Review of the Arai Defiant full face crash helmet

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Arai Defiant – a helmet designed for streetbikes and nakeds

As we’ve found many a time, the performance of a crash helmet can change massively depending on the type of motorcycle you ride – ventilation, noise and buffeting are all altered depending on whether you’re in the airflow or out of it – or somewhere in between. So Arai decided to produce a helmet that works when you’re riding in the wind, one that’s designed to work best on naked bikes without fairings. The result is the Arai Defiant; a composite fiber, full face helmet with chin spoiler and slippery rounded shape to reduce buffeting.

  • Snell 2015 certified
  • SHARP 3 star safety rated
  • Full face helmet
  • Double-d Ring fastener
  • Amazing ventilation
  • Designed for naked bikes
  • Composite fiber shell
  • Pinlock Max Vision included
  • XXS – XXXL (see Sizing below)
  • Deals around $550-$650

Note: the Arai Defiant has now been replaced by the Defiant X. Which means there’s some great deals to be found on the old helmet – check our store links below.

Looking to buy this Arai helmet?

We recommend Revzilla (PA) for outstanding service and free shipping, and 2 Wheel (CA) for great service backed by outstanding online reviews, free shipping and free returns. Please click any link to drop onto their Arai helmets pages or see here for more info about our recommended stores, including T&Cs.

Safety

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Arai Defiant Pro Cruise is available with or without Arai Pro Shade

The Arai Defiant has been DOT certified and ECE 22.05 tested so you know the basics should all work well. It’s also been Snell 2015 certified and SHARP safety tested where it scored 3 stars out of 5. SHARP is useful because it allows us to compare helmets (Snell is either certified or not) and with SHARP it scored an average mark. Looking at the SHARP data, while it scored top marks for front and rear impacts, it scored lowest marks on both side impact tests – which is a concern.

Some folks reckon that Arai build their helmets with a view to passing the Snell test above SHARP, and that doing so may result in Arai creating a helmet with a harder shell. If true, that’s arguably not the best for shock absorption during an accident (read more here).

Arai do say they design helmets to be more rounded to glance off surfaces during impact, and that external features like spoilers are designed to break off during an accident to lower potential rotational forces – which is very sensible helmet design.

Having said that and despite the price point and Arai’s great reputation, because of the SHARP test result we’ll only rate the Defiant as average for safety.

Helmet Noise

Owners of the Defiant tend to say it’s around average to quite noisy for a full face helmet.

Which is a shame because with its rounded, slippery shape and the inclusion of its innovative pull-out chin spoiler, Arai have obviously gone to some lengths to make a helmet that’s not too noisy.

Of course helmet noise is very subjective and depends on lots of things – including how quiet your previous helmet was and your riding style. But while some owners do say it’s a quiet helmet, overall owners say it’s somewhere in the range of average-noisy, with noise increasing with speed and whether the vents are open or not.

Ventilation

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Front view of the gloss black showing all five front vents

Ventilation is one of the Arai Defiant’s strong points. In fact it’s probably the best vented helmet we’ve come across yet.

It features a chin vent, brow vent that actually vents through the top of the shield and scalp vent towards the top of the helmet.

There’s also two sets of rear exhaust vents with the pair situated underneath the rear spoiler having an open/close switch.

Overall then, owners of the Defiant say it’s amazingly well vented; open all the vents and from the moment you start off you can feel the air move around your scalp and blow onto your face.

Each vent has multiple positions to either restrict airflow or change which parts are ventilated.

The chin vent has a 3 position slider that either fully closes the vent; or opens just the top part to push air onto the shield and face; or opens the top and bottom to vent shield, face, mouth and chin.

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Rear of the Defiant base orange showing exhaust vents

The brow vents are actually – and unusually – a part of the shield. If you look at the top of the shield, you’ll see two small black covers which cover vents. These have 3 positions too – closed/intermediate/open and channel air into the top of the helmet.

Finally, there’s the scalp vents. Again, these have a 3-way slider for closed/medium/fully open and direct air into the top of the helmet, around the channels in the shock-absorbing EPS liner and over the head, then out of the rear exhaust vents.

All these vents are said to work really well – so much so one rider who uses his helmet in cooler weather commented it’s almost too well vented. But if you tend to ride in warmer weather and want a helmet that keeps you cool, then the Defiant should be bang-on.

The only slight downside is that the chin vents don’t have much of a mesh in them, with a couple of owners saying bugs got in. Not ideal!

Shield

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Solid Black Frost Arai Defiant

The shield on the Defiant is Pinlock MaxVision-ready (and comes with a Pinlock in the box), is quick(ish) release and uses friction to keep it open rather than a ratchet.

Starting with that last point, unlike lots of manufacturers who use a ratchet on their shields, Arai instead use friction which allows you to open your shield as much as you want and the shield stays there. Arai have been using this system for years and it works well so nothing to worry about here.

There’s a locking mechanism at the bottom of the shield to keep the shield closed and locked and and which pulls the shield tight towards the gasket – keeping it sealed and watertight. It’s easy to unlock and raise by pushing up on the locking tab – pretty much like you would with a non-locking shield and there’s no opening tab built into the shield.

Arai reckon the Defiant has been designed with a wide field of view – obviously lots of peripheral vision is important in a crash helmet – but owners don’t really feel they’ve succeeded. It sounds like the shape of the shield aperture cuts out some of the peripheral vision.

If having a helmet with really wide periphieral vision is a priority for you, check our reviews of crash helmets with wide shield apertures here.

Finally, the Defiant’s got a quick-change shield. Ish. Once you know how, it’s pretty easy though a little bit more fiddly than some other brands. To remove the shield, you open the shield up and push up a couple of levers near the shield pivot and pull out the shield. To put the shield back in, just push the ends of the shield into each pivot and close the shield. It sounds easy and once you’ve had a go a few times, owners reckon it is.

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Defiant in Jolly Roger design

Comfort & Sizing

The Arai Defiant is available in sizes XXS-XXXL so if you’re looking for a helmet in any of these extreme sizes, it’d be worth pressing a retailer to grab you one from the distributor – they do exist.

There’s a few nice touches Arai have included inside the Defiant to make it fit as well and comfortably as possible. But first, the basics.

Inside, you’ll find a removable and washable comfort lining made from an anti-microbial lining Arai call Eco-Pure. The bottom of the lining has something called Dri Max applied to it – a hydrophobic material designed to repel water and stop the bottom of the liner getting wet when it’s raining.

Owners reckon the lining is high quality and very comfortable. One reason for this may be that the Defiant’s got Arai’s FSC system – essentially springy cheek pads, there to gently push the pads against the face and make the fit just right. And if that doesn’t quite do it, included in the cheek pads is a 5 mm pull-off section that allows you to tailor the internals further still to get the fitting right.

Arai Rebel street crash helmet rear view
Arai Defiant rear view

And if it’s still not quite right, Arai have a range of different sized internal linings available, so you’ve almost no excuse to have a badly-fitting Defiant! I say almost because if the fundamental shape of the helmet isn’t right for your head, then no amount of tweaking is going to help – read our fitting guide for more info.

So, Arai have gone to great lengths to help you fine-tune the fit to your head. It’s surprising then that they’ve neglected the chin strap a little because a few owners comment that there should be more padding on the strap and it can get a little uncomfy over time.

Looks & Graphics

It’s probably fair to say that some folks reckon the Arai Defiant is a bit staid and retro. Arai don’t blow with the winds of fashion like some other makers and the Defiant’s definitely got the look of the Arai family. But maybe it’s more about buying into that classic Arai style as opposed to buying a helmet that panders to modern styling.

As for designs and color schemes, there’s a Black Frost solid version as well as some more funky designs – including the Jolly Roger, Base White Frost and Base Orange frost. Some versions come with Arai’s Pro Shade system – including the Pro Cruise pictured above. As usual, we’ve tried to smatter the page with these designs, but to see the latest designs and color schemes available, click the links to our recommended retailers.

Best place to buy this Arai crash helmet?

Please click below to visit the Arai helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from any store, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you - a massive THANKS! (it's how we finance the site).

Video

Here’s the dude from Revzilla introducing the Arai Defiant.

Other stuff – chin spoiler & curtain, buffeting, fasteners, weight, glasses, build quality

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Arai Defiant in Base White Frost design

The Defiant has a retractable chin curtain and front spoiler which are designed to work together to reduce wind getting inside the helmet, reduce buffeting and noise and increase helmet stability and downforce. Quite a few owners reckon they work well with a number commenting how stable the helmet is even at speed.

All Defiants come with a double-d ring fastener. There’s also a glasses groove making it easier to live with if you’re a glasses wearer. As to weight, it’s not the lightest full face helmet with a medium weighing in at 3.4lbs (average weight for a full face helmet we’ve found is 3.26lbs) though we didn’t find anyone who found weight a problem.

Finally, owners report that the build quality is excellent with Arai’s near-legendary attention to detail evident in finish and features.

Crash Helmet Buying Guides

For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various guides - or have a look at our top helmet lists where we've got the top 10 rated helmets overall and best budget/safest/full face/flip-up/sportsbike/track helmets.

Alternatives to the Arai Defiant

If you’re after a more exclusive helmet that’s not sportsbike focused, we’d recommend you check out AGVs GT Veloce – a SHARP 5 star rated all-rounder that’s lighter than the Defiant and cheaper too. Of course, if you do want an Arai, the Signet-Q is worth looking at – SHARP 4 star rated and around the same price point as the Defiant. Finally there’s the Shoei GT Air – an excellent sports touring helmet that’s quieter than the Defiant and has a wide, optically correct Pinlock shield.

Definitely want an Arai?

Here you'll find all our Arai crash helmet reviews and previews including full face, flip-up and open face helmets.

Overall/Summary

The Arai Defiant is a very competent crash helmet. It’s got amazing build quality, is extremely comfortable and has some of the best venting this side of an open face. There’s a few downsides – namely it’s not the quietest of helmets, it drops a couple of points for safety according to SHARP and it’s pretty expensive. But as a usable helmet that’s all day comfortable and a real hot-weather beater, the Arai Defiant is hard to beat.

Looking to buy this Arai helmet?

We recommend Revzilla (PA) for outstanding service and free shipping, and 2 Wheel (CA) for great service backed by outstanding online reviews, free shipping and free returns. Please click any link to drop onto their Arai helmets pages or see here for more info about our recommended stores, including T&Cs.

Star Ratings

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Safety
Noise
Comfort
Features
Value
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review-arai-defiant-full-face-crash-helmetThe Arai Defiant is supremely comfortable and one of the best ventilated helmets we've reviewed. It drops a couple of stars for safety and it's a bit noisy - but the build quality is up to the usual excellent Arai standards and owners love their Defiants. A great helmet for the naked bike rider (the bike, not the rider!)

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