Review Summary
- The Bell Moto-10 is an innovative take with a ball-in-socket Mips liner for optimal impact protection.
- The helmet has soft bumpers for collision protection, and emergency quick release for possible trauma.
- It’s smooth design gives you a cooling Jade liner that is connected by magnets along with a magnetic DD ring snap.
- This helmet includes a handy padded travel bag and a 5 year warranty to boot.
- The shape gives an impressive lineup of over twelve different vents for every angle to cool down.
Moto-10 Spherical Design
Not surprisingly, with a company with a history of over 100 years in helmet making, the Moto-10 comes out on top for Bell. It may have started in a garage made by hand, but it’s evolved into the high-quality production of safety and satisfaction with every new addition. The Moto-10 is a prime example of Bell’s craftsmanship to a helmet hits as hard as it takes.
This Helmet is Bell’s most advanced line of off-road helmets with distinct technology and design. The Moto-10’s segmented shell design provides large exhaust vents, ensuring the rider stays comfortable and cool. Combined with 3K Carbon, this helmet is made for the attack.
Regarding protection, this helmet has a linage and resume that makes it foolproof. With a certification from every safety testing organization that matters and their innovative Mips technology, we see it as a helmet worth its weight in price and design.
So, let’s get into the gritty details of why the Moto-10 packs a lot of quality, albeit in a slightly heavier helmet.
Bell’s Build Quality
When It comes to the build of the Moto-10, this is a line that starts with carbon fiber but extends it to a weaved combination of 3k carbon and the notorious Spherical Mips liner, hence the name. This liner has an outer surface connected to the helmet and the inner surface in contact with the rider’s head. So, in the event of a crash that tries to rotate the helmet, your head or neck won’t take the full impact of the rotation. This is a game changer, considering that many MX crashes produce the equivalent of whiplash or worse.
We like the technology, but it does come at the cost of some extra weight (~ .3 lbs). I could feel that while at a standstill, but on the bike, I felt secure, and the amount of airflow that came through made it feel lighter while riding. It felt stable and balanced, but it would be nice to be as light as my LS2 or 6D, which also features excellent impact technology.
We chose the ATWYLD graphic to help feature more women riders, with companies collaborating to bring women gear worth the investment.
The Weight
Heavy is he who wears the crown. A crown that is coming in at around 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg). This helmet gave you an almost extra half-pound difference than the average one, and I noticed it. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but you can feel it in the heat on a helmet for the dirt. However, while riding, I felt like the aerodynamics of the vents’ efficiency helped make it feel lighter while in motion.
If waiting around to get on a ride or turning your bike around mid-hill, this helmet does feel heavier and hotter while baking in the desert sun. It’s not something I could say is excellent to wear during a drills camp or at a slower pace. However, it shines when you ride. It felt like all the elements Bell tried to focus on came together in motion, and since helmets are meant to be outfitted while moving, I’d say the extra weight is worth it. My neck didn’t get sore, and my head never got pressed in areas to give me a headache. Even while dropping into a spit rut and having my head snap back, it kept me secure without wearing out.
Safety and Protection
Bell has the Moto-10 DOT certified for the US, ECE 22.05 certified in Europe, and SNELL certified as of 2020. That’s quite enough testing for me to feel secure. It also has Emergency Quick Release System to help paramedics remove your helmet if the whoops take you off your ride.
Its cheek pads are held in with magnets, making them extremely easy to pull out and refit. I really liked this feature. No more fumbling around to pop in plastics for cleaning or readjusting. Knowing first responders could remove your liners so easily without risking your head and neck is also comforting.
The Moto-10 also has fastenings using titanium double-d rings. They’re pretty easy to use and usually what you’ll find on a racing helmet. The magnetic snaps are stitched well and clean, making them easier to grip with gloves and help lead it into a connecting loop.
Apart from this, the Moto-10 is also constructed to have softer lower edges. Bell calls this their No Missed Races or NMR. Created using softer EPP material around the edges, it allows the helmet to bounce back after impact compression. So, if you are jolted and don’t have a neck brace, the helmet shouldn’t break your collarbone. This helped with some ruts I dropped into a little too fast.
No broken bones, let’s ride on!
The Visor and goggles
Bell calls their goggle opening a panoramic port with optimal sealing and a large vantage viewport. They’re not wrong. Their flying bridge design has a removable center point that can be cleaned or adjusted and is a precise measurement for fitting goggles without obstructing the vents along the lining.
I used my 100% Armegas, and they fit perfectly while keeping my face cool at the same time—no fogging with their soft rubber siding to give a good seal. And no dirt dusting me out like a donut.
The Ventilation
Inside, the Moto-10 has a Thermal Exchange Airflow System or TEAS. That system includes a sizeable five-section chin bar inlet, six smaller inlets around the eye-port, and large exhausts around the sides and rear of the helmet. It acts like a vacuum to suck in air and channel it out.
When you’re concentrating that hard in a corner or pushing forward in a race, it matters greatly. Cool head means cool riding.
Coming from a girl who routinely returns from a trail with a matted forehead, this was a big one for me. Like many other riders, I often sweat from my head, and it can get itchy with the wrong material and hot with the helmet’s structure. Usually, I like to pick lighter helmets because of this.
The Moto-10 was something that surprised me. I tested its ventilation claims by taking it out for a whole day in the desert. Three hours and 63 miles later, my hair was still dry, with no sweat matting it up and no irritation. I found the pads inside helped a lot more than I expected. They felt smooth during the ride, not collecting sweat and debris from the sand. The helmet itself never waved in balance, and in the end, I never felt like It was stuffy or heated while riding. I was worried my chin-mounted GoPro would obstruct air, but it didn’t. I still felt the refreshing rush of wind through my scalp and around my face.
This aero ventilation system gets it, which might be why it feels lighter in motion. The visor vents help keep your face from over-sweating, something riders and racers appreciate. If I had to give a perfect score in anything, it would be a helmet that gives me as much air as it feels like I’m not wearing it.
Sizing and Comfort
Bell Moto-10s are available in XS to XXL sizes and have a medium oval fitment, a standard sizing fit for the average person. However, there are a lot of reports that it runs small. Mine was a perfect small size, but my head is an oval, and other more circular-shaped brands have pressure points for me—something to keep in mind and try on different sizes.
The removable liners are made very well and don’t necessarily add too much pressure. Bell uses their CoolJade liner. It sounds exotic, and it feels just as much.
It’s a type of yarn fabric laced with jade, which claims to wick away heat from the head and keep you an average of 10 degrees cooler. This claim felt pretty true given how silky and comfortable the material kept during my rides. There were no pressure points but the helmet stayed snug through woops and jumps. I like that it felt confirmed to my shape but still cush and moisture-wicking.
Fancy jade and washable liners that come out with magnets? Yeah, you’re doing great, Bell.
Noise Management
Regarding carbon fiber, I always expect the noise to be more significant. It’s just a constant with the material and weight. With the Moto-10, I didn’t find as much riding noise as I had thought. I can’t say if it was because of the liners and the Mips layer, but it was a comfortable ride. It’s also not built with any pockets or dips for speakers, so it might help slightly with quieting the noise.
That is to say, there is noise, but it doesn’t feel distracting or unmanageable in a helmet like this. I could hear my engine shift but I didn’t whip out my earplugs. It was better than most but considerably average at best.
Value for Money
For a pro-level price tag, you do get a sophisticated composite shell, ridiculous ventilation, DOT, ECE, and SNELL safety-tested, and an elevated jade liner that cools you and is easy to remove however, at a weight that is above the average.
It has more color schemes and collaborations than you’ll ever be able to buy, but it’s a sharp, well, tailored helmet, and you can see the upscale design that went into it. Something safe, sturdy, and comfortable in off-road weather is worth the extra weight and cash.
Pros
- Spherical ball-in-socket MIPS technology
- Extremely well-ventilated
- Segmented Carbon fiber shell
- Adjustable Visor
- Emergency Quick Release System
- Removable and washable interior liner
- Magnetic liner snaps
- Padded lined bag included
- DOT, SNELL and ECE certified
Cons
- Noisy while riding
- Can be tight-fitting, size up
- 3.5lb weight is on the heavier side
Specs
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- Manufacturer: Bell
- Price when tested $869.99 USD
- Alternative colors: Black, Matte/Gloss Blue/Gray, Gloss Red/Gold, Gloss White/Black, Gloss Black/Red, and more.
- Sizes: XS-2XL
- Includes Padded lined travel Bag
- Weight: 1600G +/- 50G (SIZE M) |ECE: 1390G +/- 50G (SIZE M)
- 3-Shell sizes for a precision fit
- DOT FMVSS No. 218 Certified / ECE Approved
- 5-Year warranty