Through the Visor of a Glide MA200
The self development of human beings till date is mostly based on vanity. Buying hi-end top notch models of gadgets and accessories or the pinnacle of any product is what we aim at, for say when a new model of a valued mobile phone company releases a new variant, the average populace will not hesitate to purchase it at once as to brandish it amongst their friends and family, it’s human nature. So why cheap out when buying a helmet that ensures ultimate coolness and personal safety in an event of an accident, the general public out and about town will always carry a mobile phone which would cost about rs.6000 or above, why not spend as much on a proper helmet too. For a simple budget of about 2500 to about 6000 rupees you are open to several options of proper safe helmets.
The SMK helmet company offers an array of options to choose from. I have chosen the SMK Glide MA200. This light and well structured helmet is every paise well spent. On the initial overview of the helmet it looks expensive with the Bluetooth compartment, the vents, the modular structure and the dual visor and anti-fog visor. It is a complete helmet for a day to day and long ride use. The helmet comes in three colors of which I selected the Matt black variant; the finish of the color is smooth and easy to clean. Though the helmet does have small crevices where dust gets stuck but it’s an ease to simply brush it off. The compound it’s built on is also very rigid and strong. Since the only way to test its strength is to have an accident so when that day does come I will update on it. The helmet is built to high standards, fitted with several cooling vents, quick release visor and straps, comfy neck roll and very fine fabric lining.
All of what you have read till now is basically data and data which you really can just ask the shop keeper for. So, The SMK Glide MA200, how is actually performs. The helmet being light is a weight off your neck, which is very good plus point on long trips nor does it being light mean it flails about in the wind, the helmet design has a small spoiler at the rear so it acts as a form of down force aerodynamics, which makes it planted on your head. The vents on the top actually do channel air where some only has it for show, so it behaves as a cooling agent and as another aero. Now the other problem helmets have in general is insulating the sound of windblast, this helmet tackles it very well. The visor is not only present as a shield, but it has been sculpted with a slant on the upper section so that wind is smoothly deflected around it. Hence windblast in nominal and increases aero. The secondary dark visor is like any other, but the switch to trigger it down is very hard and takes quite a bit of muscle to flip it down and while you are trying to slide it down the helmet does get forced to a side so it gets a little frustrating similar for main visor as well. The primary and secondary visor are replaceable, switching the main shield visor is easy but you will have to switch the pin lock antifog as well because the spare visors do not come with it, be careful with the screwdriver here, you don’t want to scratch the visor with it. The shield visors do come is several tints, of which I selected the gold tint and the clear one. Honestly speaking, unless it’s a super sunny day with not a single sign of clouds in sight then the gold tint is practical but the tint is so dark it’s impossible to see through on a slightly cloudy day, forget about a rainy day. After this the dark visor was an option of which this was more practical since you could see through it when the sun hid behind a cloud for a minute. It may not have the glittering shine of the gold, but the flexibility it has to use on a daily basis is more of a worth. Since the helmet isn’t outfitted stock with a Bluetooth device so fitting it with an external device was the choice and the Cardo G9 was the option which led straight to a problem. The inner visor trigger is positioned near the lower left cheek of the helmet but the G9 is also positioned there. So a conflict arose which was culled by placing the G9 slightly behind the trigger mechanism, which made the reach of the microphone shorter hence answering calls and so forth is quite a loud business. It currently isn’t easy using the G9 compared to when it was placed on my old helmet but it works. Upon checking the inside of the helmet, I realised it was made of comfy materials and padding which was more than sufficient But the entire padding was not present. The left section of the upper dome didn’t have the padding present, hopefully thinking that was the last of the missing components, I was wrong. While I was placing the speakers for the G9, where the helmet did come with a pre-pressed mould for speakers, I realized that the compressed thermocol, near both sides of the ear, were fractured and crumbling. This was quite alarming as it could hinder the integrity of the helmet. Maybe I got a bad product from the line of hundreds of helmets but still it does cause a slight curious notion of whether more out of a hundred are like this. There don’t seem to be many major complaints about SMK product till far, hope they keep it up.
Overall the SMK Glide MA200 is a complete helmet which for its price tag is quite a bargain. Being a modular helmet it is very flexible for both city and highway use. The simple design construct of the helmet clearly shows that in an event of a mishap the helmet will not be obstructive against asphalt and be completely malleable. So till now the helmet seems top notch but the little niggles in the padding is a worry. SMK should get the post product examination team a wake-up call. We at bikers for good give the helmet 8/10 rating. At Rs.6000 plus extra for spares it’s a decent deal.