MT Blade SV – a versatile, good value Crash Helmet
The MT Blade SV is an all-rounder full face helmet at the cheaper end of the pricing range from Spanish maker MT. It’s a development from the old MT Blade with the SV standing for the newly added drop down sun visor.
- Polycarbonate full face helmet
- Drop down sun visor
- Comes with Pinlock Max Vision
- Electric visor available!
- Micrometric fastener
- Sizes XS-XXL
- 1.45 Kg (about average)
- 1 year warranty
- Expect to pay £90-£130
Safety
The MT Blade SV is both ECE 22-05 (EU) and DOT (US) certified so should provide a decent level of basic protection.
But that’s the same for any helmet for sale in those regions. Beyond that, the old MT Blade (without the sun visor) was tested by SHARP and given a decent 3 stars (out of 5) for safety. But since MT added the drop down sun visor mechanism, it probably needs testing again to get a true view on how safe the SV is (adding a sun visor requires a certain amount of reengineering of the helmet shell).
The MT catalogue seems to reckon the Blade SV has been Snell tested/certified. However I couldn’t find any mention of MT or the Blade on the Snell website so I’m a bit dubious about that.
Having said that, MT have a growing reputation for making good quality helmets that offer decent protection (such as their SHARP 5 star Revenge and their 4 star Thunder). And, despite being at the cheaper end of the pricing spectrum, the Blade SV does have a multi-density expanded polystyrene (EPS) shock absorbing lining similar to those found on much more expensive helmets.
The Blade SV is made in two shell sizes (that’s OK for a budget helmet, read more here) and comes with a quick and easy (and safe) micrometric fastener.
It also comes with a Pinlock Max Vision anti fog insert in the box – which, if it means you’re not struggling to see on a cold and rainy morning, has gotta be a great addition (though a few owners reckon the Blade SV really needs it – see visor section below).
Looking to buy this MT helmet?
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Helmet Noise
Most helmets are quite noisy – let’s face it, you’re blasting through the air, usually in the slipstream of something fairly unslippery and turbulent like a van or car. And feedback from owners is that the MT Blade SV is reasonably noisy too. Not mega noisy, just a few folks said it’s quite noisy.
Stick in some decent ear plugs (which you should really do anyhow) and you’ll be OK.
Ventilation
Ventilation on the Blade SV is reasonably standard for full face lids these days.
There’s a pair of inlets on the chin guard, operated by a single switch, and a couple of vents on the top of the helmet – again with an open/close switch on each – to channel air through to the scalp before exiting via the three rear exhaust vents.
Overall, opinion seems to be that the head ventilation’s pretty good. As for the face vents, those small chin vents don’t let much air in and it really needs the Pinlock fitting to keep the visor clear, especially if you’re riding slowly or the air’s cool.
Check out these helmets if great ventilation is a must for you.
Visor and Sun Visor
Other than the tendency to fog, everything else about the visors are as they should be.
The main visor has its opening tab on the left side, works on a ratchet and works well (a couple of owners wished it could be a little wider, but no other complaints). It’s also a quick release visor – pull down a tab on each side and the visor pops out for cleaning.
As mentioned, the Blade SV comes with a nice large Pinlock Max Vision anti fog insert in the box. They’re great for keeping the visor fog-free and the Max Vision version is designed to cover more or less the entire inside of the visor so you don’t get any annoying/dangerous edges of the insert interfering with your line of sight.
The sun visor is an either up or down affair and operated by a lever by the left hand visor piovot. Some helmets have their SV slider on the top rear of the helmet which can be a bit weird/fiddly; but having it on the left hand side is much more sensible.
As an aside, the MT website mentions there is an electric visor available for the Blade SV. Electric visors are well known in the snowmobile world where things can get so cold a Pinlock just can’t cope. It’s probably a bit overkill for a motorcycle but if you do find yourself riding in properly sub zero temperatures, it’s always an option with the Blade SV!
Comfort & Sizing
There’s not a great deal to say about the internals. Its got a removable/washable comfort liner – what MT call their Supermax liner – and has a couple of pockets for bluetooth speakers. And that’s about it.
Of course, you’re only gonna find a helmet comfortable if you get exactly the right fitting – and that’s something that’s vital for safety too. So check our fitting guide and if you’re unsure it’s the right fit when you receive your new helmet, you should return it for a different size to double-check and make sure you’re wearing exactly the right size (and use one of our recommended retailers who all have no-quibble returns policies).
Looks & Graphics
The MT Blade SV is a modern-looking helmet with external grooves and channels that show there’s quite a bit of aero-sculpting gone on to reduce buffeting and wind resistance. It’s available in lots of funky graphics too – as well as a range of hi-viz versions and the usual solid/plain base colours.
MT are always updating their designs, so to see the latest range (and the latest offers) check the links to our recommended retailers below.
However, up and down this page you’ll find examples of the Solid, plain colour versions, along with the hi-viz Reflexions, the Morph, Alpha and Raceline graphics.
Best place to buy this MT crash helmet?
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*Quick view retailer T&Cs here.
MT Blade SV Video
Here’s a short video we found that gives you a quick look around the MT Blade SV.
Other stuff – fastener, weight, build quality, chin curtain, warranty
The MT Blade SV comes with a micrometric fastener – if you’re after a fastener that’s really quick to use (and safe as long as you keep them correctly adjusted) then a micrometric is great.
It weighs about 1.45Kg – which is pretty light for a full face polycarbonate crash helmet (average weight is closer to 1.6Kg). It comes with a chin curtain to keep out the road noise and some draft from around the neck – and a breath guard to help stop the visor steaming up.
For the money, build quality seems to be pretty good – though it only comes with a one year warranty, which ain’t the best.
Overall/Summary
Owners seem to really like their MT Blade SVs. Sure, it’s a budget helmet so folks’ expectations are that it’ll be a little rough around the edges. But it’s got decent build quality, a nice finish and some great features like the sun visor and Pinlock Max Vision that make it a bit of a standout at this price. It’s not really remarkable in any way – but then it was never meant to be. It’s a workhorse. An all rounder. Old reliable for those of us on a budget. So if that’s the kind of helmet you’re after, then you could do worse than giving the MT Blade SV a whirl.
Crash Helmet Buying Guides & Top 10s
For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various Motorcycle Helmet Buying Guides - or have a look at our Top 10 best helmet lists where we've got the top 10 best rated helmets overall along with Top 10 Best Budget/Top 10 Safest/Top 10 Best Full Face/Top 10 Best Modular/Flip-up/ Top 10 Best Sportsbike/Track helmets.
Alternatives to the MT Blade SV
First off, it’s worth mentioning the MT Revenge – it’s pretty similar to the Blade just that it doesn’t have a drop down sun visor. It did, however, score maximum marks in the SHARP safety test, which for a £70+ polycarbonate helmet is amazing value.
But assuming you’re after a similar spec to the Blade SV – i.e. a cheaper full face with sun visor – you might want to check out the Shark 700s – a SHARP 4 star polycarbonate helmet with sun visor.
There’s also the Lazer Bayamo – £70+, SHARP 4 star, 5 year guarantee. Can’t say fairer than that.
Both these helmets are a great alternative for the same or less money than the MT Blade SV. For other alternatives, check out our Budget Crash Helmets pages, our Safest Helmets pages – or even try our smart filters to narrow down the crash helmet features you’re after.
Definitely want an MT?
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Just bought black with Fluorescent Yellow one. The ventilation is virtually non existent – fogging up as soon as the visor is down. In my old one you could leave a narrow gap but here you can only have the visor closed or open at approx 1/2 inch. No good. The noise reduction is much better compared to my old vcan, Nice and cosy despite the ventilation issue.
I have an MT Blade (non SV, without a sun visor), and it’s got a DD strap and the visor has no Pinlock stab. I can’t recall the color scheme, it’s white with black and grey graphics. It’s pretty good as helmet, and definitely at the price, compared to 5x and more expensive Arais and Shoeis.
It is a bit noisy, but again there are more expensive lids that are noisier. I do wish the eyeport was wider, vertically. On a sportbike, the crouching position on a lot of helmets makes vision an issue, and several more expensive helmets ( AGV K3/K5, Nolan N64/N86, Airoh GP500) are worse in this regard, while some are about equal ( Scorpion EXO710, Airoh Storm), most of which aren’t even SHARP 5-star rated, so it does seem like we pay far too much to the big-name brands for very little more.
This is my first MT helmet, and my first helmet over/near $100 (paid INR 5150 or 60 GBP) , previous ones being cheaper, but not as good. I do believe now, the best compromise in helmets is around this $100-150 range.
When it comes to replacing this Blade, I’ll look out for MT again, may Kre or Matrix which is 5-star rated, the Revenge line seems to be discontinued (why, MT, why?).