VOSS 580 Conquest Helmet - A Review
Helmets, the greatest debate in the motorcycle community is the one about whether or not to wear a helmet.
For me the debate is more along the lines of - what helmet should I wear?
I'm pro this rider's safety!
I have been riding either my own or as a passenger for over 40 years.
Other than my beanie which fit like a glove and kept the debris and sun off my head, I have only
ever had one helmet that was DOT approved that I truly loved and that was the Bell Pit Boss. Notice though that both are open face style helmets.
I have tendencies towards being claustrophobic that can make a full face helmet a non - starter forme. Breathing in the stale air inside the helmet, not unlike having your head under the blankets,
causes me to panic.
I decided to give a modular helmet another try. My reasoning was that if I was in a crash my chin and face would be spared the inevitable road rash.
Kristina Gould from Voss fitted me for the 580 Conquest, I chose bright yellow with the thought
that looking like a mad wasp might make people notice me.
She sent me home with the helmet and the anti fog liner for the lense, all in under $350.00
Canadian.
The Anti Fog PinLock Lense installs like a dream, took 3 seconds.
Learning how to use the drop down inner sun visor and unlock the jaw another 10 seconds.
Learning to take off and put back on the main visor, a little longer, 30 - 40 seconds.
https://www.vosshelmetsusa.com/products/voss-580-modular-anti-fog-pinlock-face-shield-clear
There is room for prescription glasses without getting a headache from the pressure.
For the size of it, the helmet is very light, and the way it rests on my motorcycle jacket collar in the back makes it feel like you are also wearing a Hanns device in a race car. Your head doesn’t go
back as far as it does with a beanie, that’s for sure!
Surprisingly good field of view too. I did not feel restricted in the vision department at all.
The drop down inner visor is fabulous.
Unlike some brands out there, this inner lense is not flimsy and does not smack your nose either.
The helmet is easy to do up, and the mechanical jaw lifts relatively easily, however the visor locks down pretty hard, causing that uncomfortable in the stomach feeling that those who lean to
claustrophobia will recognize.
I drink a lot of fluids when I ride, and constantly having to lift the jaw up to have a drink was really distracting.
I don’t want to buy or wear a camelback so that means I will be changing helmets.
I gave it the good old college try, several times over the 1,200 K I rode on the weekend,
but nope, riding with the visor up was way more comfortable than with it down and locked in place.
The noise inside the helmet wasn’t bad at all.
In fact it was much quieter than many of the helmets I have tried in the past, including an older
version of the VOSS Modular.
The anti fog lense did its job exceedingly well, but I just felt like I couldn’t breath.
This is truly a beautiful helmet, well constructed, comfortable and I felt very safe in it, but the two
caveats for me were the inability to drink a beverage without lifting the jaw up and not being able
to breathe comfortably when the visor was down and locked in place.
Neither of those two things has anything to do with the helmet.
I will be looking at getting myself the Voss 303 Dual Lens Open Face in the near future.
I like how the sides of the helmet extend past that of the traditional ¾ helmet and think my face
would feel less exposed to road rash.
I look forward to hopefully the same kind of fit and comfort that the 580 Conquest has.
I'll let you know when I get it and have had the chance to ride in it.
Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider.
