Prolonged Jafrum helmet review

While browsing my own archives I realized that I'm behind on a few things. One in particular was a review of the Jafrum helmets that were purchased last year. I was supposed to give a full and final review after a month of use...oops.

So here it is, the final review of our Jafrum shortie helmets.

The ones purchased were the 100 series DOT Beanie. I wanted a short style helmet and didn't really want to shell out a ton of money for another helmet when we already had brand new Icon Alliance SS helmets. The two Jafrum helmets cost less then one Icon helmet and that included shipping and duty.

I was very hesitant about buying helmets online due to the fact that you can't be sure they are going to fit properly. After measuring our heads twice and considering our Icon helmets were extra large (I find full face helmets are always bigger), we figured that a large would be fine for both of us. The website has a sizing page that was quite helpful in figuring out the size we needed. Upon receiving the helmets and trying them on, though, I realized we could have gone a size smaller. Joey's helmet is rather loose and so is mine. The only plus for me is that I always wear a do-rag or cap underneath it so it stays rather snug.

The helmet comes with a visor that attaches to the front via three screws. I removed mine and Joey kept hers on. It's easily removable and you can get a face shield that attaches to the same spot. The face shield is a separate purchase though and comes in clear, smoke or mirror tint.

The colour we went with was flat black, but it doesn't look like the helmet was actually painted. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was covered with a plastic/vinyl type of material. That works for me as I have found the helmet is very difficult to scratch. As a matter of fact, the only flaws on the helmet right now are some paint marks picked up from the occasional meeting with a wall.

The padding on the interior of the helmet is sufficient for its purpose. There are no hard spots or uncomfortable areas that take against the old noggin. There is even a nice pad that covers the crown of the head.

I was worried about the sturdiness of the straps. They felt cheap and it didn't look like they could take a lot of stress. The inside of the strap is felt lined, but the exterior portion seems to be made of a vinyl type of material. Contrary to what I thought, it has held out rather well. If anything, the straps have become more pliable and comfortable. Believe me, I don't treat the helmet like a baby. I want this one to have a used look and it has more then easily dealt with my punishment.

The only real complaint I have is about the buckle. It came with the seat-belt type strap closure and it's kind of finicky. Once it's closed, there are no problems and it won't easily let go, but the real problem is getting it to click into place. Sometimes it can take a bit of effort to get it to snap in. You can double or triple that effort if you are wearing gloves. The release button is really small and next to impossible to handle with gloves on, let alone bare hands. I've had my issues with it, but Joey is always having problems getting it to snap closed. On the plus side they do have the D ring loops as well, but the only way to use them properly would be to cut off the seat-belt closure. Otherwise the seat-belt portion flaps around in the wind.

We purchased these helmets last August in hopes of being able to wear them when we took our trip to Niagara Falls. We wore the Icons for the trip up and back, but used the Jafrum helmets for any rides around the Niagara Falls area. For the trip, the Jafrum helmets were bungee netted to the top of our luggage and were submitted to heat, cold and one very wet evening. They survived it all without a problem and mine has become my regular helmet. The other night, I took out my Icon to go for a short ride and realized that it was still covered in all the bugs that we had picked up from our trip back from Niagara Falls. I chuckled to myself as I realized that the cheapy little helmet had become my favourite to wear.

I like the open air feel of the beanie/shortie and it's as close to no helmet as I'm going to get in Canada. As for the Jafrum brand, it gets a thumbs up from me. The build quality is good, it's comfortable for long periods and it's quite affordable. Would I buy from them again? Definitely.

jafrum helmets

have i ever mentioned how much i love getting packages in the mail? even if i know what it is, i love it. :)

anyway, new package from Jafrum arrived...well actually, i had to go pick it up due to the fact that our mail-person is too damn lazy to buzz our apartment. but i digress...my helmets arrived! of course, in my true fashion, pictures and opinions follow.

the box came in really good shape, no holes or punctures. i was actually a little worried about having helmets coming through the mail, but it arrived in better shape then i figured it would.

here is the opened box. inside were the two helmets ordered for me and my wife. each helmet was in it's own "one size fits all" carrying bag (read: too big for the shortie) and it's own white box. no damage done to the inside boxes at all. this would mark my first experience with half helmets/shorties/skid lids/brain buckets/etc. and my thoughts will follow soon after this post.

the helmets are identical, so what i say about one applies to the other. it's flat black with a small sun visor on the front. the visor can be removed by unscrewing three large screws in the front of the helmet. once removed, you will have to put the screws back in to fill up the unseemly holes. i removed mine as i thought the visor looked silly. joey left hers on, which should resolve in any confusion as to who owns what helmet.

the construction seems solid and the fit is good for me (size large). joey says that hers is a little large, but we both have the same sized head. i wear a bandana under mine, so it's pretty snug.

the strap system is my only real complaint. these helmets use a seat buckle type of system. while this should make putting the helmet on nice and easy, it ends up having quite the opposite effect. the buckle is small and rather tedious to snap in place, you often miss the entry point on the receiving end of the buckle. also, the adjustments are made on the part that buckles in. at first glance this seems pretty secure, but after a while of riding around it actually works loose and the helmet becomes somewhat mobile on your head. i have never been a big fan of buckle systems on helmets. in my consideration, the D-ring system should be the only system used.


thankfully, there is another option. they had the foresight to leave the D-ring system on the helmet as well. the only bad part is the fact that you will still have the buckle hanging off the side of your head. i may do a little modifying with my trusty dremel tool.

over all, the helmet is quite comfortable and i am in no way disappointed with my purchase. the padding inside is soft and i have found no pressure points at all. after a ride of several hours, i have found no discomfort at all.

i'll do a final review once i get a full month out of the helmet. that will give me a good idea as to what it will be like in regard to comfort and longevity.

mind you, this has not become my main helmet. this lid is only used for short hops and rides to work. my Icon Alliance full face will be my helmet of choice for any long distance riding.