I'm writing this review after owning the helmet for one year. Done with it arround 10.000 miles in all kinds of weather and temperatures (except freezing winter, no such a thing here in southern Europe), and rode with it on 2012 DL650 and then 2014 DL1000, so now I can stand behind my words:
1. First Impressions/Unboxing ImpressionsI ordered white helmet, as for some years I'm only choosing white ones to be better noticed by other road users (I don't like Hi-Vis). Many years ago my helmets were all black but we live and learn (but that's another story).
Arrived well boxed. Package includes the helmet itself, PinLock insert, the bag and extensive user's manuals.
2. Initial Setup/InstallationSetting it up was dead easy. All works as it should. Side button slider for inner tinted visor easy to reach. Clear visor has finger catch on both sides so you can open it with left or right hand. Inner materials are premium quality. Comes with Bluetooth antenna already installed from factory and ready to put the speakers without cutting anything in the interior. Fits the head very good and there are no pressure points the previous, non-Pro model, had. It is not approved legaly to be used with a flip front open and it would be dangerous as it barely stays open while you're filling your tank on petrol station. A bit of a harder head shake and it would fall half way to closed. Closing the flip front requires use of both hands and listening to locks on both sides making sure they clicked closed.
3. Real World Testing (how did it perform)Now I have to go back a bit.
When I purchased 2012 DL650, I went through all kinds of fight with it because of a buffeting problem. I'm 6"2.5 with 34 inseam. The struggle ended with Givi Airflow screen and little side wind deflectors installed. At that time I owned cheap Haisen modular helmet. So, buffeting solved and I could ride any speed with visor open or even flip front up. If I wanted good air to my helmet I'd just crack open the visor and it'd give me good ventilation. Givi Airflow was set to almost lowest position.
Then time came to invest in top of the line helmet. As a safety was my primer concern and knowing that most cops and biker medics use Schuberth all over the world, the choice was made.
I've chosen white one and the helmet looks very poor, like a big snowball on your head. No graphics at all. At present date, I think Schuberth offers C3 Pro with graphics but when I got mine, that was not the case.
So, I put some decals "Adventure" on its sides, painted the top vent black and put some reflective stripes, white ones on the front and sides and red ones on the back. After that it looked a bit better.
It was huge investment for my budget, arround 600 euros. But, I thought, who cares, I'll own one of the best helmets in the world. If I only knew at that time...
I live in the area with 300 sunny days a year. I ride my bike every day to work and back (40 miles round trip). In the early morning I travel East, so the sun is in my line of sight. In the afternoon, I travel West, so the sun is again in my line of sight. I thought inner tinted visor would solve it easily, as my sunglasses did in my previous helmet. Wrong!! Inner tinted visor is just not dark enough. So I purchased light smoke OEM visor that, combined with dark inner visor, solved the issue. Now I have to travel with other visor in my top box as I never know if I'm going to hit the night. Swapping the visors is dead easy. I even do it without removing the helmet from my head. Inner visor goes down enough, so no problems with that as well.
Here I come to my main problem with Schuberth. When I got it, I still owned my 2012 DL650. Right on the first ride I got terrible buffeting, worse then with cheap Haisen helmet and OEM screen. It was great shock for me. The rest of the ownership of DL650 was fighting the buffeting again. Ended up with it partialy solved. Top screen of Givi Airflow had to go up a lot and the visor on Schuberth had to stay closed all the time. At that setup, the buffeting was there but bearable. Just crack opening the visor and my head would start shaking left-right-left-right dangerously. Schuberth C3 Pro was supposed to be known as a quit and without buffeting. All new screen/visor setup brought another problem. I was riding inside air buble and had no air to my helmet at all. My head is boiling in summer and dripping the moisture in winter.
Then I changed my bike to 2014 DL1000. I was sure new bike would be different in terms of buffeting. Got it out of the dealer with OEM screen and wanted to make longer ride straight away. No way. OEM screen gave me such a buffeting and wind noise inside a helmet, something I have never experienced with any helmet or bike. I did ride a bike for two weeks waiting for Givi Airflow to arrive but it had to be on low speeds only.
Then Givi Airflow arrived. The same story. I can ride only with top Windscreen almost fully up and visor on my helmet fully closed. Again, no air to my helmet. All the winter was a struggle. Fogging started and I tried PinLock insert and hated it. Top edge of PinLock was in the middle of my line of sight and looking through it was not as clear as without it, especially at night. It was like looking through the water (yes, I removed protective film). Had to remove it. The fogging was terrible all the winter, as my helmet doesn't receive any incoming air. So the only solution was to play open/close/open/close game with my visor at 30 seconds intervals. Can you imagine that? All the winter. Weather is dry and warm now, 35-38ºC during a day. No more fogging but now I'm boiling inside the helmet. Just for the sake of a test, tried my old Haisen to see how it was with this new bike. Perfect!! Top screen on my Givi Airflow all the way down, nice and clean air to my helmet, no buffeting and very little noise.
I WILL NOT risk huge ammount of money again for new helmet. Yes, I'm looking for a new one to end this suffering. Narrowed down my search to Nolan N104 Evo and AGV Compact Course.
On the side note, visor is not leaking in the rain.
4. Specs & Other noteworthy facts- Just few months ago I saw SHARP safety rating for this helmet. 3 stars only.
- It is to be used with flip front down and locked only, to be legal.
- I use 58 size helmets. It means M (57-58) for all the brands but it was L for Schuberth as L for them is 58-59. Tried M and it was too small.
5. Tester's Opinion (summary)For the ammount of money I spent on this helmet I expected something extraordinary. It was complete miss for me. I don't know if it works good on some other type of bikes but it doesn't work for me and my bike. Talked to my Suzuki dealer few days ago about this problem and he said one more client with 2015 DL1000 was complaining about the same problems. He also owned Schuberth C3 Pro. Dealer said the bloke already bought different helmet and problems were gone.
I'm very angry. If it was £100-£150 helmet, I wouldn't feel that bad. But for the price it costs...
And visual aspect of the helmet? Don't even ask. Looks like from 70's or 80's.
6. Star RatingStar Rating
2 star = maybe I should have done more research before buying this?
I hope I can sell it for a third of a price when new one arrives.
