2009 Gmax GM68S white motorcycle helmet review

I own a 2008 Gmax GM68S helmet (original ADV thread, my personal review, and Web Bike World’s write-up). It is an inexpensive, DOT-only helmet with two main product highlights: a ton of vents and an LED light system in the back.

I fell for the vent hype and thought the LED system was bogus, but the opposite turned out to be true. I have fogging problems with the GM68S, but the LEDs can be seen from far away in the middle of a rainstorm. Funny how expectations work out that way.

Anyway, my major gripe with the helmet (venting aside) is that it was only available in flat, “rubatone” black or various patterns like a snake, a dragon, or a cross. I’m not an old fogey yet, but I’m not an 18 year old squid either. I had to settle for black, even though I was giving up visibility from my silver helmet predecessor.

This year the GM68S has some improvements, and they were convincing enough for me to order one.

1) A new breath guard (supposedly). I don’t know if this is true or not, or if it is more effective than the current one.
2) A nifty flip-down visor shade. I am unsure if this comes with the helmet, or must be purchased separately. I have only found the visor for sale in one place — eBay, for about $50. The product shots all show the visor in place, and the 2008 GM68S shipped with a second tinted visor, so maybe I’ll luck out.
3) A much, much wider assortment of colors! I bought white this time, but they have a solid silver as well as a bunch of bright patterns. I considered a silver-and-dark-gray scheme, but figured if I was spending extra money to get a higher visibility helmet I would get the highest visibility offered.

This is the product shot shown on the Iron Pony Web site (and just about everywhere else):

I put my order in and started to play the waiting game. I really wanted that flip-down visor. 🙂

My white 2009 helmet arrived from Iron Pony on Wednesday. I would have posted this comparison sooner, but I was too busy riding. 🙂 Price was $121 shipped and as usual Iron Pony’s order processing was super fast and accurate.

I was a little disappointed that the half-visor wasn’t included per the stock photos, but I was prepared for it. Gmax still includes the tinted visor (with case) for free. Since I am selling my black helmet, I put my old visor on my new helmet so the new visors will go when the helmet sells. The visors from 08 and 09 appear to be interchangeable and I had no problems putting the old visor on the new helmet.

Despite the Internet rumor, the breath guard is identical to the 08 model. Padding seemed a little thicker on the 09 helmet, but that is probably because the padding hasn’t molded to my ugly face yet.

The LEDs work just like the originals. I was curious to find that the batteries were already installed in the helmet. If I recall, the batteries were shrink-wrapped when I bought my black helmet. I wonder if this was a return.

Even though the 2/3 shade was absent and the breath guard is the same I am very happy with my purchase. I love the look of my 08 helmet, but felt goofy wearing hi-viz gear and then pinning a black helmet on top.

The other colors offered this year look great online, and having more choices is great. I highly recommend the Gmax GM68s helmet, and Iron Pony.

Highly Recommended.

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