Nolan N100-6 helmet Classico in matt black

When it comes to helmets not everybody can afford  an Arai, a Schuberth or a Shoei helmet. Now, for us, there is a threshold. We are not going to start offering helmets from the likes of LS2, Caberg, M2 and Airoh, but we feel we need to have a small range of helmets that sit, perhaps, a rung below Shoei et al.; and this is where this Nolan helmet fits in.

 

Truth be told, we have long been after a good-quality, flip helmet that we felt we could, hand on heart, recommend to customers if the Shoei Neotec and Schuberth C5 were a little too punchy.

 

The first thing to say is that the Nolan N100-6 has a shell made from Lexan. Now Lexan is a brand name for a type of polycarbonate. In turn, of course, polycarbonate is just a fancy name for plastic.

 

Polycarbonate shells perform well under impact testing, because they are softer, and so tend to absorb the energy of an impact very effectively. But this softness is less beneficial when it comes to multiple impacts; they have a tendency to crack. Such shells also tend to deform in an impact, meaning they don't 'glance off' in the way that, say, an Arai does. What needs to be understood is that even though all helmets have to meet ECE 22-06, that doesn't mean that they are all equally protective. They are not.

 

Obviously, the distinguishing feature of the Nolan is its lift-up chin bar. But the mechanism for raising the visor moves in an elliptical fashion, meaning that, when raised, the chin bar sits closer to the shell than the chin bar does on the Shoei, for example. And this is impressive. It makes for a more streamlined profile, but I cannot say that this makes much of a difference for us because, as far as we're concerned, one doesn't ride at speed with the chin bar up. In our view, you raise the chin bar only when travelling at very low speeds, or when you're stationary.

 

The chin bar release mechanism requires a pinching action to operate, but we can't see a problem with that. It seems to work fine. There's a locking mechanism for the chin bar, as is required under ECE 22-06.

 

The visor is scratch resistant, but it's not Class 1 optical quality. Nor is the sun visor. The detente mechanism for the outer visor is not bad. You get four distinct positions, but the lowest leaves the visor too raised to be considered a 'crack' position. The sun visor has five lock-in positions, and a very clever spring release mechanism that sends it flying up into the shell. There's a neat, quite discreet catch for locking the visor closed.

 

The helmet comes with a dark visor in the box. But there's an issue here if you do decide to wear a dark visor, and carry the clear one with you. The mechanism for removing and replacing the visor is not straightforward. In fact, it's darned tricky. You don't want to be doing it in the dark.

 

The helmet comes with a Pinlock 120; and that's important because the helmet is quite well sealed, and fogging could be an issue. The venting itself is acceptable, but nothing to write home about.  A single vent on the chin, and a one-position vent on the brow. At the back of the helmet there's a permanently-open exhaust vent.

 

The interior is comfortable, without being luxurious. There is a system for adjusting how high or low the helmet sits on your head. But you can do nothing to change the dimensions of the headliner, or its shape. And although the cheekpads can be removed for washing, you cannot change the thickness of the padding in and around the cheeks.

 

Now the fit is quite oval. It's actually pretty similar to the fit on the Neotec, but therein lies the issue. The fit won't work for some people. And if it doesn't work there's nothing to be done about it. You can't get different cheekpads and headliners as you can for the Neotec. And of course Nolan doesn't offer anything like the computerised Shoei Personal Fitting System. So if, when you put the N100-6 on, you feel any kind of pressure on the side of your head, move on; this is not the helmet for you. 

 

One thing we do like about the helmet is the neck roll. Now clearly the folk at Nolan looked at the Neotec before they put the N100 into production. It's widely accepted that the Neotec is the quietest helmet on the market, and what Nolan will have worked out is that the neck flap that seals the helmet around the rider's neck has a large part to play here. And so they have basically copied it. Ditto the chin curtain.

 

So will this make the Nolan as quiet as the Shoei? And the answer is 'no' because Shoei has put a huge amount of effort into addressing all those other areas where noise was a factor. Nolan will not have been so rigorous. But I think we can still suggest that the Nolan will be a quiet helmet. Just not the very quietest!

 

The chin strap is adjustable from one side only, and fastens by means of a ratchet mechanism. The mechanism feels a bit flimsy. It works, but it doesn't make that VW slamming-door sound that leads one to believe that the engineers have laboured over its implementation.

 

The N100-6 is not a Neotec. It's made from cheaper materials, and pretty much everywhere you can see how and why the Shoei is better. But the difference in cost is significant. In white, the N100 costs £320. The Neotec costs £600. 

 

But many bikers out there don't need what the Shoei offers that the Nolan doesn't. If most of your daily driving involves pottering around town, you don't need a Range Rover. A Hyundai, a Fiat or a Mini will be more than up to the job. The Range Rover would be wasted. But if you're somebody who does big miles in all weathers, then you might feel the extra investment in a Range Rover would be worthwhile.

 

No two ways about it, though, the Nolan offers excellent value for money. If your budget won't stretch to a Shoei, and if the Nolan fits you, it's not to be sniffed at!