1. HJC I10 Solid Helmet
For those on a tight budget needing or wanting a good, comfortable, DOT and SNELL APPROVED helmet, definitely consider this HJC I10. I am lucky enough to live by STG so I got to try on a handful of helmets when I was looking for something simple for the street. For my intermediate oval-ish 57cm head, this in an XL was perfect. Easy to slip on and off, but still a good, snug, not tight, but snug, fit. Like you'd want it. The Large was a bit tight for my liking for cruising. There's moderate wind noise, but nothing that will annoy you. Good venting all around, and the visor has a nice latch system with detents that allow you to ride with the visor cracked open for even more venting. Speaking of visors, I had some cash leftover in my budget (Helmet retails for $169 for solid colors at the time I bought it) to buy a gold visor. Visibility through it is nice with very little tint that keeps it usable at night, and the helmet just looks bad a$$ with it too. The visor isn't cheap, but again, the helmet was. Visibility is great through the opening. Good peripheral vision. Also, this helmet does NOT come with a chin curtain. Must buy that separate, but STG stocks them and I think it was around 7 bucks? Truthfully I'd only reserve the chin curtain for cooler rides. Having no curtain on in MI summer heat allowed for great airflow with no buffeting. The helmet does come with the typical cheap cinch sack to keep your helmet from getting scratched up in transport or storage. Riding with the helmet on is very comfortable. Great head's up comfort with proper neck relief. It's not the lightest molded helmet, but it's actually very light feeling compared to other helmets I tried on at STG (Icon and Scorpion, Icons felt like cheap, uncomfortable trash, and the Scorpion was nice but 3x the price!).
Overall, for someone on a tight budget, I can't imagine another option on the market that delivers like this brain bucket. Btw, the HJC stickers peel off nice and residue free, so you can "de-badge" this helmet easily and customize it to your liking. If you plan to do that, look at the shiny finish version so your stickers actually stick. But the matte version is very sweet looking on it's own.
