Summary: Shell seems bulky. The
exhaust vents and design of the liner allow higher than
average noise levels. Rotating visor can only be
used in the on or off positions.
The HJC FS-10 fills a gap that HJC apparently
perceived in their lineup. The FS-10 is one of the
most expensive HJC helmets at $249.99 (solid), which is
more expensive than the top-of-the-line
HJC AC-12 (wBW
review), which lists for $229.99 (as of this
writing).
The HJC CL-SP (wBW
review), is next in the lineup, and it lists for a
reasonable $169.99 and is a bargain at that price.
The CL-SP's low price is probably due to its
polycarbonate shell, which some riders actually prefer
for what some claim is a longer duration time in the
distribution of G-forces during impact, which may
theoretically lower the amount of force transmitted to
the rider's head. Is it possible then that CL-SP
owners are paying less for more?
The FS-10 has the same "Advanced Fiberglass Composite
Weave Shell" as the HJC AC-12, which could theoretically
lower the weight, but the addition of an internal
rotating sun visor and the mechanism that controls it,
which incorporates a rather large exhaust vent on the
rear of the helmet, seems to add the weight that might
have been saved.
All told, I have been riding with the HJC FS-10 for
several weeks in a variety of conditions, and although
it's a decent helmet, I'm just not overwhelmed, and I've
been struggling to figure out how this helmet fits into
the HJC product mix. HJC is known for high quality
helmets at very reasonable price points, but the FS-10
doesn't meet that goal, in my opinion.
Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality We've found HJC helmets to have some of the best quality you can find
for the price, and the FS-10 is no exception. I may disagree with the
company's strategy with the FS-10, but I can't argue with the build quality.
Our size XL is a solid white, which
makes it difficult to judge the quality of the graphics
and the paint, but ours is very nicely turned out.
The paint has no orange peel or dust bumps, although I'm
not sure about the clear coat -- the HJC decal on the
front of the helmet is not located under the clear coat,
which makes me wonder if there really is a clear coat
over the paint.
But everything else has been assembled
with precision; the liner seems to be high quality, it
fits perfectly, the gasket around the bottom of the
helmet is tight and perfectly aligned and the hardware,
levers and switches all work as they should and don't
feel cheap.
The "RapidFire" visor removal system has
be the fastest and easiest-to-use system we've seen yet,
although I'm not sure if it would pass the racer test
for security. The eye port gasket is nicely done,
but the only exception is that the very topmost corners
of the gasket don't seal fully against the back of the
clear visor when it's closed.
Score: We give the HJC FS-10 an "Excellent"
rating for paint and overall quality. See
the ratings descriptions in the summary table at the end of this page.
Helmet Fit and Comfort and Internal Shape
The FS-10 has what I'd call a "round" internal shape.
The helmet shell on our size XL seems very large -- it's
one of the few XL helmets I've tried recently that have
that "fishbowl" or "space helmet" feeling, like the
shell is too big for my head or for the size of the
helmet.
For more information on the importance of internal
shapes and choosing and
fitting a motorcycle helmet, please see the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page.
The helmet does look very large when I put it on a
table next to some other helmets; for example, it seems
much bigger than the
Arai Quantum
II, so I don't think I'm dreaming.
But the liner is very comfortable; it doesn't have
that slightly scratchy feeling that I seem to get from
the average helmet. The FS-10 uses what HJC calls
its "SilverCool" liner, which is claimed to be
"moisture-wicking and odor-free...with advanced silver
anti-bacterial fabric."
The liner and cheek pads are also removable and
washable, and although the padding feels nice and thick,
the liner fabric doesn't necessarily feel plush, but it
does have a very soft feel, almost like doe skin suede.
The combination of the thick padding and the fabric make
for a comfy fit.
Note that I think either the padding at the forehead
is either slightly thin or the helmet is slightly tight
around the top, because I do feel a bit of pressure on
my forehead when wearing the helmet, which for me is
unusual. Although it feels slightly tight, it
hasn't bothered me during rides of about 1-2 hour
duration.
Also, as with many helmets, the padding at the bottom
rear doesn't seem thick enough and it doesn't fit
tightly against the back of my head and neck, which
might help prevent some of the booming wind noise I
experience (see below).
This size XL FS-10 feels like a near-perfect size XL
fit, maybe just a touch small around the top of the
head, so I'll have to assume that the helmet will fit
true to size across the rest of the sizes, which run
from XS to XXL.
Each ear pocket is filled with a separate triangular
shaped section of padding, which I think could be easily
cut from the liner if desired for the installation of
speakers. I can wear my regular length eyeglasses
with the FS-10, even though the liner doesn't have a
specifically designed eyeglass temple notch. See
our article on
modifying a pair of eyeglasses to fit inside a
motorcycle helmet.
Score: I'll give the FS-10 an
"Excellent" for its internal shape and the
comfort of the liner, which should fit a wide variety of
riders. That drops to a "Good" when taking into
account the seemingly larger-than-normal shell size for
the XL.
Air Flow
The HJC FS-10 has two vents on top, which open with a single sliding switch.
The vent opening faces the front of the helmet, and it would probably move
more air if it was wider. When the top sliding switch is moved towards
the rear, some plastic moves back in the vent opening, but the opening is
very small, and I can't believe more than a very tiny amount of air gets
through.
It's actually a shame, because there was
some care taken to create channels in the foam liner,
the padding and even through the back of the liner at
the rear of the helmet to allow air to flow through and
out the back of the helmet. But the vent just
doesn't seem to allow much air to flow through into the
helmet.
The chin vent also uses a small vertical
switch lever, but the chin bar does not have holes in
back; the air flows up on to the back of the visor only.
The helmet has a large exhaust vents at the rear, at the
back of the raised assembly that also holds the mechanism for the rotating
internal sun visor. Two vertical exhaust vents at the lower rear of
the helmet also allow air to escape.
The upper exhaust vents cause some
noise, especially when the helmet is turned side-to-side
while riding. I can put my hand over the vents and
the noise ceases.
Score: I'll give the HJC FS-10 a "Poor" rating for
venting and air flow.
Helmet Weight Our size XL FS-10 weighs 1641 grams (3
lbs., 9-7/8 oz.); slightly heavier than the average
weight of 1628.5 grams for the 80 helmets we've reviewed
as of this writing.
The strange thing is that the helmet feels heavier
than it really is. I think it must be a
combination of the seemingly large-sized shell and the
shape. The "fishbowl" effect provided by the large
shell also seems to make the helmet feel heavier than
normal, and the large shell also moves around in
turbulent air and crosswinds, bouncing the helmet and
adding to the feeling of mass.
For more information on helmet weights, see the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet Weights page for a chart comparing
the FS-10 with the other 79 helmets we've reviewed
as of this writing.
Score: Although the FS-10 should get a
"Good", I'll have to give it a "Poor" for the
combination of shape and weight, which make it feel
heavier than normal, in my opinion.
Visor
The FS-10 is available with either a clear or optional
tinted visor. The visor is treated with HJC's
anti-fog and anti-scratch coating, and it's claimed to
filter 95% of UV rays. I measured the thickness of
the visor with a micrometer at 2.2 mm.
The visor does open just a crack to allow fresh air
to enter, which is a nice feature. But it only
opens up in 3 stages, with a top, shorter fourth stage
allowing visor removal.
The removal mechanism has to be the fastest and
easiest I've ever tried. Flip up the visor, move a
lever towards the back and the visor simply pops off.
This is demonstrated in our video tour below.
A rocker switch on the left-hand side locks the visor
closed if desired, to prevent it from accidentally
opening when riding.
Score: We rate the visor clarity, operation and
visibility of the FS-10 as "Excellent".
The top vents only open a very small amount.
Rear Exhaust Vent Assembly
wBW
Video Tour
of the HJC FS-10 Motorcycle Helmet
Rotating Sun Visor
The FS-10 has an internally rotating sun visor, and
apparently this is one of the main selling features of
this helmet. My feeling is that the helmet -- no
helmet -- should be chosen on that particular feature.
The rotating sun shade in the FS-10 has what I think
is a poor design because it is usable at only two
positions: on and off. The spring-loaded visor is
engaged by sliding a lever located on top of the helmet
forward about 55 mm. To disengage the visor, a
small button on top of the helmet is pressed and the
visor snaps closed.
This may be some attempt by HJC to avoid a
theoretical liability issue, where they think that if
the visor is only partially engaged, it may affect the
rider's vision. Or, it may simply be what they
think is a clever idea. But this feature
diminishes the capability of the visor because it can't
be lowered only part way to shield the sun coming in
from above the rider's eyes.
The other problem, which is common on every one of
the internal sun shades we've tried, is that it doesn't
come down far enough to move out of the rider's line of
sight. And, it's curved at the bottom and with a
notch for the rider's nose, which is silly, because
there's basically no way that I can see that the visor
would interfere with a nose.
Finally, like just about every other rotating sun
shade we've tried, the tint isn't dark enough to have
much of an effect anyway. I'll bet the
manufacturers are scared silly of being accused of
making the visor too dark, which someone will use in a
lawsuit.
Combine all of this together with the added weight
and complexity of the internally rotating sun visor, and
it adds up to a negative, rather than a positive, in my
opinion. But take away this feature and, to be
honest, you'd have a mediocre helmet at best -- my
feeling is that the helmet is not up to the value
equation that HJC is known for.
Give me a nice dark internal sun shade with perfect
optical clarity, that rotates all the way down to the
bottom of the eye port, with a straight edged bottom,
that is infinitely adjustable up and down and that
weighs maybe 50 grams, and I'll be all over it. In
the meantime, no thanks.
Score: I rate the internally rotating
sun visor as "Poor".
Noise Levels
Two of us have ridden extensively with the FS-10, and
our opinion is that it transmits more wind noise than
average.
The problem seems to come from two areas: the large
raised center spine that houses the front vent, the sun
visor rotating mechanism and the rear exhaust vents; and
the design of the padding at the bottom and in back of
the helmet, which needs to be thicker to block the noise
caused by turbulence around the bottom of the helmet.
The seemingly large shell size also contributes to the
turbulence problem, in my opinion. The helmet has
some rushing wind noise around the back that can be
greatly reduced by holding a hand over the top exhaust
vents or around the bottom of the helmet. This to
me is a sign of a poor design.
Remember that we always wear correctly
fitted, high quality earplugs and an extra helmet liner
when riding, and we strongly recommend that you always
wear hearing protection also. See the
wBW
Earplugs and Hearing Protection page for more
information on choosing and wearing earplugs.
And also remember that your experience with noise levels
will probably be different because it depends on many factors, including your
head shape, the motorcycle configuration, prevailing winds
and more.
Score: I rate the HJC FS-10
as "Poor" for the amount of noise that it transmits.
Miscellaneous
The FS-10 is DOT approved only at the time of this
writing. Although it seems to have the same
fiberglass composite weave shell as the AC-12, which is
also Snell approved, I'd guess that the rotating sun
visor mechanism on top has one more added negative
because it probably prevented the FS-10 from getting a
Snell rating.
The
FS-10 uses a D-ring attachment system and the extra
length of chin strap attaches with a snap. The
padding under the chin strap is comfortable.
Conclusion
My feeling is that the HJC FS-10 is a disappointment.
It is apparently designed to be one of the top HJC
helmets, but it just doesn't seem to offer the same
value as other HJC helmets. Take away the internal
sun visor, which has a poor implementation anyway, and I
don't think the helmet offers anything that the much
less expensive HJC CL-SP has. I think I'll pass on
this one...
Please
send
comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.
From "D.A." (7/08): "I'll agree with some
of your opinions on the FS-10 and disagree with others.
I do think it's a noisy helmet. I notice that when
turning my head to the side I usually get a whistling
noise coming from the helmet. Not a big problem
with me personally because I wear ear buds with music
anyway. It might bother some people though.
The venting isn't great either. I totally
disagree with your review of the sun visor though.
Before, I would bring a pair of sunglasses with me and
could only take them off if I stopped. I love how
I can just flip a switch if I'm riding into the sun and
switch it back if the clouds come out or I'm facing away
from the sun. The tint is good for blocking the
glare in my opinion.
Also, why would you want the sun visor partially
down? I don't quite understand you complaint that
it's either up or down. The only complaint I have
with the sun visor is a slight distortion. Other
than that, I love it! Good helmet for my money.
Not the best, but good."
Editor's Reply: The reason we
don't like the "only on and off" internal sun visor
system is because the visors that have an infinite
adjustment setting (like those that use friction to hold
them up) have a much greater range of adjustment.
A greater range of adjustment means that the visor can
be lowered only slightly if desired to block out sun
from above. It just gives a better range of
adjustments that fit more riders, depending upon the
rider's preferences or head shape/size.
It's such an easy thing to do, I'm not sure why HJC
chose a relatively heavy and cumbersome mechanism for
their visor. All that's needed is a friction fit
so the rider can pull the visor down to the desired
position.
From "R.": "I will disagree with
your review, I found the FS-10 helmet to be a joy to
wear. The sun shield being one of the best
features. It is easy to deploy and retract, much
better than carrying two shields. The helmet is a
bit noisy, so I turn up the installed speakers. I
would rate the helmet as a good purchase and would
recommend."
