Airoh Aviator 3 review: top of the range dirt helmet with magnetic liner and accessory pack.

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Airoh Aviator 3 dirt motorcycle helmet review.

The Aviator is Airoh’s top of the range off road helmet, designed to be lighter with more air flow, more comfort and with better aero than all the other dirt helmets out there.

airoh aviator 3 mx helmet push graphic side view — Push graphic Aviator 3

Which is a lofty aim as there’s some great offroad helmets on the market these days.

Airoh say they’ve used a wind tunnel for the aero and venting part. And they’ve thrown a couple of interesting features at the Aviator to improve safety – including slip plane protection system sorta similar to MIPS (called AMS2), along with EQRS quick release cheek pads (Airoh calls it AEFR) and a carbon fibre shell that’s made in 4 sizes.

It all sounds pretty good. So we thought we take a look over what the Airoh Aviator 3 has to offer and check out what owners and riders think of their helmets – all jotted down below in case you’re thinking of buying one. Enjoy.

Airoh’s top of the range motocross helmet
Composite or Carbon fibre shells
ECE 22.06 certified
Crash Test 4 star protection, 3 star comfort
Slip plane (MIPS-like) liner
8 air vents
EQRS
Magnetic liner
Double-D ring fastener
Sizes XS-XXL
Expect to pay £580-£680 / 670€-800€

Best places to buy an Airoh Aviator 3?

Please click below to visit the Airoh Aviator 3 helmets pages at our recommended stores. 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).

Overall/Summary

The Airoh Aviator 3 is a cracking motocross helmet.

airoh Aviator 3 matt black front view — Matt black Aviator 3

Ok, it’s a tad heavy and it’s physically on the larger side of dirt helmets. But riders who’ve taken the plunge seem to rate it highly.

Maybe that’s because they love the looks and its race pedigree. Or could be all the nice touches like the adjustable peak, magnetic liner and great venting. Or it could be all the accessories that come in the box like the side bumpers and peak extender.

Or more likely it’s because it’s a great helmet that’s good quality and looks the part on the bike. Couple that with it’s good Crash test score and you’ve got an excellent package at a decent price for what is Airoh’s top of the range motocross lid.

Not convinced? scroll to the bottom to see some recommended alternatives.

Safety

(more about helmet safety)

If you’re looking for a serious off road helmet, you’ll want one that you know will give you high levels of protection.

On paper, the Aviator 3 looks like it should fit the bill. The shell on most Aviators is HPC composite fibre (HPC just stands for high performance composite) while – at the time of writing – only the Primal graphic Aviator used 3K carbon, presumably because the 3K fibre in twill weave looks nice on the outside of the helmet (3K is your ‘regular’ carbon fibre and twill’s the pattern of the fabric).

Airoh does say it’s a few grammes lighter than the standard HPC carbon shell though.

airoh Aviator 3 glory motorcycle helmet rear view — Glory graphic Airoh Aviator 3

Whatever the shell material, they’re all produced in 4 different shell sizes which one of the highest number of shells produced we’ve seen in a long time. That shows Airoh’s commitment to producing helmets that fit right and look right. More shells also helps optimise comfort and can help improve safety so 4 shell sizes is always great to see.

Inside, there’s a slip-plane liner that works in a similar way to MIPs liners – so the inside part can move slightly independently of the outside, thereby trying to insulate you from any rotational forces that can cause neck and brain injury.

Whether these work or not is really difficult to say as there’s precious little independent evidence out there. The only European SHARP tested MIPS helmet – the Bell Qualifier – didn’t score very well for safety.

The good news is that, while the UK’s SHARP and the USA’s Snell labs haven’t tested the Aviator 3, Australia’s Crash labs have. They usually test ECE versions of helmets, and in the case of the Aviator 3, it scored 4/5 stars overall for crash protection (77/100) which is an excellent score (only one helmet ever has scored 5/5 or 93/100!).

Not so great news is that they also score a helmet’s ability to minimise rotation during a crash, and the aviator scored a distinctly average 6.2/15. That’s about the same as helmets without slip-plane internals, so my take is that their AMS2 multiaction safety system doesn’t look like it’s going to offer any extra rotation protection from a regular non-Mips style helmet. Not as far as Crash’s data’s concerned anyhow.

Don’t let that shattering revelation put you off too much though. See our Mips page for my take on whether Mips seems to be worth having or not.

OK, away from the data side…

It’s got magnetic EQRS cheek pads which are a must inside a dirt bike helmet as it should help you more easily remove the helmet in the event of an accident.

Airoh Aviator 3 rainbow helmet rear view 2 — Rear view of the Rainbow graphic Aviator 3

It’s also got a double-d ring strap which are basic but safe straps and are very common in ‘sports’ helmets as they seem to be considered safer than quick release straps like micrometric fasteners.

All that’s backed by the latest ECE 22.06 safety certification.

Overall then, it seems like the Airoh Aviator 3 will give good levels of protection.

Of course, getting a helmet that’s comfortable (so you want to wear it in the first place – see comfort section below) and that fits well (so it can most effectively do the job it’s designed for) are your number one priorities when buying a new helmet. After that, look for a good safety rating.

All in all, the Airoh Aviator 3 ticks most of the boxes when it comes to offering protection.

You’ll find all our other helmets that have scored well for safety here.

Take a look at our Best Motorbike Helmet Top 10s to find your next helmet too...

sportsbike-and-track-motorcycle-helmets-top-10

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

I guess most motocross riders aren’t too bothered about helmet noise – unlike street riders.

Which is just as well because with those 8 air vents, a large goggle port and six exhaust vents, there’s plenty of ways for noise to get into the Aviator 3.

It’s not particularly noisy for a dirt helmet, just noisy in comparison to some road helmets – so we’ve scored it average here. But if you intend to ride on the road or at high speeds, you might want to look for a different helmet (and it goes without saying – always wear ear plugs!).

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

You work harder when you’re riding off road, which is why motocross and dirtbike helmets need to give tons of ventilation to the rider (find the best venting dirtbike helmets by visiting our smart filters page and choosing ‘good venting’ and ‘motocross’). That’s why Airoh has smothered the front of the Aviator 3 with 8 different vents.

Airoh Aviator 3 rockstar motocross helmet 2 — Guess what this graphic’s called!?

There’s a pair in the front of the chin bar, a couple either side of the chin bar, then four more on the forehead including two brow vents. These all take air through the helmet shell, past the internal shock absorbing liner and onto your head/face/cheeks.

And of course, because it doesn’t have a visor, some air can enter the helmet around the goggles too.

The four chin vents are all covered with a metal mesh to stop bigger rocks and bugs getting in, and there are covers on the two vents on the top of the helmet. The vents are always open, though the Aviator 3 does come with a pair of plugs that you can use to bung up the brow vents if you like.

The top vents and front chin bar vents also have small washable foam filters in them to reduce the amount of dust getting into the lid. And there’s spare screws, filters and upper vent covers in the Racepack accessories box that comes with the helmet.

Of course, you need a decent path for air to follow out of the helmet if you want to make a helmet that vents well, and in the case of the Aviator 3, there’s six exhausts on the back of the helmet to let warm air out.

That’s all great, but does it work?

Certainly seems to. There aren’t that many views given online, but those we did find rate the ventilation highly, saying there’s good airflow getting through and you can really feel it, especially over the top of your head.

Peak & Goggles

The peak on the Aviator 3 has most of what you’ll be looking for in a motocross helmet peak. It’s aerodynamically tuned so it works well in mitigating lifting or buffeting, and while it’s a pretty regular sort of size, it’s supplied with a peak extender in the box if you want a bit of extra sun/dirt protection from standard.

A couple of useful links…

– Most comfortable helmets reviewed –
– Every dirt bike helmet review –

The peak’s also up/down adjustable – twist a couple of thumb screws and there’s a reasonable amount of adjustment available.

airoh Aviator 3 matt black top view — Large peak with peak extender fitted.

The eyeport’s a decent size too. It’s big enough to fit pretty well all regular size goggles – though if your goggles are jumbo size, you might have to remove the nose guard either on the helmet or your goggles to comfortably fit them with a bit of room to spare.

Oakley Airbrakes go on just fine though and the rear spoiler and mouldings keep the strap nicely in place.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

One thing worth being aware of if you’re looking to buy an Airoh Aviator 3 helmet online is that several owners reckoned they do tend to size a smidge small. It’s only really relevant if you’re usually between sizes with a helmet, but we’ve heard from lots of owners who said theirs were a bit tight – they do break in over time of course, but if you’re between sizes, we recommend you opt for the larger size helmet.

As mentioned, Aviator 3’s are made in four shell sizes, so whichever fitment size you need, it should look proportionately good when you’re wearing it. Having said that – what with all the mouldings, that large peak and whatnot, it is a pretty large helmet overall – certainly larger than the outgoing Aviator.

airoh Aviator 3 carbon fibre motocross helmet side view — Carbon fibre Aviator 3

And it’s a bit weightier too. The composite fibre Aviator 3 weighs around 1.42kg, which isn’t heavy for a regular street helmet but its on the weightier side of dirt bike helmets.

So if having a lightweight helmet’s important to you, you might want to opt for the full carbon fibre Aviator 3 (called the Primal – see pic below) which is about 50g lighter.

Inside both versions of the Aviator 3 is Airoh’s AEFR and AMLS gubbins. Basically they’re fancy ways for saying the internals are fixed in place using magnets, which also means you have quick release cheek pads in there (EQRS) in case you take a tumble and medics need to take your lid off without causing damage – always a good feature on an offroad helmet.

Those magnetic fasteners are popular too – it’s super easy to whip out the comfort liner and cheek pads for washing and it’s super easy to shove them back in place again.

The liner’s hypoallergenic too and word is that it’s a nice comfortable interior. Those cheek pads can err on the tight side, but once they’ve broken in, word is that it’s a nice place to stick your head (though the Crash helmet testing scheme only scored it 3/5 stars for comfort).

If you need any help with helmet sizing or fitment, you might want to read our helmet fitting guide here before you buy one.

Looks & Graphics

At the time of writing, there’s only the Primal graphic Aviator 3 that’s available in carbon.

airoh Aviator 3 primal carbon dirt helmet side view — Aviator 3 in Primal carbon fibre

There’s a plethora of different graphics available for the composite fibre helmet though – including the Spin, Push, Legend, Wave, Rockstar, Rainbow… and on and on. If you’re after a plain-ish helmet, they do a gloss white and matt black.

To check them all out, you’re probably best clicking through straight to the Aviator 3 pages at our recommended retail partners using the links below – and you’ll get to see their latest Aviator deals too.

Best places to buy an Airoh Aviator 3?

Airoh Aviator 3 Video

Here’s a slightly irritating but informative 7m look around an Aviator 3 at Champion helmets.

Other stuff – bluetooth, race pack, hydra system, warranty

Bluetooth Communicators

Airoh has decided not to include speaker pockets inside the Aviator 3. I guess that’s because it’s a serious motocross helmet – but if you’re a less than serious motocrosser who uses their helmet for road riding too, then it might be something you’d miss. Having said that, you might be better off with a dual sport helmet if you do a bit of both (or use our smart filters page to choose ‘bluetooth’ and ‘motocross’ to find motocross helmets that’ll let you fit speakers).

Race Pack Accessories

Airoh are generous with the accessories they supply in the box with all Aviator 3s. That includes vent covers, peak extender, protective side bumpers, breath guard, filters, fasteners, screws and vent plugs. There’s also a handy key on a lanyard that’ll let you remove most of the screws used on the Aviator 3.

There’s also a sticky GoPro mount which is not only useful but will have been tested/homologated as part of the Aviator’s ECE 22.06 certification. I guess that’s why it’s a sticky-mount because if you do have a spill, it’ll easily break away from the surface so doesn’t interfere with the protection offered by the helmet.

Hydra System

You know a helmet’s made for serious riders when there’s a hydration system available for it. The Aviator 3 is compatable with Airoh’s hydration system.

It’s tricky to find anything much about it but it seems to consist of a couple of blue lugs either side at the bottom of the helmet so you can loop the hydra system tube through one, round the back of the helmet and into the other to keep the tube in place while you’re riding (see picture). I guess that’s handy if you’re out a long day’s ride or you’re in a competition – probably more for pro riders than anyone else.

Warranty

Airoh Aviator 3s come with a fairly standard 2 year warranty from date of purchase.

Good Alternatives to the Airoh Aviator?

For around the same price as the Aviator 3 (cheaper if you go for the polycarb version) is the Fly Racing Formula helmet. It’s light, ECE, Snell and Crash test approved and it’s a great lid.

6D ATR-2 Sector off road helmet front view — 6D ATR-2

So too is the 6D ATR 2. That’s avaiable for around the same money as the Airoh – it’s super comfortable, has an array of protective features and it’s widely regarded as one of the best dirt helmets around.

Similar to the Bell Moto 10 really. That’s Bell’s top of the range dirt helmet with a Mips liner, collarbone friendly design, large viewport for the biggest goggles and magnetic comfort liner. Well worth a look.