Behind Every Hero…
Shark is one of the best helmet makers out there that focus their helmets on comfort and safety while having a ton of usability features and a collection of aesthetically appealing options. In other words, Shark Good!!! Shark is to you as Lucius Fox is to Batman. Basically, the guy who makes all your toys. These helmets are not cheap, which is good – because neither is your face.
The Toys…
So the helmet we will be eyeing today comes from the “Shark Racing Division”. This is the racing line that tells you to go race and let them worry about taking care of the perfection you need. It’s like you are frickin’ Batman out there in his Batsuit. And these are the toys that will keep you alive against the Joker. Am I losing you with this nerdery? Maybe think Slash with Les Paul personally designing his guitars for him. If this is still lost on you: Helmet Line Good!!!
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
A Bat out of Hell
The helmet, the Bat, the cream of the crop, for today is the Shark Race-R Pro Carbon helmet with Carbon Skin. This is like one of the best helmets you can buy for racing on the track and also one of the sexiest looking pieces of equipment. This is designed for high-safety and high ventilation but is a little snug especially if you have a chubby cheeks that people love to pinch, you hero you (different pad sizes help though). I will go into the details in a bit
However, to set the tone, this helmet is completely optimized for the crotch rocket with your chin on the engine and you tearing up the curves with your Metal Beast. Wind tunnels were used to optimize the Venturi effect to make sure you get every bit of advantage you have against the crazies you battle in Gotham. Or more likely the track.
Taking Blows and Being Comfortable
Your hero headgear is a Carbon/Aramid hybrid which means it is better than fiberglass and is light. It can take the beatings should you wipeout; it will keep your brain nice and intact inside your skull. The look of this particular helmet shows the carbon fiber which gives it the whole Batmask feel and makes it look pretty badass.
The visor is the next bit of safety. It is a high-grade 4.25mm visor in the middle tapering to about 3mm on the edges (for reducing weight). But this means it can take a beating. So fist fights, bike falls, Bane getting pissed off at you, it can take care of it all. Moreover to ensure clear vision it is optically distortion free; none of that ripply crap you get from lesser helmets. Bow before the helmet god.
The visor has the usual UV, anti-fog, anti-scratch treatment and there is the sun visor inside (also anti-scratch) to keep the light away from your Bat-eyes and to also improve the airflow.
Moving on to the padding. The neck roll stretches to seal nicely around you; this reduces the noise by a few decibels and that makes a huge difference. Good quiet stuff. Beyond that, it has all the Shark usuals where there is a ton of cheek-padding with removal bits for people wearing glasses. Hey gotta think of everyone buddy. All the padding attaches in a comfortable way; the tabs attach in places where your head doesn’t feel the pressure. Which means when you are chasing after the baddies (or just y’know hugging the curves) you are focused and not distracted by that “Ouchie”.
Another point to note is that this padding-lining was created using a bamboo-based process with bamboo fibers (yeah, real bamboo like the kind pandas eat and definitely no Pandas were harmed in making this helmet). Bamboo is superior moisture wicking than their usual stuff and is anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic. Like I said, they are taking everyone into account. Even heroes with allergies like “I-Sneeze-A-Lot” Man.
The top inside of the helmet like all Shark helmets has the usual ridges and grooves. The grooves allow for better airflow for keep cool and the ridges are crumple zones when some jackass hits you with a baseball bat… or y’know a wipeout.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Becoming Ironman
This helmet is so chock full of vents that Darth Vader himself would be like “dude, where’d you get that?” It has an adjustable chin vent, four air scoops to arc the air above your head while avoiding fogging. It also has a filter for keeping the air you breathe clean along with a nose guard to reduce the aforementioned fogging; this is becoming like frickin’ Ironman’s helmet. Anyhow there are five head vents that you can use the little shark fin looking toggles on the top to turn on and off with your gloves.
So it sucks air in from all these sources and then let’s them out via seven extractors as it arcs over your head. Two are on the front bottom of the helmet with the major ones in the back and additional ones along the way. The back vents are designed to be aerodynamic. You can totally visualize Ironman here right? Like the motorcycle’s the suit and the helmet… uhhh… the helmet. Anyhow, it is going to keep you dry and cool. If you could somehow light this on fire (don’t do that, I mean it) your head would look like a rocket pack or something.
More Gadgetry
You can remove pads to put in your Bat.. I mean Sharktooth communication device. Their bluetooth thing that let’s you talk to the guys coordinating your awesomeness on the track or I dunno getting the grocery list worked out (whatever you do man). It has removable pads for speakers so yeah you can be listening to tunes in good quality too.The visor has the standard three positions: closed, halfway, open.There is a locking mechanism as well to keep the visor closed. They thought of everything.
Washing? The washing has the usuals. Cold water, keep it simple, use a net, air dry, be gentle. Every hero needs to take good care of their gear.
Just the Facts
Here is a chunk of facts from the manufacturer website made readable (sort of):
- Light weight: 1.250 kg
- Variable thickness visor (2.8 mm at the edges, and 4.25 mm in the center) for a class 1 optical quality with no distortion (clarity of vision)
- Carbon / Aramid for safety and lightness (the cool kids fiber, awesome!)
- Optimized aerodynamics thanks to its contoured shell and double blade rear spoiler (speed and cool)
- Interior made using a bamboo-based process, cheek pads available in different thickness (fitting your face in style)
- Hermetic neck pad (air and noise) – (they got you covered)
- Double D-Ring Strap (keeping it on your head)
- Optimal morphological adjustment: 2-Shell Sizes (will forgive the fancy wording for this helmet)
- Outside Anti-Scratch, Inside Anti-Fog Visor (clarity of vision)
- Anti-Scratch Sun Visor (sunlight and air redirection)
- Shark Easy Fit (good with spectacle wearers)
- Planned Location for Sharktooth (for the Sharktooth bluetooth tech)
- Quick Release Visor System (visor pops off easily when needed)
- Removable Lining (for the hygiene conscious hero)
- Sizes available XS (53/54 cm), S (55/56 cm), M (57/58 cm), L (59/60 cm), XL (61/62 cm)Buy from a Badass Helmet Partner
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We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.