Review AIROH Commander Motorcycle Helmet

After having used the helmet Commander from the Italian company AIROH for more than 7.000km in different environments and weather conditions, I’m ready to share my honest opinion to help you decide if this is the right helmet for you.

I have paid for this helmet with my own money and this is not a sponsored post.

Summary

You can find this helmet for approximately € / $ 250,00 and for this money you are getting a solid helmet made by an Italian company with a long-standing reputation, especially in the MX / Enduro world, very good design and packed with features.

Just like any helmet it also has some points to be improved but more on that later.

Here some of the features that may interest you:

• Safety standard ECE 22.05
• Integrated sun visor
• Pinlock ready
• Outstanding ventilation
• Not the best option for cold weather riding
• Large field of view
• Bluetooth ready
• Removable peak.
• Comfortable for riders who wear prescription glasses
• The inner lining does not feel “premium” but at this price range is very good value for money.

Target rider: Short and long trips on dual sport and adventure motorcycles.

Not recommended for: Super sport, naked and cruisers bikes.

It can be used for city driving but there are better options. For instance, the AIROH Connor which I have also written about.

If you rather watch a review you can check out the video in here:

**LINK*** youtube

Safety

The AIROH Commander is a full face helmet, meaning safety has been prioritise over other features, and it complies with the previous safety standard ECE22-05 instead of latest ECE22-06 applicable since January 2024 for new helmet models.

The chin strap uses a  double D mechanism which priorities safety over convenience.

Design

I know… I know… this is totally subjective but I’m a huge fan of AIROH designs. Maybe it’s their italian roots but the graphics are awesome! It’s not only the colour options but also its shape.

Visor

This helmet has the best field of view of any helmet I have ever used. It’s extremely wide, tall and I love it.

One thing that really bothers me on many helmets is a flimsy visor and I am happy to report that the AIROH Commander visor has no distortions, is strong enough to keep its shape when you are pulling it open, and has a clear feedback when you shut it close.

The tab for opening it is located in the middle which is not my preference. I prefer helmets that have the opening tab on the left side.

It comes with a Pinlock (anti-fog) which is definitely a plus and recommended if you will be riding in cold weather. I find that below 10 degrees celsius it’s already a good idea to use the Pinlock insert.

It comes with an integrated sun-visor which does the job of blocking the sun perfectly, however the mechanism is a bit clunky and hard specially at the beginning. You will get use to it but it’s not the smoothest sliding mechanism I have used.

Removal of the visor requires a hex key and I don’t like that. There are many options in the market that do not require any tools.

Ventilation

This helmet offers a very good ventilation! Specially due to the big vent port on the chin and the large space between your chin and the helmet chin. I get about 3-4cm between my face and the helmet.

However, for cold weather riding (below 10 C°) at higher speeds I would recommend using a balaclava otherwise it gets too cold for my taste.

The weak point for the ventilation are the ports on top of the helmet. The mechanism for opening it is a small pin which I cannot feel when wearing gloves and I don’t feel much difference when they are opened or closed. Most of the ventilation comes from the bottom of the helmet.

Comfort

When it comes to comfort, first and foremost you’ve got to pick a helmet that is the right size and shape for your head.

The inner lining material and padding is OK but not the best. For example the AIROH Connor has a much nicer material on the inside.

It’s by no means an uncomfortable helmet but don’t expect a premium finishing on the inside.

Built quality

After 7.000km and 2 years the AIROH Commander is olding together just fine. It shows the expected signs of wear for its age and usage and I can definitely get many more rides out of this helmet.

Noise

In most cases ventilation and noise are inverse to each other.

Got great ventilation? Not quiet.

Got a quiet helmet? Not great ventilation.

This is not a quiet helmet, hence the great ventilation.

HOWEVER, and that’s a big one for me, I will NOT complaint about the noise because any helmet should be worn in combination with hearing protection if you are doing more than 50km/h. Maybe, and that’s a huge maybe, if you are exclusively doing city riding at low speeds you may consider skipping the hearing protection.

So while this is NOT a quiet helmet, once I put my ear plugs it’s totally fine and I feel comfortable.

Weight (perceived weight)

The AIROH Commander weights 1430 grams (+-50 grams based on size).

Some riders really stress about helmet weight, maybe I’m just not a refined rider, but I never put on a helmet and felt like: “Oh, this is super light” or “Oh, that’s heavy”. What really gets me is the aerodynamic.

Let me give an extreme (read stupid) example. If you’ve got a a super light helmet that has terrible aerodynamic, it doesn’t matter how light it is, your neck will have to work very hard.

The AIROH Commander with its peak configuration will not offer great aerodynmics for highway riding. I find that up to 100km/h the aerodynmics are very good but above this speed, specially if you bike doesn’t have wind protection like mine, you will feel a lot of air resistance.

The positive point is that you can REMOVE the peak. Removing the peak requires a screwdriver but it’s definetely worth doing it if you know there is a long stretch of highway riding.

The peak is held in place by screws in 3 different position under a cover.

Other Details

I wear prescription glasses and it is comfortable.

It is bluetooth ready.

Verdict

The AIROH Commander is a full face helmet that offers a lot of features at a fair price. Its ventilation is outstanding and better suited for warm climates while for cold weather riding you should wear a balaclava.

It is a comfortable helmet with one of the best field of views in the market. It has an integrated sun visor and you can comfortably wear prescription glasses with it.

It’s not a perfect helmet but its pros outweighs the cons.

AIROH Commander V1 VS V2

AIROH has launched an updated version of the AIROH Commander which I definitely want to test.

If after reading this review you believe this may be a good helmet for you but you want a helmet with the latest ECE certification, then check out the V2.