AGV Compact flip-up crash helmet review (AGV Numo EVO in US)

AGVs top of the range flip-up crash helmet – the AGV Compact (Numo EVO in US)

The AGV Compact is designed for typical road riders – urban riders and touring types who don’t spend hours in a sportsbike tuck position. There are some great modular crash helmets out there, so the competition’s hot. But the Compact looks like it has a few tricks up its sleeve including a good SHARP safety rating along with a 100% locking chin guard (see safety section below) which not all modulars can manage.

Summary

The AGV Compact is a great helmet with some really useful features, including sun visor, Pinlock anti-fog and lockable chin guard. It’s well rated for safety (SHARP 4 star tested), looks good and is comfortable, well ventilated – and owners love it. The only thing they don’t love so much is the noise, but then that’s a bit of a problem with most modular helmets.

Stick in some quality ear plugs and you’ll get a practical helmet at a very competitive price.

  • SHARP 4 star safety rated
  • 1.78Kg (slightly heavier than average)
  • Sizes XS – XL
  • Comfortable and well-ventilated
  • Noisy

    AGV-compact-course-white-red
    Compact Course black/white/red
  • Integral sun visor
  • Expect to pay between £140-£189
  • NOW UPDATED TO THE AGV COMPACT ST

Best places to buy an AGV Compact?

The Compact has now been replaced – which means there are great deals to be found. Please click below to visit the AGV Compact helmets pages at Amazon where you may still find it. If you buy one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Safety

There’s two big ticks in the AGV Compact’s box when it comes to safety. First, it scored a very respectable 4/5 stars in the SHARP crash helmets safety test. It’s not a maximum score (see here for crash helmets that scored 5 stars) but it’s very good and means that you can probably rely on the Compact to do its job in most accidents.

Thing is, when they test modular helmets, there’s a chance the chin guard will flip open under impact – and many do (see our guide to crash helmet safety for analysis on this and more).

However, the Compact’s locking mechanism is very well constructed – so much so it remained locked in 100% of the tests. Which is obviously very good and a real comfort to know if you buy a flip-up helmet. Great work AGV.

The AGV Compact is also dual homologated. That means, unlike some modulars, it’s been ECE 22.05 tested and approved for use on the road whether you’re riding with it in either full-face or open-face configuration. Also on the Compact, you can lock the chin guard in the open position using a lever on the right hand side of the helmet. This should help with safety if you come off with the chin guard up, meaning it doesn’t flap around. It’s also useful because you can ride around quite happily all day with the Compact operating as an open faced helmet and knowing the chin guard won’t drop down.

AGV-compact-course-crash-helmet-audax-matt-black-front
Front view of the AGV Compact in matt black Audax design

Shell & sizing

The AGV Compact has a thermoplastic shell that’s manufactured in just one shell size.

Thermoplastic shells can be great performers, though they can be prone to a little more degradation over time than more expensive fibreglass and composite helmets for example.

More expensive helmets are often constructed with multiple shell sizes (corresponding to different internal fitment sizes). However, the AGV Compact has just one shell size to cover all fitment sizes.

This is achieved through under-padding the helmet for larger fitments (probably L and XL) or over-padding for smaller sizes (such as XS and S). We’ve discussed the potential effects of fewer shell sizes here, and one or two owners have remarked that the helmet polystyrene liner feels very thin. They’re probably referring to larger sizes because AGV will thin out the EPS liner in these larger sizes so they can accommodate a larger head size – it’s something worth being aware of if you’re looking to buy a Compact in a larger size.

Helmet Noise

AGV-compact-gloss-black-open
Compact with chin guard raised showing integral UV sun visor

Noise is one area that lets down the AGV Compact.

Most modulars are somewhat compromised in this area – being generally quite a bit louder than full face lids. However the Compact is slightly noisier than the average flip-up, meaning, you’ll have to wear ear plugs (most of us do anyhow) and don’t expect your in-helmet communicators/ bluetooth to not be much good above 60-70 MPH.

If having a quiet helmet is important to you, check out our quietest helmets section.

Ventilation

The AGV Compact has what AGV calls its IVS or Integrated Ventilation System. In truth, it’s the same system adopted by pretty well all the helmets we review – namely lots of front vents routing air around the scalp and exiting through rear exhaust vents.

It works well on the Compact too. There’s one chin and two forehead vents, both easily closeable with gloved hands via simple switches. There are three rear exhaust vents – one at each side and another in at the bottom/rear of the helmet. Again, these work well, with the top ones ducting plenty of air around the scalp and the chin vent pushing plenty across the visor and across the face when required – so no problems reported here.

Visor

There’s a nice, wide, clear main visor and an integral drop down sun visor operated by a slider on the left hand side of the helmet.

The main visor is anti-fog coated but also comes Pinlock-ready with a Pinlock anti fog insert included in the box (click for reviews of other Pinlock-ready crash helmets). Owners report it has a nice wide opening giving good peripheral vision and the Pinlock works well to keep the visor fog free. The sun visor is also anti-fog coated (though not Pinlock-ready) and drops down nice and low (not all do) and doesn’t interfere with glasses. So AGV have covered all the basics well.

AGV-compact-course-white-blue-opened
Compact Course white/blue showing chin guard locking lever.

Chin Guard

The chin guard opens by way of a small red button in the bottom centre of the guard. It also has a lever on the right hand side of the helmet that allows you to lock the chin bar in place – and it’s been designed to remain pretty aerodynamic with the chin bar locked open to reduce wind resistance on the move. This is a very useful feature for a number owners who say it works very well.

As mentioned in the Safety section, the locking mechanism on the Compact’s chin bar is very good and resulted in it staying locked 100% of the times during SHARP’s safety testing – outstanding.

Comfort

There’s no problem with comfort on the Compact.

As always, it’s important to ensure you buy a helmet that fits correctly in the first place. Provided you’ve got all the basics right, then owners say the Compact is very comfortable.

It has a fully removable and washable lining constructed of breathable Lycra. It also has antibacterial-treated dual-density moisture-wicking cheek pads – all making for a helmet that can be worn all day without discomfort.

Pure gloss white version showing sun visor switch
Pure gloss white version showing sun visor switch

Looks & Graphics

As the name suggests, the Compact masks the fact that it’s a modular helmet pretty well – looking more like a standard full-face helmet than a flip-up. It’s also very sleek and modern-looking, mirroring many of the latest gen AGV helmets that are all very pointy with that distinctive hawk bill front.

The graphic options are relatively understated. The usual plain colour options are available (whites/blacks) as well as a bright fluorescent ‘Fluo Yellow’ version (top picture) which isn’t that dissimilar from the other bright yellow Audax design (bottom). There’s also the Compact Course range of colours – again there’s a bright yellow option for this, as well as variants which are almost identical apart from Blue/Red/Grey detailing.

As usual, you can see most of the colours and designs across this review – but for the latest reviews and prices, you can always click through to our featured retailers using the link towards the bottom of the page.

Best places to buy an AGV Compact helmet?

At the time of writing, you can still find the AGV compact on sale at Amazon. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Video

Here’s a short video where a guy from AGV UK takes you through the main features of the Compact.

Other stuff – fasteners, audio, weight, glasses

AGV-compact-audax-fluo-yellow-side-view
AGV Compact in Audax fluo yellow paint

The Compact has a micro metric fastener. They’re easy to use and secure.

It is slightly above average weight for a modular helmet, but about average for a thermoplastic modular. Most owners say the weight’s fine for all but the longest days in the saddle.

If you’re a glasses wearer, you should be OK with the Compact – flip-ups make it really easy to put your glasses on/off – and the drop down sun visor is far enough away to not interfere.

Finally, the Compact has been designed for use with AGV’s SHARE communicator and has speaker pockets cut into the liner of the helmet. Owners of other systems, including Sena, have said that it fits their speakers no problem.

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.

Best places to buy an AGV Compact?

The Compact has now been replaced – which means there are great deals to be found. Please click below to visit the AGV Compact helmets pages at Amazon where you may still find it. If you buy one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Alternatives

There are plenty of great alternatives to the AGV Compact out there. Check out or Top 5 Flip-up Crash Helmet Reviews section for more options.

Definitely want an AGV?

Here you'll find all our AGV crash helmet reviews and previews including full face, flip-up and open face helmets.

Star Ratings

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Safety
Comfort
Noise
Features
Value
Previous articleSena Smart Helmet announced
Next articleNew release – Givi 50.4 Sniper full face helmet
agv-compact-flip-up-crash-helmet-review-agv-numo-evo-in-usA quality helmet. Not so good for noise suppression, but good for safety (SHARP 4 star) comfort and ventilation. You get some great, well thought-out features and a very practical helmet at a very competitive price. Well worth it.

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