Photos by Alex Washburn
A Current Affair
Schuberth C3 Pro by Damon Lavrinc
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The flip-top visor normally adds a lot of additional weight, but Schuberth was able to make the neck hole smaller, negating the extra tonnage.
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The Microlock can be adjusted from both sides for the perfect fit. And for anyone with an obscenely large Adam’s apple, it helps.
The flip-top visor normally adds a lot of additional weight, but Schuberth was able to make the neck hole smaller, negating the extra tonnage.
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A completely new design for the top vent uses two large inlets to suck in massive amounts of air.
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By adjusting the top-mounted switch, you can get as much airflow as you want, up to 2.2 gallons per second at 65 mph.
A completely new design for the top vent uses two large inlets to suck in massive amounts of air.
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A vent below the visor allows fresh air in and improves overall flow.
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The “city” setting for the visor opens a 1 mm space to keep things from going foggy.
A vent below the visor allows fresh air in and improves overall flow.
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The defining feature of the C3 Pro is the new spoiler. It’s good for an additional 8 percent of down force, increasing stability at speed and eliminating buffeting. According to Schuberth, you can really feel it at 125 mph. We haven’t tried.
The defining feature of the C3 Pro is the new spoiler. It’s good for an additional 8 percent of down force, increasing stability at speed and eliminating buffeting. According to Schuberth, you can really feel it at 125 mph. We haven’t tried.
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These little winglets throw the air up and over the helmet, while decreasing wind noise.
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The pin-lock system allows you to fit the included fog-fighting shield.
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The entire visor is removable, making cleaning a breeze after a spate of suicidal bugs.
These little winglets throw the air up and over the helmet, while decreasing wind noise.
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The integrated sun visor is our favorite feature of the C3 Pro, negating the need for sunglasses or carrying an extra visor.
The integrated sun visor is our favorite feature of the C3 Pro, negating the need for sunglasses or carrying an extra visor.
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The integrated communications system (optional) allows you to hear FM radio, chat with up to three riding friends, and connect to any Bluetooth device — particularly helpful when getting directions from your phone.
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The buttons are large enough to feel through a set of gloves, and after a few weeks of usage, muscle memory takes over.
The integrated communications system (optional) allows you to hear FM radio, chat with up to 3 riding friends, and connect to any Bluetooth device — particularly helpful when getting directions from your phone.
I want what everyone wants from a motorcycle helmet: A comfortable fit, phenomenal visibility and plenty of ventilation. It should be as light and quiet as possible. And, of course, it’s got to keep my grey matter where it belongs if I ever go down.
I found exactly what I’m looking for. It’s the Schuberth C3 Pro. And it is magnificent.
Now, good gear is expensive. At $769, the C3 Pro sits squarely at the high end of the cost curve, but if there’s anything I’m not going to skimp on, it’s my head. Schuberth has the quality, the technology, and the experience to justify that kind of scratch. Allow me to explain.
The German helmet manufacturer has been around since the 1950s, and it produced one of the first composite helmets in the 1970s. These days its clients include the entire Scuderia Ferrari racing team and former F1 ace Michael Schumacher. Bona fides? Schuberth has them.
The C3 Pro is the company’s do-everything middle child, slotting in between lesser cruising models and the full-on race rigs. At just under four pounds, it’s the lightest flip-top helmet on the market, undercutting the Neotec Borealis TC-3 from Shoei ($750) by a few ounces. It’s not just lighter, but it offers better balance, thanks to a little extra heft in the flip-top mechanism.
Now, some people can’t stand flip-up helmets. But my big schnoz and a thin head make getting into and out of full-face helmets painfully awkward. A flip-top eliminates those issues and provides plenty of room when I want to chug some water or say, “No, officer, I had no idea I was going that fast” without slipping off my lid.
Like most high-end helmets, the C3-Pro’s shell is a multi-layer concoction of carbon fiber and vacuum compressed, resin-supported glass fiber, while the inside is stuffed full of EPS foam. It’s safe, it’s light, and it exceeds U.S. DOT helmet safety guidelines and the more modern, stringent European ECE R22-05 regs that even MotoGP helmets must meet.
And then there’s the wind noise. Or rather, the lack of it.
Schuberth is the only helmet manufacturer that has its own wind tunnel. It shows. The combination of the C3 Pro’s slick aerodynamics, wind deflector, and snug seal at the neck make this thing whisper quiet. Schuberth claims a rider zipping along at 62 mph on an unfaired motorcycle hears just 82 decibels. According to a study out of the U.K., most riders traveling at 70 mph are assaulted with over 100 decibels of noise, or the aural equivalent of a chainsaw running next to your skull.
[
](https://more-deals.info/autopia/tag/a-current-affair-2/%29%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="paywall">The relative silence of the helmet was especially noticeable when you realize I’m riding the all-electric Zero DS motorcycle. With no engine noise to deal with, the only thing my ears have to deal with is wind noise. At a sustained 75 mph, it’s barely there. No earplugs required—ever.
Schuberth is the only helmet manufacturer that has its own wind tunnel. It shows.
The lack of wind noise also makes the helmet’s optional communications system thoroughly usable.
Unlike the Shoei I mentioned, the C3 Pro’s shell features an integrated antenna and Bluetooth receiver. With the important stuff already wired in, fitting an SRC system is simply a matter of plunking down $429, removing the neck cushion, plugging in a pair of wires and fitting the new control panel. With that, you’ve got bike-to-bike communications for up to three riders, FM radio, mobile phone and GPS integration, and an automatic gain control that boosts the volume to adjust for background noise. It really works, too. Music and podcasts steadily grew louder as I went faster, allowing me to enjoy my tunes without fumbling with a volume control — but not so loud that I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. The few times I’ve needed to adjust the volume, the side-mounted controls are easy to find and a snap to use while wearing gloves. The music sounded great, but I can’t speak to the quality of phone calls. I didn’t take any. I’ve got more important things to focus on while riding.
The rest of the C3-Pro’s controls are even easier to use, including the vents above the helmet and below the visor. They allow two gallons of air to flow through the helmet every second at 62 mph. I’ve worn the Schuberth in everything from 50-degree fog to 100-degree heat and have never been anything but completely comfortable.
One especially nice touch is the incredibly trick integrated sun visor, which slides over the clear visor with the flip of a switch. Set it and forget it. No more squeezing my temples with sunglasses or carrying a tinted visor in my bag.
The sizing runs a little big, though. I generally wear a medium but was advised to try a small. Good call. The C3 Pro was a bit tight for the first few days, but grew more comfortable as the cushions conformed to my oddly shaped cranium. Visibility, too, gets top marks, with a wide viewing angle, a visor that cracks open a scant millimeter to allow for a bit of extra airflow, and a pin-lock system for a fog-fighting visor insert.
Surprisingly, with all that kit included—the integrated antenna and Bluetooth, in particular—the C3 Pro looks less like an overpriced brain bucket and more like an incredible bargain. Add in the fact that if I lay down the bike and take a hit to the head, Schuberth will sell me a new C3 Pro within a year for one-third the cost of the new helmet.
The C3 Pro provides the latest in safety technology and integrated communications in a helmet with exceptional fit and comfort. It’ll cost you, but it’s well worth it.
Now it’s time to worry about everything from my neck down…
