Bell Apex Helmet

[Erich Z]

Bell is obviously one of the most recognizable nameplates in the helmet business, but much of their offerings are of the lower-quality variety. They've changed this somewhat lately, and one of their nicer current helmets is the "Apex."

The Apex line retails for about $200, and comes in all sorts of fanciful colors, solid and graphics. I ended up with the "White ripper" color scheme, after finding a tremendous deal on a new one on eBay (you don't want to know). The graphics on this particular helmet are quite attractive, and I usually don't go for graphics on helmets. The helmet is a rubberized matte texture, and feels high quality from the moment you touch it.



I'm a solid Medium in most helmets, so I felt comfortable ordering the medium available in the auction. First of all, it's a bit tighter than other brands I've tried, most notably HJC. Bell's approach seems to be to carry a larger outer shell and pad it to size. This makes for a rather large outer shell, but weight isn't too bad and it feels well balanced. The inner padding is high in quality, and has plenty of give while feeling sturdy enough to last for years. The helmet includes a removable chin curtain to keep the buffeting down as well.

I have yet to ride much with it on, so I will hold off final judgement until later, and post the remainder of my review at that time.

[7th day]

I can remember when Bell was the top of the line helmet then they were sold off to Bieffe in Italy and they were no longer Bell but a re-badged Bieffe. Sad. Hope they can make a comeback.

[Erich Z]

After living with the helmet for a few weeks I can say it's quite comfortable. The liner is easily removed for washing, and is quite plush but firm. As an eyeglasses wearer, I would probably prefer a modular helmet, but the Apex isn't so tight it's a bear to wear the glasses.

The rubberized helmet surface is interesting. It seems like it will wear well, but it does get dirty very easily. The white has a tendency to pick up fingerprints and dirt. Thankfully it washes just as easily, and bugs came right off without scrubbing.

The venting works very well - you get good airflow around the chin and cheeks, and the faceshield can be notched open a bit for even better cooling around town.

I'd heartily recommend this helmet to folks looking for one in the $200 range. It seems to be higher quality than my wife's HJC CL-14, and the fit and finish is superb.