Product review: Airoh Commander Dual Sport helmet

The explosion in popularity of dual-sport bikes has seen the motorcycle apparel market respond with a plethora of protective gear that’s designed to work well both on the road and off it.

Helmet manufacturers have jumped at the opportunity to deck out dual-sport riders resulting in more brands and models being available than ever before.

The dual-sport, or adventure helmet, looks like a cross between a motocross helmet and a full-face road helmet.

The peaks are generally short to catch less wind on the road and most feature a pivoting clear visor, similar to that on a road helmet, for a much better job than goggles of keeping the wind out of your eyes.

As a multi-purpose product, I wanted to find out if dual-sport helmets were a crude compromise or if they could actually straddle the needs of both on-road and off-road riders.

Let’s face it: a Swiss Army knife could cut you a feed if you were desperate, but a butcher’s carving knife does a much better job of slicing perfect morsels of deliciousness from a spit roast.

To find out if dual-sport helmets were more of a butcher’s tool than a pocketknife I stuck my head into the new Airoh Commander helmet.

At just under $600 the Commander is one of the more premium options on the market but sits well below the price tag of a Shoei or Arai adventure helmet that are much closer to the $1000 mark.

As you’d expect from a stack hat above $500, the Airoh is constructed using high performance composite materials for a light, strong shell.

One of the challenges for makers of dual-sport helmets is keeping the weight down, given they have more components to suit both road and dirt usage. Weight is an important factor to consider when buying an adventure helmet due to the long distances of adventure riding.

The last thing you want on a long ride is a heavy helmet that’s likely to leave you with a sore neck. The fact an adventure helmet runs a peak that can catch the wind and pull your head back means your neck will be under more strain than wearing a traditional road helmet. Airoh has surmounted the weight issue, with the Commander coming in at just over 1.4kg.

The Commander is a great-looking, lightweight lid so it ticks a couple of critical boxes before you even try it on. This helmet continues to tick boxes with a host of clever features. Behind the main clear visor sits an internal tinted visor for convenience, both day and night.

Opposite to natural assumption, the lever slides upwards to lower the visor. It also takes reasonable pressure to lower the visor so the internal visor doesn’t drop down by itself during rugged off-road riding.

I’m a sook when it comes to my eyes and the harsh Aussie sun, so when I ride during the day it’s always with a dark tinted visor and I found the tint of the Airoh’s internal visor to be dark enough to ride relaxed and comfortable. I just wish the internal visor sat 10-20mm lower.

It was fine while riding on the road and looking well ahead, but for technical off-road riding where my gaze was lower to pick the cleanest line, the bottom of the visor was in my eyeline and that was distracting.

Different head shapes will determine where the visor sits in relation to your field of vision so some riders will find it an issue and others won’t. If you only ride during the day, consider replacing the main clear visor with Airoh’s tinted option for complete sun blockout and zero distractions.

Along with free stickers, a drawstring helmet bag, wind deflector and camera mounts, the Commander also comes with a clear anti-fog Pinlock to attach to the main clear visor.

Due to the twin-visor system I was looking forward to riding with the main visor open to let more air into the helmet. It was stinking hot when I tested out the Commander. However, at speeds above 80km/h the wind got under the internal visor and bothered my eyes enough that I needed to bring the main visor down. The main visor makes a neat seal against the helmet’s eye port, eliminating any wind turbulence inside.

While the wind didn’t get past the closed clear visor, it did make its way under the helmet, creating a noisy ride at freeway speeds. As soon as I cupped my hand around my neck, the wind noise disappeared. After speaking to my mate, Jamie, who regularly rides with an Airoh Commander it turns out my pencil neck was to blame for the wind noise.

If I’m built like a Whippet, Jamie is more like a Bulldog and thanks to his thicker neck he finds the Commander whisper quiet at any speed. So, if you have a skinny neck like me, grab a set of earplugs to go with this helmet.

A feature I always look for in dual-sport helmets is the ability to wear motocross goggles with the main visor still attached and the Airoh allows this to happen. For dry days in the dirt you’ll be grateful for a decent pair of goggles that will keep so much more dust out of your eyes than a visor.

The internal lining of the helmet is plush, breathable and comfortable. If you ride in the dirt, you’ll need to clean the lining more regularly, so thankfully the liner is fully removable. The crown liner comes out easily, but the cheek pad covers are a pain to remove.

A simple click-in cheek pad like those used in most decent MX helmets would make more sense. I like the fact the Double-D chin strap covers are removable for cleaning or replacement. They’re one part of a helmet that cops more wear, sweat and grime than you realise.

Having ridden with Airoh’s MX helmet, I expected more from the Commander’s ventilation. The size and location of the vents is like that of many road helmets and for time spent on the road, the venting is adequate, but when that rush of air drops, along with the average speed from being on the dirt, bigger vents are needed to keep your skull cool. If there’s any updates coming for the Commander, I’d like to see bigger air vents that can be closed or plugged if necessary.

Providing even more bang for buck is the Commander's ability to be turned into a streetfighter helmet. Just remove the peak, fill the screw holes with the supplied plugs and you too can look like the Godfather of freestyle motocross, Mike Metzger. Riding a dirt-oriented helmet without a peak normally means you've had an almighty over-the-bars crash, so it’s never been a look I go for. However, after living with the Commander, the no-peak look has grown me. And what looks even better than the flouro yellow option I tested is a matte black Commander with a dark tinted visor.

My mate Jamie runs one and it looks mean! Perfect for a naked bike or just for a badass look that screams "stay outta my way!"

As a road helmet, the Commander not only looks better with the peak off it also performs better. At highway speeds with the peak on, you can feel the wind tugging at the helmet, particularly when doing shoulder checks. Ditch the peak and the helmet is instantly more aerodynamic and more comfortable to ride with.

The advantage of most dual sport helmets is they give riders the ability to ride on the road and the dirt in relative comfort, however they generally aren’t as good as a pure road helmet for road riding and likewise for off-road riding. This can also be said of the Airoh Commander.

It's a capable helmet for both disciplines with well-designed features to suit the growing Adventure market. Like so many products built for multiple purposes, the Commander is more of a Jack of the road and of the dirt rather than a master of either.

The highlights that stand out most with the Airoh are its lack of weight, its quality finish and its badass attitude with the peak ripped off in Streetfighter mode. Don't be surprised if Airoh re-releases this helmet purely for the naked bike market.

The Airoh Commander is available in matte black and a range of graphics that feature clean lines rather than radical designs. The Carbon Yellow pictured here bears the loudest graphic currently on offer.

For more info on Airoh helmets and to find your closest stockist head to www.motonational.com.au.