Peltor G90 Formula Full Face Helmet Review
Review by David Peck
- Product:
- Peltor G90 Formula (company site)
- What's Good:
- Excellent earpiece & mic, comfortable, durable, not overly hot considering it's a full face helmet.
- What's Bad:
- A bit heavy, expensive enough that it should come with a carry bag.
Acute left 1/2 km, hairpin right 1 km... that's all I heard for 5 days straight. My navigator/father yelled out instructions as we sped through high speed coastal sections and residential neighbourhoods throughout the eastern half of Newfoundland. We were exceeding 110 km/h on roads designed for 50 so being safe and being able to hear what my dad had to say was really important.
Along with the Peltor FMT110 intercom amplifier, the G90 is an excellent choice for race enthusiasts who need in-car communication. Each helmet plugs into one jack from the FMT110. The intercom has an audio out jack for recording which will hopefully work well when we record our adventures during Targa 2006 with an in-car camera setup.
A good helmet should have a snug fit but not be uncomfortably tight on any part of the head. The Peltor does this well and has no rough or sharp edges that could cause irritation. Unlike my paragliding helmet (review coming soon), the Peltor has some heft to it so don't be suprised if your neck muscles are sore at the end of the day. The included visor can be removed if you prefer.
The roads in Newfoundland are far from being silky smooth, however, not once did the intercom system fail or have any kind of intermittent breakup. That kind of reliability allows you to drive beyond your field of view more comfortably since you have no fear of missing an instruction. The helmet endured a lot of bumps and bangs outside the car as well with no sign of any problems. Audio quality is excellent. Peltor specializes in military communication equipment so they know how to deal with issues like background noise.
Having the mic and earpiece built into the helmet is far more comfortable than trying to add a system in between your head and the helmet, which I had to use at a driving school. We ran the intercom jacks through the belt holes in our race buckets so it was really simple to hop in the car and plug in. A quick audio test to adjust the volume and away we went. Fit and finish of the helmet is superb. Two driving schools and one Targa later and the helmet has only one very minor scuff on it.
The helmet meets FIA approved BS6658-85 Type A and European E22-02 standards. These are similar to Snell. The lining is made of Nomex which hopefully I'll never get to test.
All of this quality comes at a price, but it's your brain that you're trying to protect, and you only have one, so it's money well spent in my opinion. My only real gripe is that Peltor doesn't include a bag of any kind with the helmet. These aren't cheap helmets so why not throw in a carrying bag to help protect it when it's not protecting me?
