Need help to find a long narrow helmet!

[godoy.rafa]

I'm having a hard time finding a helmet that fits my head.

My head shape is (very) long narrow. I have an Arai RX-Q size 62 that fits good from forehead to back of the head,  but it is loose on the cheeks.

Bought a LS2 Arrow size 62 that is supposed to have a long narrow shape, used it for 25 minutes and my forehead is sore.

My budget is up to $300.

Do you guys have any advice?

[mossrider]

I'd get a new cheek pad set for a smaller Arai RX-Q and stuff them in, if that helmet fits well otherwise. They should fit just fine. Cheaper than a new helmet too. 

[shinyribs]

LS2 is the longest helmet I've ever seen, so I don't know who else to suggest. I can tell you that HJC, Scorpion, AGV , SHOEI and FLY will be brands to avoid since LS2 is not long enough.  Good luck, man.

I might get flamed for this, but in the interest of offering help from one rider to another, here's some advice you can follow according to your own comfort level.

My forehead used to get sore in my AGV K5. I had to SLIGHTLY massage the EPS foam in that area to relieve a pressure point. You can't go crazy on EPS hitting it with hammers or generally being rough with it, but it's not unheard of to massage SMALL areas to create a better fit. I just had to depress a crease about 1/8" in my case. Just something to consider if you are struggling to find a proper fit. Use common sense and your  own judgement while considering this, of course. 

[kylerhsm]

Hmmmm, I'm an oval head so I was going to recommend Arai as well, but looks like you've already gone down that path.

Most manufacturers will identify the shape of their various helmets. I think they generally come in round, intemediate oval, and oval. Try tracking down a full oval and you should be fine.

[latexoma]

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[rider]

22 hours ago, shinyribs said:

LS2 is the longest helmet I've ever seen, so I don't know who else to suggest. I can tell you that HJC, Scorpion, AGV , SHOEI and FLY will be brands to avoid since LS2 is not long enough.  Good luck, man.

I might get flamed for this, but in the interest of offering help from one rider to another, here's some advice you can follow according to your own comfort level.

My forehead used to get sore in my AGV K5. I had to SLIGHTLY massage the EPS foam in that area to relieve a pressure point. You can't go crazy on EPS hitting it with hammers or generally being rough with it, but it's not unheard of to massage SMALL areas to create a better fit. I just had to depress a crease about 1/8" in my case. Just something to consider if you are struggling to find a proper fit. Use common sense and your  own judgement while considering this, of course. 

I've done the same thing.  I used a spoon and compressed the tight areas just a bit.  The headache from a tight spot gets worse the longer you wear the helmet and your concentration goes from where you need it to stay alive to the pain. 

I know, I know, "don't mess with it or it won't work right in a crash", but when you can't find a helmet that fits right, it's either ride in pain, ride without a helmet, reshape it so it fits or dont ride.

[godoy.rafa]

Great information guys! I'll get a LS2 a size up and tried to compress the tight areas.

[longrider1951]

On 4/11/2019 at 5:13 PM, mossrider said:

I'd get a new cheek pad set for a smaller Arai RX-Q and stuff them in, if that helmet fits well otherwise. They should fit just fine. Cheaper than a new helmet too. 

That's really the best advice here. Arai's fit heads your size and make a ton of different check pads etc. available to fine tune the fit. Go to a good Arai retailer or one of the IMS Motorcycle shows and have the helmet fitted to you.  The IMS shows actually have Arai reps at the show that will help you with fine tuning the fit.  Unfortunately my head is shaped like a melon and I can't wear an Arai, I wear Shoei instead.

[ringding]

The Arai RX-Q is an intermediate oval. The Arai Signet-X is a long oval.

The Signet-X is the one you want ;however, you won't be able to find a new one for $300.

I have the older version of the Signet-X called the Profile and it is the only helmet that has ever fit my long oval head properly. 

[Socalmt]

I’m in the same boat. The Arai long oval model is the only one that fits.

[HulkHogan]

[rfmueller]

On 4/11/2019 at 3:37 PM, shinyribs said:

LS2 is the longest helmet I've ever seen, so I don't know who else to suggest. I can tell you that HJC, Scorpion, AGV , SHOEI and FLY will be brands to avoid since LS2 is not long enough.  Good luck, man.

I might get flamed for this, but in the interest of offering help from one rider to another, here's some advice you can follow according to your own comfort level.

My forehead used to get sore in my AGV K5. I had to SLIGHTLY massage the EPS foam in that area to relieve a pressure point. You can't go crazy on EPS hitting it with hammers or generally being rough with it, but it's not unheard of to massage SMALL areas to create a better fit. I just had to depress a crease about 1/8" in my case. Just something to consider if you are struggling to find a proper fit. Use common sense and your  own judgement while considering this, of course. 

I've had to press some foam in at the front of some helmets also.  I expect those kinds of small changes will be needed occasionally since one size doesn't fit all.

[FZ07R WaNaB]

47 minutes ago, rfmueller said:

I've had to press some foam in at the front of some helmets also. 

I had the same problem with my helmet too - big time headaches if I wore it more than a hour. I've read about using spoons to compress the foam in the helmet, but that's total crap. The foam is actually pretty hard, and doesn't compress readily. In reality, you wouldn't want it to compress easily. I tried with the spoon anyway, and it didn't do squat. THEN... I got the brainstorm idea to use a railroad spike which I happened to have. That spike worked great! You have the weight/thickness/length of the spike to seriously work on the foam. The bonus is that the head of the railroad spike is 1 5/8" x 1 3/8" and has a slightly curved dome cross-section which is perfect for compressing that foam. It does not take long to eliminate those hots spots, and make the helmet much more comfortable!

[shinyribs]

I'm kinda nervous about hitting EPS foam in order to massage in a trouble area. I use a large deep well socket ( 17mm or so) and just roll it back and forth until it suits me. But there's many ways to skin a cat. 

[FZ07R WaNaB]

7 minutes ago, shinyribs said:

I'm kinda nervous about hitting EPS foam in order to massage in a trouble area. I use a large deep well socket ( 17mm or so) and just roll it back and forth until it suits me. But there's many ways to skin a cat. 

With the railroad spike, there is no hitting. You are ultimately rolling the domed spike head over the foam. The weight/thickness/length of the spike makes it a heavy handle to allow you to put some serious pressure on the spike head. Another thing that I learned in that process is to compress the foam on opposite sides of the helmet which helps open up the oval even more, taking more pressure off your head.

 

[wrxer]

I think my head is more narrow than round, although perhaps not to an extreme, & have had good luck with Shoei & HJC, bad luck with Scorpion in that reguard.  I struggle to even get a Bell on my head.  Note Shoei uses a universal head shape across its various models, while Arai head shapes vary model to model.  In other words if you find a Shoei you like all other Shoei models should be similar.  If you find an Arai you like, another model may fit completely different.