have been internal protection.
The helmet feels solid and is going to last for years, but one of it’s greatest strengths is it’s comfort. You genuinely can wear this helmet all day without discomfort. We’ve picked out a few key Shoei GT Air reviews from SportsBikeShop customers to help you.
GT Air Customer Reviews
✅Mark – Jan 18 – “This has to be the most comfortable helmet I’ve ever owned, fits like a glove, very sound proof, extremely well made and designed to take a communications system, came with Pinlock.”
✅Adam – April 17 – “Coming from an Arai Quantum ST I’m blown away by the difference in quality.”
✅Anonymous – March 17 – “This is my 3rd GT Air in a row now. I’ve tried other branded helmets (cheaper and more expensive) but haven’t been satisfied with the build quality, weight or fit.”
Size
I’m always impressed by a manufacturer that offers a good range of sizes in their helmets, and even more impressed when they offer different shell sizes to suit. The GT Air has 3 different shell sizes, which essentially means you’re going to get a better fitted helmet that isn’t unnecessarily larger than it needs to be. Probably helps explain why RIDE magazine say it’s an extremely stable helmet. This also keeps weight down too.
It’s available in sizes XS through to 2XL at SportsBikeShop.
XS = 53-54
S = 55-56
M = 57-58
L = 59-60
XL = 61-62
2XL = 63-64
There are only positive reviews about its fit from customer reviews, however sadly none of them detail how well it fits true to size. Our advice would be to order true to size as our experience with Shoei is that they come up pretty true to their size guide. Just remember that when you’re buying a new helmet, a lot of the padding will be stiff, so you may feel like the helmet is too snug. But persevere, as long as it’s a close fit and you’re just feeling the side padding pushing into your face slightly, it will ease over time to make a comfortable fit.
Wind Noise
As with any helmet, I’m going to start by saying that wind noise is a very subjective matter, it depends on experiences, riding conditions, the bike, and of course what the rider considers loud.
The helmet comes complete with some removable noise reducing ear pads, which are a real help. Although RIDE magazine say that they still don’t provide enough soundproofing to be able to wear the helmet without earplugs on their long journeys. Their guess, and ours, is that the GT Air has gained some wind noise due to the space made for the intercom systems that you can add in.
This anonymous Shoei GT Air review at SportsBikeShop probably hits the nail on the head, in that it provides a good level of soundproofing, but if you are going to be using it on longer journeys just stick in some earplugs.
“I ride an MT-09 with the Akrapovic sport exhaust, and the noise level is comfortable for normal/medium journeys. I pop in earplugs for longer journeys though, just to be safe.”
Another nice comment suggests that the helmet provides good sound reduction.
“Very quiet and aerodynamic helmet, you can feel the air glide past”
I think that’s as much as I can say for the wind noise, generally the comments are really good, but if you’re going to be doing long journeys, play it safe and wear earplugs.
Ventilation
The clue is in the name, I know. But the GT Air has some phenomenal ventilation built in to it. The air vents are really big and to allow for extra air to be pushed through the helmet. The helmet features an air vent on the chin, as well as the large vent seen at the top of the helmet. Combine the two air in vents, with the exhaust vent at the rear and you’ve got one of the best ventilated helmets I’ve come across. The chin air vent admittedly doesn’t do a huge amount for keeping your head cool, but it is great for circulating fresh air around your face and stopping your visor from misting.
Visor
The visor on the Shoei GT AIR has a number of stand out features to give it a great all round review. The field of vision is comparable to the best of the best, with a really good view of the road. The GT Air also benefits from an integrated sun visor which is both anti-fog and anti-scratch and protects you from UV too. The sun visor is easily operated from the side of the helmet using a simple slider. The tint on the sun visor seems to have hit the perfect balance of keeping the sun out of your eyes, but not so dark that you can’t see when the sun is behind clouds.
The visor itself is pinlock ready to give you extra anti-fogging should you choose to use a pinlock insert.
Visor removal is extremely simple as demonstrated by SportsBikeShop at the bottom of this review.
Styling
Shoei haven’t held back in the styling choices of the GT Air. Starting with the shape, the helmet has a real sporty style to it. Having gone through air tunnel testing it has been shaped for the ultimate aerodynamics, and this really shows when you ride it. It features integrated air spoilers to direct the airflow. Much of the surface of the GT-Air is flush in order to improve airflow so overall the styling is simple but sporty.
Colour options are endless with around 14 different colours available from SportsBikeShop, there’s an option to suit every taste. Personally I really like the Matt black helmet but some of the more detailed paint jobs are really smart too.
Other Features
- AIM multi composite fibre construction
- Mist resistant CNS-1 Pinlock system
- Double D-Ring
- Emergency quick release system
- Anti fog, anti scratch inner sun visor
- Detachable and washable centrepad and cheekpads
- Noise reducing ear pads
- Prepared for intercom installation
- Multiple venting and extraction
- Inlet vents on the brow and chin
- Exhaust vents at rear of helmet
- Integrated rear spoiler
Summary
PROs
Overall Shoei has done a cracking job producing this helmet. If you’re in the market for a helmet that will deliver all day comfort, incredible airflow, lightweight, good stability and a sun visor you seriously can’t go wrong with the GT Air.
Cons
No real complaints with the helmet, just disappointed it only received 3 stars in it’s SHARP test.
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Shoei GT Air Videos
Shoei GT Air Helmet Review
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Safety
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Comfort
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Noise
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Features
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Quality
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Value
Summary
A stunning helmet with a great amount of features, with incredible comfort and airflow. It’s just a shame it only scored 3/5 in the SHARP test.
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