MC Tested: Arai Signet-X And Quantum-X Helmet Review

Protection is job one for a helmet. Case in point: Josh Day was wearing Arai's top-of-the-line Corsair-X last June during MotoAmerica Superbike practice at Road America when he was spectacularly catapulted from his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.

Day landed heavily, head and body skipping across the paved runoff area outside of turn six. The 27-year-old Floridian was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital and, later, a nearby trauma center, where he was diagnosed with a brain injury and a broken wrist. In the months since the accident—his third big crash of the season—Day has made steady progress. “I feel completely normal,” he told me. “Nothing is really bothering me. It will still take more time. We’re letting my head work through its cycle, taking it day by day.”

Day’s fall was used as a dramatic example at the recent press introduction of the new Signet-X and Quantum-X, which are derived from the Corsair-X introduced last year and share many of its features and qualities, despite a significantly lower price point. “Touring riders may not travel as fast as racers do,” Arai CEO Michio Arai said in a taped event greeting, “but protection of the level seen with the Corsair-X is just as valuable to riders on the highway.”

Next-Generation Design

Like the Corsair-X, basis for the “long-oval” Signet-X and “round-oval” Quantum-X is a smooth, round fiberglass shell designed to glance off objects, which, according to Arai Managing Director Brian Weston, “is just as important as energy absorption.”

Another claimed benefit of a smooth, round shell—created using what Arai calls Peripherally Belted Super Complex Laminate Construction—is that the helmet is more aerodynamic and quiet even when the wearer turns his or her head at high speeds.

That shell doesn’t incorporate a lightweight, expensive material known as Zylon, which is reserved for the Corsair-X. The Signet-X and Quantum-X further differ from the Corsair-X in that they uses three, rather than four (of a possible 10), EPS liner densities.

Both the Signet-X and Quantum-X employ the Variable Axis System (VAS) faceshield that debuted on the Corsair-X. This design lowers the operating mechanism, increasing the area above the side pods for a rounder, smoother surface along the Snell test line.

Incoming air travels through the same internal paths between the shell and liner as the Corsair-X, albeit with two fewer openings. Sliding QVF crown intake and three-position QVR back-of-helmet exhaust ducts are also shaped and operate differently.

On My Head

Journalists were invited to test the Signet-X and Quantum-X back-to-back in Southern California. Racers Jake Zemke and Steve Rapp led the mostly two-lane route, which began in Venice, overnighted in Paso Robles, and returned to Venice by a different way.

A representative from Arai measured my head and concluded that the best choice for me would be a long-oval Signet-X in size Medium. I spent the first day in a Signet-X and the second in a Quantum-X, albeit with a Corsair-X interior to create an “intermediate-oval” fit.

Both helmets fit me well, although I found the Signet-X more comfortable. The vents are easy to open and close with gloved hands, and I could actually feel air moving through the helmet, which was a blessing in Taft, where it was 111 degrees Fahrenheit.

I’ve been wearing a Corsair-X for more than a year, so changing shields is now second nature. “The new shield system is more intuitive and easier to use,” Weston said. “That may overshadow the fact that this is a better helmet.”

Based on my two-day ride, as well as consistent use during the weeks since the event, the Signet-X and Quantum-X represent a step forward for Arai in comfort, features, and protection at a price point that is within reach of a greater number of motorcyclists.

Six Ways In Which The Signet-X And Quantum-X Are Identical:

Four Ways In Which The Signet-X And Quantum-X Differ:

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