Duchinni D705 full face helmet review.
Ever since it scored a SHARP 4 star safety rating, we’ve been wanting to include the Duchinni D705 on the site.
A 4 star safety rating isn’t that uncommon. But a 4 star safety rating on a real budget full face that can be had for under £70 – and that comes with a Pinlock-ready visor. Now that’s pretty rare.
Actually, Duchinni’s distributor are advertising it as including a Pinlock insert in the box too – so double check with your retailer to see that you get one.
Not only will it give you good – and proven – levels of protection, but it’s a good looking full face helmet too. So that combination of great price, Pinlock visor system and good looks could well make it a fantastic buy. Provided it does everything else well.
There’s not much information out there about the D705 – not even from Duchinni. So we’ve scoured the web on your behalf to find out what it offers and to discover whether owners are happy with their D705s.
- All-rounder full face helmet
- Composite ABS/Fibre shell
- SHARP 4 star safety rated
- Micrometric fastener
- Pinlock visor
- 1.4Kg (pretty light)
- Sizes XS to XXL
- Expect to pay £50-£70
Best places to buy a Duchinni D705?
Please click below to visit the Duchinni D705 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).
Safety
(more about helmet safety)
Not only is it ECE approved, but the headline is that the Duchinni D705 has also been independently tested by SHARP where it scored an excellent four star safety rating.
To put that into context, helmets like Arai’s hand built Renegade V only scored 3 stars, as has the entire Schuberth helmet range (at the time of writing) – and most of those cost over five times the price of the D705!
That means, although it’s only built in one shell size, it should offer excellent protection. As you can see from the SHARP test picture, it dropped points on the side impact tests – but overall it scored very well.
Not only should it give decent impact protection but, according to owners, the visor on the D705 is nice and wide, which not only makes for a more pleasant ride but it really helps in giving greater awareness of obstacles around you.
So too does having a Pinlock visor because keeping your visor fog free is obviously very important. If you buy a D705 it will come with a clear Pinlock-ready visor (not tinted like the pictures you’ll mostly find online of the D705) and, according to Duchinni’s catalogue it should come with a Pinlock antifog insert too.
The fact that it’s a comfy helmet and it’s held onto your head with a safe and easy to use micrometric fastener is great too. Uncomfy helmets make for distracted riding – and lots of owners comment how comfy their D705s are.
All in all, protection is what you buy a helmet for. And the Duchinni D705 gives good protection for not much money. Win win.
Helmet Noise
(more about helmet noise)
According to Duchinni, they put quite a bit of time sculpting the helmet to make it more aerodynamic.
That should reduce the amount of noise a helmet generates as well as make it less prone to buffeting.
They’ve also included a chin curtain in there which helps reduce noise from below – and of course a decent interior will deadden sound too.
Many owners of lower priced helmets may ride slower bikes and mopeds, so they’ll be less affected by wind noise, so I guess you’ve gotta take that into account. But from feedback we’ve seen, the D705 is OK for noise suppression.
It’s not the quietest out there but it performs adequately. And of course, stick in some ear plugs (as you always should to protect your ears) and the Duchinni D705 should be fine.
Ventilation
(more about helmet ventilation)
The word from Duchinni D705 owners is that ventilation’s great. That doesn’t mean the visor won’t fog up on cold or rainy days – it very much will without any form of anti-fog treatment.
But if you’re looking for a budget helmet that keeps your head cool, then the D705 does the job nicely.
There’s a single vent in the chin bar that can be opened/closed using a slider. That directs air onto the mouth area and up behind the visor.
And there’s a pair of forehead vents up top – which have to be opened/closed independently.
These vents channel air into the top of the helmet where the air circulates in grooves in the internal polystyrene liner and exits through a pair of exhausts in the rear spoiler.
Visor
(more about visors)
All Duchinni D705s come with a clear visor (photos on some sites seem to show just tinted visors which is causing some confusion). It’s a quick-release visor, which is handy because you can quickly take of the visor for cleaning.
And there’s a single opening tab on the left – that’s a minor pain when you want to open your visor with your right hand, but it should be fine 95% of the time.
A couple of useful links…
– Commuter helmet reviews –
– Sportsbike helmets –
The D705 comes with Pinlock tabs on there and, according to the Duchinni catalogue, a Pinlock should come in the box. At the time of writing, I couldn’t get it confirmed because of Covid 19 lockdown, but it’s worth asking when you order. If it does, then that’s astonishing value. If not, then it’s worth the £25 or so to buy one to keep your visor fog free.
That’s because the D705 will need an antifog solution.
Several riders commented how quickly the visor fogs up. That’s entirely normal with pretty well any helmet when you’re stationary and, when you’re moving, it clears up quickly enough. But if you do suffer with fogging, a Pinlock will help massively.
Another comment made by several owners is how great the peripheral vision is.
Duchinni don’t make any particular claims about it but the visor aperture is particularly wide which gives excellent horizontal vision. Great for safety and great for the ride.
Comfort and Sizing
(more about comfort and sizing)
Again, if you’ve been hunting around for info on the D705, you’ll know there’s little information out there on the materials used or any other details of the inner lining.
Suffice to say it’s a removable and washable liner and – the important bit – several Duchinni D705 owners say it’s super comfy.
Word is that the sizing’s about spot on too, so you should be able to do the usual head measurement bit then order the correct size and finger’s crossed it should fit.
Obviously, you’re never 100% sure it will fit just right when you buy online, and helmets really need to be a snug fit with no pressure points. But buy from one of our recommended retailers below and they’ll refund or swap the helmet without a quibble – and the retailers below will pay for returns too.
Best places to buy a Duchinni D705 helmet?
Please click below to visit the Duchinni D705 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).
Looks & Graphics
The Duchinni D705 comes in a limited variety of colours and designs. There’s a plain gloss white and a matt or gloss plain black.
If you want graphics, there’s a single designed called Syncro which comes in yellow, grey or white variants. You’ll find examples of all these up and down the review.
Other stuff – weight, chin curtain, warranty
The D705 weighs around 1.4Kg which is fairly light weight for a full face helmet – and very lightweight for a budget full face.
It comes with a breath deflector to help stop the visor fogging up and there’s a chin curtain on the bottom too to help reduce draft and noise coming up into the helmet from below.
The D705 is a really budget helmet so it’s probably no surprise it comes with just a one year warranty.
Overall/Summary
What can we say… for the money the Duchinni D705 is a great helmet, and owners love it too. Top comments include that it’s excellent value for money and most owners really love the looks.
But beyond that, with a proven SHARP 4 star safety rating, great comfort and ventilation, an excellent visor system that’s Pinlock-ready – it’s got many of the features of helmets that cost several times the price.
Ok, comments about amazing performance will be spun a little because of the great value the D705 offers – and don’t expect build quality to be at the same levels as a premium helmet.
But if you’re after a lower cost lid or a helmet you can use daily and not be too precious about, then you really ought to consider a Duchinni D705 because at this price, it’s a real winner.
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.
Good Alternatives to the Duchinni D705?
While the D705 is undoubtedly an amazing value helmet, they’re not alone. Here’s some other fantastic entry-level full face helmets you might want to check out too.
With the Shark Ridill, you’re getting a SHARP 4 star rated full face with sun visor, Pinlock insert – and it comes with a 5 year warranty. It’s pricier than the Duchinni tho.
The Italian Airoh Valor can be had for the same money as a graphic D705 – and it’s even higher rated for safety having scored an amazing SHARP 5 stars!
You can still buy the excellent 5 star rated MT Revenge – and at the time of writing there’s lots of offers around for this budget polycarb full face.
Best places to buy a Duchinni D705?
Please click below to visit the Duchinni D705 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).
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Other full face helmets?
We've got lots of other ways you can find your ideal full face helmet. You can check out our Top 10 full-face crash helmets list to see our best rated helmets or head over to our Smartish Filters pages and zoom in on helmets with your 'must have' features. You can browse through all our full face crash helmet reviews as well as our safest motorcycle helmets page where you'll only find helmets that are SHARP four or five star rated - so you'll know you're wearing the best protection out there. Finally, check out our helmet gallery to find a lid that takes your fancy.
