Italy is catching up with Germany in terms of churning out premium helmets and Nolan has made their presence known with the X-Lite series. The X-Lite X-802RR takes the game up a notch and comes in with a comprehensive carbon fiber shell, as an exclusive flagship product in the racing helmet line up.
Race thoroughbred from Nolan and hand-made in Italy; it has the advantage of being lightweight and compact in its journey towards the sub-3.6-pound mark. Still, it has a lot of things left out such as a DOT only rating. The Helmet does not come with an ECE rating. Perhaps Nolan is working on it, but no need to get your hopes up.
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What Would You Love?
Among the many innovative features of this helmet is the adjustable spoiler to minimize buffeting. Instead of a stock setting, you now have the ability to get the spoiler in the correct position that is more in line with the posture that you choose. This helps you achieve stability in addition to reducing the drag in your own specific way. ‘More power to the user’ definitely works.
The appearance of this helmet is a nice, refined one even though it is made of carbon fiber. Most things made out of that material do not necessarily match up at seams. It certainly seems that the designers of this helmet are aware of this issue and alleviated it with style. The carbon fiber lining down the Mohawk of the X-Lite X-802RR is complimented by the angled design from both sides. Well, Italy is famous for the design schools and colleges, so there’s no surprise in this fact; but a welcome, refreshing change instead.
Top Features to Look Out For
Lightweight, compact, great looks and made for racing. What else? Let’s find out.
Shell
The material used in the manufacturing process is a composite of Kevlar, resins and extensive carbon fiber that makes this lid aggressive and light weight at the same time. At 3 lbs. and 4 oz., there is no feeling of a slapped on exoskeleton weighing you down. You are free to concentrate on the correct fit for that lid – on – the – tank – position. The intermediate oval fit of the X-802RR will fit the heads of a bulk of the US market racing enthusiasts.
The shell comes with some heavy channeling, visible immediately after removing the comfort liner, to promote uninterrupted air flow in the EPS foam along with 10 mm vent holes.
Visors
The face shield is suitable for racing, but Nolan has made provisions in the form of posts to add a PinLock anti-fog lens from the inside. The best thing is that it is already included in the package. However, note that it is not a MaxVision.
There is no center lock, on the front where the shield can be held in place. But the ridge shape has been adapted to achieve more of a snap fit feel. To remove the face shield, there is a press and release system, which can be a bit fiddly with larger sized gloves on, but hopefully it won’t come to that.
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.
Ventilation
Ventilation comes in the form of chin vents which can be opened or closed and vents to the visor for defogging.
Supplementary wing extractors work on the negative air pressure principle and suck the air out almost as soon as it enters in from the chin vent.
A central roof scoop leads in and divides itself into two vents with two separate roof vents on either of its sides, all connected to the massive channels to provide a relief flow.
Two passive exhaust ports beneath the outstanding spoiler create the Venturi effect and suck that hot air at the back of the helmet out to keep up the flow.
Padding and Lining
The cheek pads hug your jaw line and fit relatively tight – this was done to ensure stability and absolutely no wobble or buffeting at high speeds on track.
The material used has been carbon infused and comes with a slightly greener texture. It wicks up moisture, is anti – bacterial and the carbon factor keeps the odor of your sweat or other things in your head at bay.
Easy-remove cheek pads and chin curtain (which has a cut out for air flow) use a snap-fit system. But there is no emergency cheek pad removal in case the worst happens.
The comfort liner is not connected to the EPS, but the brow line. This allows for no pressure points. The enhanced, dense and thick foam adds comfort, and has meshing on either side of your Mohawk for facilitating the airflow.
Customer Reviews
The helmet was an instant hit with most customers. Very few hitches came up in the form of noise and the face-shield removal. A few of them had problems with cheek pads being too tight to induce pain after hours of riding. No serious injuries were reported.
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.
Bottom Line
Super lightweight carbon fiber helmet, stylish, even for a racing helmet with a great Racing Air Flow ventilation system should make this helmet instantly attractive to you. The only thing stopping you from buying this helmet will be the absence of a certified rating particular to your country. This will most probably be sorted in the future, so it may be worth the wait.