Review of the Nolan N-40 Helmet by Mark Brown of MotoMark1

Nolan N-40 Full Helmet

Hi folks this is a product review of the Nolan N-40 Full helmet. I’ve had my helmet since December 2015 and I’ve been wearing it ever since. I’ve had the pleasure of testing this helmet in the cold of January 2016 thru present and I have to say I’m very impressed.  At MotoMark1 I do a few different things with training. We train on road skills, off road skills, camera bike chauffeur and teach using instructor to student radio communications in all kinds of weather and different types of terrain. I’ve used the helmet during the cold winter months in North Carolina and in the hot summer months thru July of this year.

The N-40 Full converts to (3) different configurations in (1) one. This helmet is an adventure / off road style full face with a flip up clear face shield, adjustable visor and an inside retractable sun shield for those bright sunny days. These features are awesome especially if you wear glasses and don’t want to change from clear to dark glasses all the time. Just a flip of the lever and you’ve got sunshade inside the helmet and you maintain your lenses without having to stop and change out to the dark ones. I found the helmet to be light and comfortable with adequate ventilation. It’s not noisy like some helmets I’ve had but it’s not the quietest either. I guess when getting the ventilation there is a give and take.

The inside is very comfortable and has a removable moisture wicking liner that is easy to remove and put back. One of the cool features of this helmet is you can order it with a Pinlock sealed visor for a little extra. My advice is do this as it makes riding on those cold wet days a lot easier to see since it’s not fogging up. The Nolan N-40 Full has fantastic peripheral vision for a full face helmet. I’d say probably the best on the market. The vision is amazingly wide and clear which is very helpful and safer than those that do not have wide vision. Another unique feature is this helmet can convert to a full face street style helmet by removing the visor and leaving the face shield on. This makes it look more like street / touring helmet without the off road look. You still have the Pinlock fog free face shield and the retractable inside sun shield without sacrificing any comfort. The white helmet with this converted look reminds me of an Astronaut’s helmet, which I think is pretty cool!!

The next conversion of the helmet is the removable chin bar!! That’s right, you can take off the chin bar and it becomes a ¾ helmet. I use it like this when I’m working as a camera bike chauffeur for IronMan Triathlons, bicycle races or marathons. Sometime I’ll carry a videographer so you can see some really cool things at home on your TV or your laptop.  I like having the unique ability to convert this helmet to ¾ because it makes communicating with my camera operator so much easier. 

Before the Nolan N-40 Full came out I had to have 3 different helmets. One for off road / adventure, one for full face / street and one ¾ without a visor. This helmet is so cool it does the job of all 3!!

I am so excited about this helmet and love the vision benefits, no fogging up, comfortable, easy removable moisture wicking liner, ratchet chin strap and did I mention the VERSATILITY??? Oh and the price… you would expect since it’s taking the place of 3 helmets it would cost 3 times as much… NOT!!! IT’s very affordable and I highly recommend this helmet to anyone that thinks they have to have 2 or 3 types of helmets. Nolan hit a homerun with the N-40 Full and I’m so glad I saw it at the AIM Expo in Orlando, Florida last year when it was first unveiled. Do yourself a favor and get to your nearest dealer and buy one. Several of our MotoMark1 instructors have this helmet and they are very pleased with its performance and functionality. Thank you Nolan Helmets!!