Schuberth S3 helmet Apex white

The first thing to say is that the Schuberth S3 is a sports-touring helmet. Sports-touring helmets are designed, as you would imagine, to be worn on touring bikes and bikes with perhaps a slight sporting edge to them. So a bike where you might be leant forward on the bars a little. But sports-touring helmets are not designed to work on out-and-out sportsbikes where your tummy sits against the tank. You could also, obviously, wear a sports-touring helmet on an adventure bike; and indeed many people do. Unless, of course, you have convinced yourself that you couldn't possibly leave the house without a peak.

 

The shell is a composite one. As every manufacturer does, Schuberth has a fancy acronym for the way they make theirs, but in essence a composite shell comprises a mix of glass and carbon fibres. In truth, all the best helmets have composite shells. This may confuse those who imagine that carbon shells are superior, but that's not the case. Carbon helmets are lighter on your head and heavier on your wallet. And that's the bottom line.

 

The S3 has a multi-density eps liner. And this is important because what you want is a softer, less dense layer nearer the shell to absorb the energy of a slow-speed impact and a hard, denser eps closer to the head to absorb the energy of a more severe one.

 

The main weakness with Schuberth helmets, and what stops the brand being considered as a truly premium one, is that all their helmets come in just two shell sizes. And that's the same as all the cheapest, entry-level and budget brands out there. To accommodate the very tiniest to the very largest heads into just two shell sizes will always involve compromises. You really need at least three shell sizes to do the job properly. This doesn't mean that the S3 won't fit a lot of people very well. It merely means that there are some people will not be able to wear one at all.

 

Schuberth does offer retailers a range of pads with a view to custom fitting the helmet. But their efforts in this regard are, it has to be said, a little half-hearted. The system only works in three out of the six sizes. The pads come packaged in sets that don't make a lot of sense. And unlike with Shoei, Arai and Shark there's no exchange scheme, so in theory you have to pay for these pads. And there are scenarios where to get all the headliner pads and cheekpads you need, you could be in for well over a £130. But don't worry; come to see us in Guildford for a fitting, and we won't charge for any pads you need.

 

Schuberth seem quite excited that they now have emergency straps on the cheekpads to aid first responders. Well that's good, but other brands have been doing this for more than 10 years, so I am not sure it's something to get overly excited about.

 

The helmet should not be a problem for spectacle wearers, but that can be dependent on your frames, so it's always advisable to check it first before you take the plunge.

 

The main visor is Class 1 optical quality. That's long been a Schuberth thing, and that's good. The helmet also comes fitted with a Pinlock 120. Now normally we would suggest that this would remove any fogging issues, but in order to make the S3 as quiet as it could possibly be they have endowed the helmet with a tight, albeit elasticated, neck roll. This will undoubtedly have an effect on reducing the amount of noise-inducing air that can make its way into the helmet. But the downside is that this tighter neck roll will also impede the expelling of air, and in cold or wet conditions this could bring about premature fogging or condensation.

 

To combat this you need good venting, and so the S3 has a two-part, chin vent. The upper one directs cooler air over the visor to reduce the temperature differential between the external temperature and the temperature inside the helmet. And that's important, obviously, as it is this that causes fogging in the first place. The lower vent directs air on to the face. In the winter this will help with fogging too. In the kind of conditions where fogging is likely to occur, the brow vent should also be fully open, as this will serve to pull warmer air away from the face to be expelled though the exhaust vent.

 

As we've suggested, the S3 comes with a tighter neck roll in order to reduce noise levels. Now Schuberth understands how to make a quieter helmet as well as anybody. It's long been their thing. But when you put a tighter neck roll into a full-face helmet, as opposed to a flip-helmet, you run the risk of making it difficult to get in and out of. I remember this being a bit of an issue on one of the S2 variants some years ago. But there's a lot of stretch in the S3's neck roll, so I don't see it being a major problem for most people. You might initially find it a bit of a struggle to put an s3 on, but once it's on you'll be fine, and you will get used to it.  Schuberth quotes an 85 dB noise level at 62 mph. That's the same as the C5; and if it's true, and it may well be, that's impressive.

 

Turbulators along the top edge of the visor are meant to disrupt the airflow to again reduce noise. Schuberth features them on all their helmets, so I can only assume that wind tunnel testing has shown that they work.

 

One really nice feature on the S3 is a proper 'crack' position. This is where the visor is able to sit open just a tad, to allow a steady influx of cool air to enter the helmet. Again this can be a good thing when you're trying to combat fogging. Well the crack position on the S3 works really well.

 

The main visor, by the way, then has a further four, pretty firm, detent positions that will hold the visor where you want it, unless you're riding at silly speeds, I suppose.

 

You also get an internal drop-down, sun visor.

 

As with all Schuberth helmets, the S3 is equipped with their trademark AROS straps. Basically there are two straps that are riveted into the back of the helmet that are then attached to the chin strap on both sides. These straps make it almost impossible for a Schuberth helmet to come off in an accident because the chin strap is prevented from moving forward. We have always been in favour of this system; and are surprised that nobody else seems to have opted for it.

 

The strap is fastened by means of a micrometric adjuster rather than a set of 'D' rings. And this, of course, is what the emergency services prefer.

 

Now nobody does integrated comms. better than Schuberth. And what I suppose that means is that they do them better than Shoei.

 

And they do. Their system is far more Plug&Play than Shoei's, although you do still need to connect a wire at the back when you install it. But whereas with Shoei you still have to install the earphones and microphone, with Schuberth you don't have to. They're pre-installed.

 

Where Schuberth creates even more clear blue water with Shoei is in the number of different systems they offer. Shoei has just the one Sena Bluetooth and Mesh system. Scuberth offers a very similar Sena Bluetooth/Mesh system. But they also offer a cheaper, more basic, Bluetooth-only system. And for people who don't want to converse with an entire cricket team, it's the perfect option. 

 

They also offer a Cardo system, which will please lots of Cardo loyalists. And with the way the integrated comms. work on a Schuberth, it really does set up the possibility that, with the one helmet,  you can talk with your Sena group one day, and your Cardo pals the next

 

Schuberth really has got comms. sussed.

 

The benchmark helmet in the sport-touring category is, as it has been for many years, the Shoei GT Air 3; currently in its third iteration.

 

In terms of features, the two helmets go head to head, and are indeed very similar.

 

They are both well made, they both have composite shells, the best-quality external visors, come with Pinlock 120s, drop-down sun visors and integrated comms..

 

But, in the margin, the S3 simply isn't a GT Air.  

 

It's slightly intangible, but there's a solidity and a sense of precision with the Shoei that you just don't get with the Schuberth. There's that VW Golf door 'clunk' feeling that you get with a Shoei helmet that, ironically perhaps, isn't present on the German brand.

 

From a retailer's perspective, the clear blue water, however, comes down to fitting. 

 

The Schuberth only comes in two shell sizes; and until they move to three there will often be a problem in this regard. Indeed, these days even people like Scorpion routinely offer three. What two shell sizes means is that there will always be challenges when it comes to getting the optimum fit. There is, in particular, a problem with the S3 in the jump from the Large size to the Extra Large. The gap is simply too large. And so if the Large is a little tight on the forehead an Extra Large is often way too large. And there's not a lot we or anybody, or indeed anybody, can do about it. 

 

From our perspective, there will always be a better chance of getting a good fit with the GT Air. With every size of Shoei there is the option to fit thicker or thinner headliners and cheekpads. But of course with the computer-aided Shoei Personal Fitting System we can pretty much guarantee getting a perfect fit on anybody. PFS is simply a game changer.

 

Obviously this doesn't mean that you cannot get a perfect fit with the S3. For some people the S3 will fit perfectly right out of the box. And for others some simple adjustments of the internal pads can make it so. But getting that optimum fit is a bit of a hit and miss affair with the Schuberth, in the way that it's not with the Shoei.

 

But if the S3 does fit you then it will serve you well.

 

In terms of price, at the time of writing, the white GT Air is £540. In white, the Schuberth is £470. And at this end of the market, given that most people will wear their helmets for five years, that £70 probably doesn't make much of a difference. Let's face it; that's just £15 a year. It's hardly a factor.

 

And when something far more entry level like the Shark Spartan GT Pro comes in at over £400, both the S3 and the GT Air still look like great value.