Review of the Icon Airform full face polycarbonate crash helmet.
The Icon Airform is Icon’s entry level full face helmet.
It’s been designed as a good all-rounder – and that can mean a bit dull. But Icon definitely doesn’t do dull.
And in the case of the Airform, despite being at the lower end of the price bracket – and hence being made of polycarbonate – they’ve made a more streetfighter-look aggressive helmet that seems, on paper at least, to have most of the features us riders look for from an everyday helmet.
That includes stuff like a drop down sun visor, very easy to use optically-correct and quick release main visor with (decent) antifog coating and speaker pockets.
Plus there’s a ton of vents on there which is a good thing – although some of them are always open – which might not be quite so good.
So, read on to find all you need to know about the Icon Airform helmet.
- Entry level full face helmet
- Polycarbonate shell
- Drop down sun visor
- Sizes XS-XXXL
- Two shell sizes
- Optically correct visor
- Anti fog coating
- Speaker pockets
- Always open chin vents
- Double-D ring fastener
- Weighs around 1.7Kg (heavier than avg)
- Expect to pay £135-£175
Looking to buy an Icon Airform?
Please click below to visit the Icon Airform 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 Icon Airform is a good helmet that’s well liked by most owners.
On the plus side it looks great, has a quality, quick-release and optically-correct visor system that includes an anti-fog and drop down sun visor.
It might be a bit on the basic side and there’s a question mark as to whether it’ll give you better than average safety.
But at this low price point, you’re getting a good quality all-rounder helmet with a big dollop of Icon attitude and style. And if you like its modern, aggressive styling or the range of crazy graphics that Icon delivers, then there’s no reason not to buy one (maybe after looking at some of our suggested alternatives at the bottom of the page!).
Safety
(more about helmet safety)
We’d expect the Icon Airform to offer a fairly average level of safety. Until someone safety tests it, we could be wrong, but here’s what we’re thinking…
The Airform uses a pretty standard type of helmet construction – a polycarbonate shell with polystyrene EPS liner. That’s cheap to make but if you’ve read many of our reviews, you’ll know that polycarb can make for helmets that give excellent protection.
Many SHARP 5 star helmets are polycarb or thermoplastic helmets.
While the Airform hasn’t been independently safety tested yet, a few Icon helmets using similar construction have – including the polycarbonate Airflite, Airmada and Alliance.
They scored an average of 2.6 stars out of a maximum five when SHARP tested them. Which kinda makes you think the Airform will score something similar.
You’re never sure till it’s been in the labs, but we’ve found over the years you can usually guess pretty well based on previous test results.
Icon makes barely any noise about the protecting values of the Airform in its marketing bumf. They’re more about the style and attitude. Which is a shame because that’s why we wear a helmet after all!
So, looking over the helmet, it comes in a couple of shell sizes – which is OK but could do better (click the link if you wanna find out why).
There’s a double-D ring fastener (totally fine if you do it up well each ride), a drop down sun visor (can make the difference between being able to see or blinded), and an anti-fog coated clear visor that gives decent enough peripheral vision.
Most of us need a decent anti-fog solution and Icon’s coatings are generally pretty good for most conditions.
They do however sell a Pinlock-ready visor as an option if you need a more serious antifog solution – but that and the insert are going to cost you the better part of £80.
So overall we expect the Airform to offer adequate but not excellent protection. It’s got a few features you’d look for in a helmet to help keep you rubber side down, but from what we can see, it doesn’t look like Icon’s tried too hard to make the Airform the last word in safety.
Helmet Noise
(more about helmet noise)
The Icon Airform’s got a pretty conventional construction and internal padding which should make it about average for noise suppression.
But with a lack of chin curtain and those always open front chin vents, Icon seems to have missed a trick or two in removing sound pathways into the helmet and quieten things down.
So while it’s certainly not the noisiest helmet around, owners and reviewers seem to put it slightly noisier than average.
Ventilation
(more about helmet ventilation)
Ventilation though is widely seen as being better than average.
You’ll decide for yourself whether you’d want always open chin vents, but the word from owners of Airform helmets is that they let a load of air in to keep your face cool.
Of course, that’s not always welcome in winter, though if you really want an Airform, it’s easy enough to stick some tape over the holes on the inside to block them up.
And while the ventilation’s great in summer, we’ve heard from riders who’ve had bits of bugs come in through the vent holes too. Nice.
That chin ventilation’s always helpful for keeping the visor fog free though. And Icon’s own Fog Free Optics visor is pretty good at keeping things clear.
The crown vent’s a bit stingy in size, sitting right behind that Icon logo just above the visor. But it is closeable to keep air (and flies!) out and it does direct a reasonable amount of air inside the helmet.
The EPS venting channels are particularly comprehensive and deep inside the Airform, and most riders reckon it’s enough to keep you cool when things warm up outside.
So overall, ventilation’s pretty good – and probably too good in winter with those always-open chin vents.
Visor
(more about visors)
The visor on the Icon Airform works on a ratchet, is quick release, optically correct, and has an antifog coating.
The operation of the ratchet’s pretty good and there’s also a cracked open city riding position on there which is always worth having.
The opening tab’s on the left (that’s OK but we’d rather have one on either side) and there’s a basic visor lock on there – what Icon calls ProLock.
It’s the kind of lock you used to get on visors in your dad’s day – a small peg sticks out of the helmet and locks into a hole on the visor. They work OK but calling it ProLock’s a bit rich. Maybe AmLock’s a bit more like it.
They can be a bit fiddly to find and a struggle to unlock in winter gloves too.
A couple of useful links…
– After a cool-looking helmet? –
– Top 10 safest helmets –
What is well thought out and owners really like, is Icon’s quick change visor system.
To swap out the visor, open it up, pull back the lever and the visor pops off its mount. To refit, line it up right and firmly push it back. Quick and simple once you’ve done it a couple of times.
Icon also applies its own anti fog protection to the visor, which works pretty well by all accounts. Though if you find it’s not good enough for you, you can buy a Pinlock ready visor and Pinlock antifog insert, though it’ll cost you around £80 if you do.
Icon does say their visors are distortion free – and we’ve not had anyone say they’re anything less than excellent so it seems they’re good.
And while there’s a sun visor fitted to the Airform, Icon do a range of coloured and tinted visors to smoke your vision and customise your helmet. And if you like the occasional serious track day, there’s even a tear-off visor available.
Sun Visor
(more about sun visors)
Like most sun visors, the one on the Icon Airform drops down from inside the top of the helmet shell to cover most of your vision with a lightly tinted visor.
They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but they can be really useful, especially when you’re caught out unexpectedly in bright sunlight.
The Airform’s sun visor is dropped down by that slider on the left hand side of the helmet behind the visor mount.
It’s adequate but a couple of riders have said it doesn’t come down quite low enough, leaving a bright band at the bottom. But that’s usually different for each rider and can depend on your riding position, bike and face shape.
Oh, and like most sun visors out there, it’s not antifog which is a bummer on cold but bright days.
Comfort and Sizing
(more about comfort and sizing)
The Airform’s in between a medium oval nudging towards a rounder fitment (more neutral), but that should suit most riders’ head shapes pretty well.
It’s produced in fitment sizes XS-3XL and while most owners found the sizing to be spot on, a couple found theirs slightly small. So maybe if you are on the border between two sizes, we’d suggest going for the larger size.
Inside the Icon Airform is a typical Icon Hydradry liner. They’re not the last word in soft-touch fabrics but they are totally fine and use a moisture wicking, antimicrobial fabric.
The liner is easily removable – it uses poppers and velcro to keep things in place – and most riders say it’s very comfortable.
It comes with a removable breath guard but there’s no chin guard in the box.
If you look at the shape of the rear of the helmet, you can see it’s been slightly raised so the rear of the helmet won’t interfere with your jacket collar or hump. Nice touch.
And while there aren’t any glasses grooves inside the Airform to accommodate your glasses, people say it will fit most types of glasses OK.
Looks & Graphics
The Airform’s a striking helmet and would be a perfect accompaniment to any streetfighter or naked.
And as you’ll see up and down the page, Icon loves to offer a range of urban and bonkers graphics to match those in-yer-face looks.
They’re also keen for folks to customise their helmets with crazy visors, and in the case of the Airform, they’ve made it so those two rear decals (Icon calls them spoilers) can be swapped out to match your iridium visor, coloured jacket or bike.
Icon aren’t slow to churn out more and more graphics over the lifetime of a helmet so as you’re reading this, there’s sure to be a stack of new designs and colourways out there.
So if you’re thinking of getting yourself an Airform, please click our partner store icons below to drop straight onto their Airform pages and discover the new looks (and any discounts!).
Best places to buy an Icon Airform?
Please click below to visit the Icon Airform 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).
Icon Airform Video
Here’s a comprehensive 14m review of the Icon Airform from Chaparral.
Other stuff – audio, weight, glasses, build quality, warranty
Inside the Airform, there’s a couple of medium sized speaker pockets so you can use a bluetooth headset in there.
But note, a few owners have said it’s not the easiest fitment for a clamp mount because of that thick base gasket around the bottom of the helmet. There’s plenty of space for a sticky mount though.
The Airform has actually been built to fit Icon’s own bluetooth kit – the RAU communicator. So if you’re looking for an integrated headset, then the Airform might well fit the bill.
Weight wise, while most owners say it feels on the lighter side when you’re wearing it, it’s actually a heavier full face helmet.
For reference, it’s about as heavy as your average modular helmet; and at nearly 1.7Kg (3.7lbs) it’s a smidge heavier than most thermoplastic full face lids.
But I guess how it feels when you’re riding is the most important thing and you really shouldn’t have a problem with the Airform.
Build quality is generally seen as good, especially for the money you’re paying. But if anything does go wrong, you’ve only got a stingy one year warranty to get any manufacturing problems sorted out with Icon – though there is a very comprehensive range of replacement parts available should you ever need to fix your Airform.
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 Icon Airform?
Well if you’re particularly interested in an Icon because of their mental graphics, you can find all our Icon helmet reviews here.
Or check out these sections if you’re after a cool looking helmet or a retro helmet.
First up, how about the low-priced Nolan N60-5? It’s a SHARP 4 star safety rated full face that comes with an easy-to-use micrometric fastener and has a Pinlock antifog insert in the box – all for around the same money as the Airform.
Or there’s the 5 star safety rated HJC C70 full face: it’s the same sort of money as the Icon, plus it comes with a sun visor and it’s Pinlock ready.
So too’s the Shark Ridill – plus it’s 4 star safety rated, has a sun visor, comes with a Pinlock in the box and is pretty quiet too.
If you can stretch your budget a little more, you could pick up the composite fibre Scorpion Exo ST-1400. SHARP 4 star but with EQRS, sun visor, less weight and a 5 year warranty.
If none of those float your boat, take a look at some of our other suggestions in our top 10 helmets pages or maybe use our smart(ish) filters or helmet gallery to find a helmet you like?
Looking to buy an Icon Airform?
Please click below to visit the Icon Airform 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).
