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Bell Moto-10 Review: Amazing ventilation. Bit heavy.
It’s pretty safe to say that Bell Helmets have been working hard on improving the safety and performance of their dirt lids for quite a few years now.
And with the Bell Moto-10, Bell reckon all that learning and know-how have condensed to make their best performing dirt helmet to date.
It’s the replacement to their Moto-9 range and Bell say they’ve worked with a range of pro dirt riders to create a helmet that offers outstanding protection, ventilation and weight reduction. Not entirely sure about that last point with the DOT version of the Moto 10 weighing around 3.5lbs but OK, we’re still listening.
As far as protection’s concerned, there’s a bit more to the boast because you can trace their development work going on through the evolution of the Moto-9 series.
That was available with either a tri-composite or a carbon shell. Then they introduced a Flex version where Bell experimented with their own slip-plane internals (designed to reduce rotational forces during an impact) and gave it a trick three-ply shock absorbing liner.
They then licenced tech from Mips and stuck their liner in there which, I’m guessing, had a bit more proven protective performance than their own slip-plane liner.
So, It’s clear Bell does take protection seriously in their dirt lids – which is just as well when you consider the risk dirt riders face, even compared to street riders.
Here it is then, Bell’s top-flight off-road helmet. It’s not cheap, it’s not very light; but is it good? Is it worth the money? And are there any better alternatives out there (see the bottom of the page for alternatives)?
We hope to answer all these questions in our full Bell Moto 10 review.
- Bell’s top-of-the-range pro dirt helmet
- Carbon fiber shell
- Snell Certified
- Mips liner
- Magnetic EQRS
- Double-D fastener
- Weighs 3.5lbs (1.6Kg) DOT helmet
- 3 Shell sizes
- Medium Oval Fitment
- Sizes XS-XXL
- Expect to pay $850-$920
Looking to buy a Bell Moto-10?
Please click below to drop onto the Bell Moto-10 pages at our recommended store and Amazon. And if you buy from either, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Overall/Summary
Seems like Bell has done a great job with the Moto-10. Mostly.
OK, the negatives. It ain’t the lightest helmet and folk want light helmets, especially at this price. Which is the second negative – but then you’re always going to get a high price if you want a top-dog helmet from any premium brand.
And with the R&D that you can see has gone into the Bell Moto-10, you’re gonna have to pay for that in a price that’s North of $800.
So onto the good stuff. It’s got a MIPS liner, collarbone-friendly NMR base and it’s Snell approved so should offer excellent protection for when things go wrong.
It’s also got amazing ventilation along with a CoolJade liner, so when you’re working hard and need cooling down, the Moto-10’s got you covered.
It’s also comfortable, has a huge eyeport that’ll take the biggest goggles and there’s some great touches like their use of magnets for cheekpads and strap.
Overall then, if you can cope with the weight (apparently not so bad when you’re wearing it) and the price (always hurts) then the Moto-10 is a great dirt helmet and worthy successor to the popular Moto-9.
Safety
(more about helmet safety)
Bell obviously work hard to ensure their helmets perform when it comes to safety, and they’ve thrown every trick in the book at the Moto-10. And rightly so because it’s no laughing matter when you drop things in the dirt – especially in competitions.
Safety/protection features with the Moto-10 include:
- Carbon fiber shell
- Spherical Mips liner
- EQRS cheek pads
- Shoulder/collarbone protection (NMR)
Obviously, having a carbon fiber shell is a great starting point for any helmet because carbon fiber helmets tend to be both light and strong. The shell on the Moto-10 has a 3K weave giving it that classic carbon fiber look and it’s made in three different shell sizes to give a more optimized look and performance. All of which is great to see and should improve protection levels.
Lining the shell is a Mips liner. Mips is actually a Swedish company who licence out their tech – in this case their Spherical Mips liner.
The idea behind the liner hasn’t changed in a few years; namely to produce a liner where the outer surface of the liner is connected to the helmet and the inner surface is in contact with the rider’s head. So when you have an accident that tries to rotate the helmet, there’s a degree of independence so your head (neck and brain) won’t take the full impact of the rotation.
Severe rotations can cause lots of nasty injuries so it’s great to see Mips and Bell doing what they can.
The only slight fly in the ointment here is the lack of independent verification of their system. Sure, there’s lots of stories of people swearing by the protective powers of Mips and Bell helmets, happily relating how it saved their bacon and how they’d never buy a different helmet.
Thing is, you can usually find similar stories with even cheapo helmets – and I guess the fact of the matter is if a helmet doesn’t do its job, then the wearer may not be around to say otherwise!
Interestingly, the only independently tested Mips helmet was actually a Bell Qualifier DLX Mips – an ECE street bike helmet. That only scored a mediocre 3 stars out of 5 when SHARP tested it over in the UK – and their test does include an oblique test for rotation too.
Still, common sense does make you think that having some sort of rotation protection has to be a good thing. And besides, without a closer understanding of their testing methodologies and data analysis, it’s nigh on impossible to know how effective the Mips part of the test actually was.
But Bell has obviously thought safety on the Moto-10 through.
There’s EQRS cheek pads to help get the helmet off in the event of a spill. They’re held in just by magnets too so they’re super easy to pull out – unlike the EQRS in some other brands.
And the Moto-10 is Eject system compatible too (not included) so both these will help first responders safely remove a helmet.
The only real downside I can think of is that the Bell Moto-10 is a bit on the heavy side – and lighter helmets are better for reducing inertia and associated possible brain/neck injuries, so that’s not ideal.
Interestingly, the ECE (non Snell) version of the helmet is a good few ounces lighter than the DOT helmet; that’s usually because you need a harder (and heavier) shell to pass Snell’s penetration test (which is arguably not that real-world relevant as things rarely actually penetrate a helmet). So I guess if you do want a lighter Moto-10 you could always buy an ECE version; though of course that wouldn’t be road legal in helmet law states.
All of that work on protection has culminated in Bell achieving Snell M2020D certification – so you know it’s going to give you just about as good protection as you can get if you do faceplant the track.
OK, there’s other stuff that contributes to safety of course.
Bell has worked to make the visor hole bigger to accommodate a wide range of goggles and give good all-round vision. They’ve also included softer lower edges – what Bell calls No Missed Races or NMR – so if you do suffer a severe impact, the softer edges of the lid shouldn’t break your collar bone or shoulder. Handy that.
It’s all secured on your head using the usual Double-D ring fastener that pro racers (and pro-track authorities) usually want.
So, apart from being a bit weighty, the Snell Moto-10 should really give you all the protection you can currently get in a modern dirt helmet.
Helmet Noise
(more about helmet noise)
You’d expect a helmet with a ton of vent holes to let in a load of noise too. If it did, it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world in a dirt helmet because chatting with your friends and being aware of your engine and environment is important too.
Thing is, owners we came across say it’s surprisingly quiet. I guess it might be because those generous cheek pads and lack of speaker pockets keep padding around the ear pretty thick, insulating you from noise?
Either way, it seems the Bell Moto-10 is not a noisy helmet. Result.
Ventilation
(more about helmet ventilation)
If you’re a pro dirt bike rider, you work really hard in some of the most demanding of conditions. So great air flow is really important to keep you cool and able to stay focused.
Bell say they’ve put the hours in on the aero and ventilation of the Moto-10 to allow as much air as possible to get directed towards the vents and pass through the helmet.
That includes designing intake vents into the visor/peak and moulding the outer shell to help pass air through and into the helmet. It’s a system that Bell calls their Thermal Exchange Airflow System or TEAS.
A couple of useful links…
– All our Dirt/Motocross helmet reviews –
– Snell certified helmets –
That system includes a large five section chin bar inlet, six smaller inlets around the eye port along with large exhausts around the sides and rear of the helmet.
And the word from Moto-10 owners is that it all works really well. Folks reckon it’s got great cooling around the goggles and helps (along with the wicking interior) to push sweat out of the helmet when you’re working hard. And compared to the outgoing Moto-9, Moto-10 owners say it’s a big improvement.
From what we’ve heard, the Moto-10 is one of the best venting dirt helmets out there with riders saying they can really feel the airflow over their heads and around the face, so it’s very much job done on the air flow front.
Visor & Goggles
There’s not much new in the visor on the Moto-10. Bell calls the visor on the Moto-10 a flying bridge design because it’s not secured in the centre, but other than that, it’s big, it’s pointy and it can be removed with thumb screws if you need to swap it out or clean it.
Visors can be easily damaged if you impact them too heavily so you can buy replacements – the only downside is there’s only one in the box and they’re around $50 a pop if you break one.
Bell’s designed the eye port to be nice and large so it can take pretty well any goggles and gives excellent peripheral vision.
And of course it’s big enough to let them scatter loads of vent holes around the goggles to pull air into the helmet and let air vent around your goggles and brow.
Owners reckon that large eyeport (surrounded by nice and soft rubber for extra comfort) has fitted their Airbrakes and 100% Armegas well and because it’s so large has helped seal them around the face better than some other helmets.
All good here then.
Comfort and Sizing
(more about comfort and sizing)
Bell Moto-10s are a medium oval fitment which is the most popular internal shape for a helmet and means – if you’re unsure of your head shape – that it matches the shape of most riders’ heads.
There’s a few nifty features inside the Moto-10.
As mentioned, it’s got EQRS (like all sports helmets should) but in the Moto-10 the cheekpads are held in with magnets. That means they’re super easy to pull out and refit, whether you do it to clean them or whether it’s first responders looking to carefully remove your helmet. Either way, they work well.
What also works well is that double-d ring fastener. OK double-d’s can be a bit fiddly, but on most straps you have to tie up the end using a snap. Not so on the Moto-10 because Bell’s used magnets there too making it really easy and mega convenient to quickly tie up the end of the strap and stop it flapping about. Great touch that.
The comfort liner’s fully removable and washable too of course, and it’s laced with ventilation holes to let masses of air straight through to your head.
It’s also a a Virus CoolJade liner which means it uses a fabric that’s laced with Jade which Virus (the material’s maker) reckons can actually leach heat away from the head and keep your head cooler. As far as we know, you’ll only get one of these liners with Bell helmets.
We’ve heard reports from a few owners that they do size about right (so measure your head, order the right size and it should fit correctly) though they can be tight around the cheeks when you first wear them; though they break in pretty quickly and fit about right after that.
Other than that, Moto-10s are generally regarded as a comfy helmet with no issues reported.
Looks & Graphics
There’s a ton of graphics out there including some Monster Energy, McGrath and Tomac replicas. There’s also the Fasthouse, Rhythm and Slayco designs alongside some more plain solid and matte black or carbon weave helmets.
As usual, we’ve slung some of the most popular graphics up and down the page, but if you want to see the latest designs and deals on the Moto-10, please click the links below.
Best places to buy a Bell Moto-10 Helmet?
Please click below to drop onto the Bell Moto-10 helmets pages at our recommended store and Amazon. And if you buy from either, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Bell Moto-10 Video
Here’s an 8m look around the Moto-10 from Revzilla.
Other stuff – Bluetooth, weight, build quality, warranty
Bluetooth and Comms
I guess most riders don’t wanna stick a bluetooth and speakers into their dirt helmets because Bell hasn’t fitted any speaker pockets into the Moto-10.
Weight
Weight is one of the biggest turn offs for folks looking to buy a Bell Moto-10. They typically weigh around 3.5lbs (1.6Kg) which makes it a reasonably hefty helmet although owners report that it doesn’t feel all that heavy when you’re riding.
But if you’re after a lighter helmet, maybe check out our lightest helmets pages?
Quality/Warranty
A few owners reckoned the Moto-10’s well built with a great quality liner and good finishing. I guess Bell have faith in their helmet quality too as it’s sold with a full 5 year warranty. That should last the life of the helmet.
Good Alternatives to the Bell Moto-10?
Alternatives you should check out?
First up, while they’re still around, the Bell Moto-9 is still a great alternative. Cheaper, lighter and a highly rated Snell helmet.
The Shoei VFX-Evo is also a Snell certified dirt helmet. And it’s also got an anti-rotate liner and is slightly cheaper than the Moto-10
If you’re after a budget dirt lid that vents well, you should take a look at the LS2 Subverter. It’s got slip-plane internals and EQRS too – though it is noisy.
Finally, and back onto helmets that major on protection, is the 6D ATR-2. Anti-rotation liner, tri-composite shell, great ventilation and comfort – it’s a well sorted helmet.
Click to see all our Dirt/Motocross helmets reviews.
Looking to buy a Bell Moto-10?
Please click below to drop onto the Bell Moto-10 pages at our recommended store and Amazon. And if you buy from either, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
