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X-Lite X-702 GT – a composite-shelled touring helmet
Note: the X-Lite X-702 is now discontinued in the US. For some great alternatives, please skip to our Top 10 full face motorcycle helmets page.
X-Lite manufacture some of the safest helmets in the world. Most of their helmets are created out of composites – and the X-702 GT is no exception being made out of a composite of Kevlar, carbon fiber and fiberglass – with the aim of making the safest helmets possible. And if you look at X-Lite’s SHARP safety rating scores, they’re doing a very good job too with their lowest score being 4 out of 5!
The X-Lite X-702 is X-Lite’s composite touring helmet. It was tested by SHARP where it scored a maximum 5/5 stars which is as safe as they come.
But is it any good to live with and does it perform as a touring helmet?
Overall
X-Lite’s reputation for good quality, good value and safe helmets continues with the X-702 GT. It’s a touring helmet that’s quiet, comfortable with good ventilation and a UV drop down sun visor – and which is SHARP 5 star rated for safety. And there’s no real downsides – it’s even great value for a composite helmet and has an ACU Gold sticker if you want to take it on the track. Overall – very much worth a look.
- NOT available in the US
- Not Snell certified
- SHARP 5 Star rated – maximum safety
- Sizes XXS to XXXL!
- Weight 3Lbs/1.4Kg (lighter than average)
- Composite fiber shell
- Quiet, comfortable and great ventilation
- Double d ring fastener
- Typically priced between $320-$480
Safety
We’ve already mentioned the X-702 GT scored a maximum 5/5 in the SHARP helmet safety test. What’s more, it’s manufactured in four shell sizes, adding to safety as well as helping the fitting and look of the helmet when you’re wearing it. The number of shell sizes manufactured might also be seen as a measure of a brand’s attention to detail and commitment to safety and fit – only the most reputable brands produce their helmets in four shell sizes so X-Lite joins a select few in producing the X-702 GT in four shells.
Of course, safety is about more than just the helmet shell. Features such as an easy to use sun visor, aerodynamics/buffeting, reflective inserts to improve visibility, wide shield aperture to increase peripheral vision – they all arguably contribute to safety, and the X-Lite X-702 GT has them all.
Helmet Noise
Owners broadly reckon the X-702 GT is a pretty quiet helmet. And with X-Lite’s focus on quality aerodynamics to reduce buffeting and improved airflow, that’s probably not too surprising. Plus, given that the 702 GT is a touring-focused helmet, making a quiet helmet was probably reasonably high up on their list of design priorities.
Of course, most folks who’re in the market for a serious touring helmet will probably use either ear plugs or have a communicator to help with the noise suppression, but to keep your ride as quiet as possible, it’s good to see the X-702 GT gets the basics of noise insulation right.
Ventilation
The X-702 GT has an useful array of vents and exhausts. It has two chin vents in the chin guard; one to direct flow onto the visor and another towards the rider’s mouth. It also has a couple of side vents which act as additional ventilation to the lower half of the face in one position, or an exhaust for the front vents. There’s also a couple of forehead vents matched to a couple of exhaust vents to the rear.
Users say it’s a good system that’s easy to use and delivers plenty of cooling in hot weather and enough ventilation to the visor during colder weather to keep the visor fog free (when used with the included Pinlock insert). So all good here.
Shield
There’s a drop-down sun visor with ‘fog resistant coating’ operated from a slider to the left of the shield. The main clear shield comes with an included Pinlock anti fog insert, has a central easy-to-use tab for raising/lowering the shield and a good positive ratchet mechanism which owners say is well designed. It’s also got the increasingly commonplace quick release mechanism.
One feature that’s not so common on a touring helmet is the wide shield aperture. These are more common with racing helmets but are just as useful on the road so it’s good to see X-Lite learning from their racing division and bringing it over to their touring range.
Comfort
No problems reported here. The interior is removable and washable (as usual) but is also made from what X-Lite say is a thermally-regulating padding that’s breathable too. There’s also 3 grades of cheek pads available to help owners tailor the fit, which is a nice touch and should mean, if you buy a 702 GT and you’re not too sure if the fit’s quite right, you could experiment with replacement cheek pads to get the fit bang on.
There’s also glasses grooves in the inside to help glasses wearers get a comfortable fit by preventing stems from digging into the side of the face. Nice all round.
The blurb from X-Lite on internal padding boasts another bunch of features and materials brought over from their racing team; but whatever its heritage and claims – owners say it’s effective and that the X-702 GT is a very comfortable helmet.
Looks & Graphics
At the time of reviewing, X-Lite had a range of 8 different designs, though you’ll also be able to find several more older designs if you click the links through to our recommended retailer below.
As usual, we’ve tried to give a sample of most of the current range on this page, although the designs usually come in three or four different color combinations too. You can find an updated list of the latest designs on the X-Lite website.
Many of the X-702 GT’s designs are very cool urban or sci-fi inspired designs, such as the Fightex, Racy, Cosy or Scorey (right) – designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a videogame. There are the usual plain blacks/whites (the Start range) but there’s also the subdued but still very modern Dynamic, Active and Chased designs. All models are suffixed with N-Com to denote they’re ready to work with X-Lite’s N-com communication system – in the X-702 GTs case the N-Com BX4.
Video
We couldn’t find an English language X-702 GT review video, but we did find one taken at the X-Lite factory showing them making their helmets – amongst them an X-702 and the BX-4 communicator – that you might find interesting. There’s also a video showing how to fit the N-Com communicator which might come in useful if you buy an X-702 GT. Happy viewing!
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Alternatives
There are three other helmets you might want to take a look at that have similar characteristics to the X-Lite.
Firstly, there’s AGVs K5, another composite-shelled sports-touring helmet that scored 4 stars for safety and also comes with a sun visor. It’s a little cheaper than the X-Lite too. There’s also the AGV GT Veloce which is similar-looking to the K5 and at the sportier end of the sports-tourer category. It’s 5 star safety rated and also composite-shelled (in this case fiberglass, aramid and carbon fibers) and though the GT Veloce is a little more expensive than the X702 GT, it’s an excellent helmet (though let down slightly by being quite noisy).
Finally, there’s the Nolan N86. This is lower priced than all the above and made of polycarbonate – though it also has a sun visor and scored four stars in the SHARP safety test – and it comes with an included Pinlock anti fog insert in the box.
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