Wind noise is muffled, the view is clear, my head doesn’t feel like it’s being pulled off my shoulders – even at 70 mph – and there’s a slight stirring of the scant hair left on the crown of my head. I’ve never owned a modular helmet, typically preferring the three-quarter style, but when I was looking for something safer that still allowed some of the freedoms of a three-quarter and saw the reasonably priced HJC i100, I wanted to give it a try.
See all of Rider’s helmet reviews here.
A unique feature of the i100, which has a shell made of HJC’s Advanced Polycarbonate material, is its full-rotation chinbar for both open- and full-face riding modes, and it meets ECE safety standards in both modes.
The i100 wears comfortably, if a little heavy; the size XL weighs 4.4 lb. It’s wider than many full-face helmets because of the modular hardware, which also contributes to a little more squeezing of the cheeks when the chinbar is closed. However, riding at 70 mph with my Harley’s windshield removed (something I wouldn’t normally do with my three-quarter), there wasn’t much buffeting.
I’m mildly claustrophobic (ergo, my preference for three-quarter lids), and while the i100 doesn’t have as much ventilation as some other helmets, the movement of air through the chin vent was sufficient to not feel stifling, and the vent on the crown kept my head cooler than my three-quarter.
I appreciate how the i100’s faceshield locks in the open position (as does the chinbar), but it takes either two hands or two separate movements to get it fully closed. Pulling down on just one of the tabs on the bottom of the shield leaves a little gap on the other side that has to be pushed shut – or you must use two hands to pull down both tabs at once.
The i100 has a sunshield that lowers and raises smoothly using a lever on the left side. However, on my cruiser, the lower line of the sunshield is right in the middle of my field of vision. Supposedly you can adjust the height, but when I tried, the cog just rotated without any noticeable difference. However, I was able to easily slip on a pair of sunglasses using the glasses grooves in the removable/washable comfort liner, which is made of moisture-wicking, antibacterial material.
The HJC i100, which is also set up to accept the SMART HJC Bluetooth system (sold separately), has been a good introduction to the conveniences of modular helmets. It comes in White, Black, Matte Black, Semi Flat Titanium, and Hyper Silver, and pricing ranges from $329.99-$334.99.
How does this compare to the LS2 Valiant II?
Rusty, I haven’t tested the LS2 Valiant II, but looking at the LS2 website, they look similar. Off the cuff, there appears to be one more vent on the top front of the Valiant II, and it’s priced slightly higher than the i100. It also looks pretty wide from the front (something definitely noticeable with the i100, as I pointed out). I’d be curious to compare weights as well, which I’m not seeing on the LS2 website. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention and for reading Rider.
Paul Dail, associate editor.
Gentleman.
I purchase an LS2 Valiant in January of 2022 as my first helmet for road riding. I chose it for the modular style and versatile use.
I have enjoyed the helmet , but have noticed the weight does feel quite a bit heavier compared to many other helmets.
I live in Arizona and found the vents on the LS2 kept my head relatively cooler and nice and warm on a cold night.
In April, I unfortunately had the bad day of riding and had to go to the asphalt while my bike when to the dirt, instead of going off a cliff while on a nice Saturday afternoon ride.
The LS2 struck the asphalt multiple times and held up amazingly well. The helmet suffered a few minor scratches and the internal structure did its job and I was able to walk away from the crash with no head or neck injuries thankfully to the quality made LS2.
I have plans of speaking with the manufacturer and having them inspect my LS2 to see how good or bad it really is.
If all else fails, I place it on a shelf and thank the stars I had it on that day.
Once again thanks for reviewing helmets and spreading the word to others about helmet safety and quality.
“Keep the shiny side up!”
Steven S. Graham
You should try the original – the Shark Evoline modular.
I also own a i-100 HJC. Here are a couple of thing s I did not like about the helmet. The strap that the D rings are on is just a tad short, which make it a bit of a chore to fasten the chin strap with large hands and gloves. I solved that by buying a buckle adapter for the D ring strap. The snap to fasten the end of the chin strap is a bit high on the D-ring strap and makes it a bit difficult to snap with my larger hands. Also for me it took a bit of a learning curve to operated the sun shield lever with gloves on. With that said I also own a HJC Symax III and two HJC IS Max II’s, I find that I am wearing the i-100 more than the others.