1. Snell 95 and DOT approved
2. Past experience with HJC, Bell, and Lazer
3. Helmet features
4. Fit & Comfort
5. Cost
6. Available colors

I did not care for the Bell helmet I previously had because it lacked good ventilation. Admittedly, it was a racing helmet, not a recreational vehicle helmet. As such, there was no venting in the helmet.

The Lazer/ski-doo helmets I've owned always leaked air around the visors. That was very annoying. Some of them had a tendency for the visor screws to loosen up and fallout. Those helmets never really fit the shape of my head very well. Be warned: Helmets of the same size from different manufacturers are not the same size. Kind of like buying shoes, size 11 from one company is not the same as size 11 from another company.

The last helmet I purchased prior to the current CL-12 was an HJC CL-11. The CL-11 had good field of vision and was well vented. However, it did have a couple of quirks: This helmet developed a tendency for the visor screws to loosen over time and fall out. Once, one of the screws fell out while trail riding and the ratchet block also fell out. The plastic screws for the visor would strip out pretty easy too. Luckily, I was able to put a blow out patch on the visor with some good ol' duct tape until I was able to come up with a screw that worked properly. After that I always carried some extra visor screws and ratchet block kit on the sled for spares. The other issue with the CL-11 was helmet induced wind noise. The side plates that retained the visor onto the helmet would catch the wind and make a whistling noise. At the end of a 200-mile day it would get on my nerves just a tad. Even with its quirks, I liked the CL-11 better than any of the previous helmets I owned. Since I was in the market for a new helmet and I mostly liked the HJC, I decided to look into their newest offering of the CL-12.

The CL-12 is the latest release to the HJC "CL" line. Preceded by the CL-10 and CL-11 models. The '12' appeared to have tackled the two things I did not like about the CL-11. Using a wrap around, flush fit visor solved the helmet induced wind noise issue. Great! No more whistling visor.

This helmet also has a new "no tools" design visor. The visor does not have a separate retainer plate, screws or ratchet blocks to hold it in place like the CL-11 and 10 did. That means no screws that get loose, no screws to tighten up, no screws to strip out when tightening, and no parts to fall off and lose. To install or remove the visor, simply open the visor fully, pull forward the visor release lever on each side of the helmet and slide the visor out of the mount.

 

The green cirle highlights the visor release lever. A nice no tools features of the CL-12. Click picture for larger image

It is a real advancement to a simpler, cleaner design for the visor. I found this design particularly beneficial because at the time I purchased the helmet, I intended to use it for drag racing, motorcycling and snowmobiling. For motorcycling I had purchased a silver iridium lens (a silver mirrored lens) for use during the day. I would carry the standard clear lens in the tank bag of my motorcycle. When it got dark out, in 60 seconds or less I could change the mirrored lens out for the clear one, no tools required.

Point to note, the HJC CL-12 is sold in both a motorcycle version and a snowmobile version. The snowmobile version is slightly more expensive, something on the order of $30-$40 more than the motorcycle version. The motorcycle version comes with a single pane, clear lens, and no breath deflector. The snowmobile version comes with a clear, double pane lens and a removable breath deflector. An electric shield is also available. I purchased the snowmobile version, along with a standard single pane lens, a mirrored lens (also single pane) and an electric lens. Thus making the helmet useable year round for all my hobbies.

The helmet has a vent at the front top that takes air in across the top of your head and exhausts it out at the lower rear of the helmet. There is also 2 chin vent, one each forward lower side. This vent intakes and exhausts out the sides. There is also a duct from each of the intakes that goes into the mouth area of the helmet, providing fresh air at your mouth and chin. These two chin vents are controlled from the inside of the helmet. They are adjustable to any position between full open and full closed. There is also an air intake in the front center of the chin bar that directs air up the inside of the shield to prevent fogging. All the other vents are can be either open or closed (nothing in between) and are controlled from outside the helmet. For the summer months I used the helmet with all the vents fully open and without the breath deflector installed. The breath deflector has 2 ducts on the front of it that snap into the ventilation ducts in the helmet. The cheek straps on the deflector are attached to the helmet with Velcro. There is a pliable metal strip in the portion of the breath deflector that goes over the nose. The inner part has a foam strip to seal to your nose.

 

The breath deflector is removeable for cleaning and using the helmet for activities that don't require the deflector. Click picture for larger image

 

The breath deflector is removeable for cleaning and using the helmet for activities that don't require the deflector. Click picture for larger image

I put about 7,000 miles on my motorcycle this summer with the helmet as well as over 100 passes down the ¼ mile dragstrip on my race sled and found that through range of 45° to 98°F the helmet was comfortable, well ventilated and had less helmet induced wind noise than any of the other helmets I've owned. This is not to say there is no 'wind' noise. Anytime you push an object through the air at speeds up to 120 mph, there is noise. However, this helmet does not, by virtue of its configuration, generate as much helmet induced wind noise as the previous helmets I've owned. Generally, what I call helmet induced wind noise is the turbulence caused by an odd shape of the helmet, or various whistling noises from the vents of the helmet or the irregular surfaces around the visor.

So far so good right? That's right or I should say, I was very happy with the helmet so far.

As I put the race sled and the motorcycle away and got the trail sled out to prepare for some winter fun, I found my first dislike with the helmet.

About 4 years ago I was on a 4 day ride in Quebec. On the very first day we ran into some freezing drizzle. The helmet I was wearing at the time did not have an electric visor on it. I had to ride my sled with one hand almost continuously scraping the frozen droplets off my lens so that I could see. After 100 miles of that I was ready to quit. After lunchtime we ended up in Mont Laurier. We ate lunch across the street from a ski-doo dealer. While the others ate lunch I went in and bought an electric visor for my helmet and had the wiring hooked up. Since that day, I've never ridden without and electric shield.

So, first thing I did to prepare for winter riding was remove the single pane motorcycle shield and put on the electric shield. That took all of 60 seconds, no tools necessary! Here is where we get strike one on this helmet. On the HJC CL 10 and 11, when using an electric shield, there is a replacement screw for the one that holds the shield to the helmet. The replacement screw has a "c" clip on it to snap the cord from the visor into place. That took all the strain of the cord movement away from the connector on the lens. With out this strain relief, any movement of the cord from your head or body moving while on the sled would pull directly on the RCA plug connection on the visor. What usually happens is when you get off the sled, you forget the cord is plugged in and when you step of the sled and walk away the cord unplugs itself. If there is no strain relief in the cord, the shield usually takes the stain. This will lead to a bad connection or a short in the electric cord. If that happens, your visor will no longer have an electric current in it, thus rendering it useless. So the strain relieve was a necessity. Guess what? The "no tools" lens attachment system on the CL-12 means there is no c-clip screw to attach the electric cord to. The CL-12 does come with a two-piece cord. There is short 12" pigtail that plugs into the helmet, then a longer 3ft cord that goes between the pigtail and your sled. I assume the idea is that the pigtail takes the strain and the cord will unplug from the pigtail if you have a "walk away". Sounds good in theory. But in reality, when you're moving around on the sled, the cord is hanging directly off the visor and the RCA connection is taking the strain.

What can you do about it?? Well the immediate fix came from my good friend Mr. Duct Tape. Yes I know, it's not pretty, but it was my short-term fix. I didn't feel good about having to put a duct tape blowout patch on otherwise good helmet but I needed to do something and that worked until I came up with a better solution.

 

The world is held together with Duct Tape, and it worked to hold the electric visor power cord to the helmet until a ty-wrap mounts where used. Click picture for larger image

Eventually I replaced the duct tape with some sticky back Ty-wrap mounts from Radio Shack. They look slightly more professional than the duct tape. I'm not happy about this solution either but I think that's the best it will get.

That solved the strain issue for my fist winter outing with the helmet. During the first ride of the year temperatures were above 0°F. I rode with all the venting open, breath deflector in place. The helmet was comfortable, vented well, my head did not get sweaty. Vision was good, the lens stayed clear at all times. I have found that for me, the most comfortable headgear under this helmet is a dickie balaclava that has thin material from about the ear line up and thicker fleece from the ear line over the neck. I have ridden with the thicker balaclavas and find that they are too warm with this helmet. They interfere with the ventilation.

On my second outing of the year I was on a 3 day loop of sorts between Manawaki and Parent Quebec with other detours in-between. On the second day of the trip when we started off from the Baskatong Reservoir it was -32°F. About 10 minutes into the ride I noticed that my chin and cheeks (my facial cheeks) were very cold. Instinctively I raised my hand up to close the vent in the front of the chin guard. No difference, there was still a freezing cold blast of air blowing right through my balaclava and across my face. I reached up again to feel if I left the collar open on my jacket. It was fine. Then it dawned on me. The side chin vents are vented directly to the breath deflector and onto my chin and face. As I pointed out earlier in the story, these vents are controlled from the inside of the helmet. Personal Note: write an email to HJC; tell them that snowmobile helmets should have all vents operable from the outside of the helmet with controls large enough to work with gloves on. Damn! Now I have to stop and take off my helmet in -32° F weather. That couldn't be any more inconvenient could it? Ok, strike two on this helmet. I'm riding last in a group of three. By the time I get my helmet back on and get going, the other two guys were long ahead of me.

 

The photos can't do the fit and finish of this helmet justice. The paint is flawless and details superb. Click picture for larger image

In summary, the electric shield issue I worked around for a less than $2.00. The chin vent issue... well, let's just say I have a new rule of thumb. If it's below zero when I head out, I close the vents before I put on the helmet. Otherwise, I leave them open. Now that I'm aware of the situation, I can deal with it effectively. However, I feel that both of these issues should have been better engineered from the start by HJC. Even with these two quirks, I still like this helmet better than the previous helmets I've owned and would recommend this helmet as one of the best on the market.

 

Comments from the Section Editor. For the past season I have also been wearing the HJC CL-12 helmet and would like to add a few comments. Helmet fit is a very personal subject like Steve mentions, and no one helmet is a one size fits all. For me the HJC was not the most perfect fit, but it was very comfortable. The extreme temperatures that Steve experiences on a regular basis are far from the -5°F to 30°F temperatures that I ride in, so I didn't experience the face chilling that he did. In the temperature range I ride in, the helmet venting was about perfect. Overall, I'd concur that the HJC is a fine helmet and worthy to be my lid, but before you buy a helmet, try it on, check the fit, and know the environment that you will be riding in. I do have one nit pick to add, the breath deflector had an annoying habit of digging into the bridge of my nose no matter how I adjusted it. I never was able to solve the fit issue entirely and switched helmets to a KBC. Remember, try it on before you buy it and you'll be happy with the helmet for years. Matthew Baynard

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