Mirrored Visor

I have used smoked visors, but am wondering what the difference is in using a mirrored visor.

I know there is supposed to be more UV protection from the mirrored visor, but what is the perception looking out compared to using a light or dark smoke?

My helmet happens to be a Shoei RF-1000, but I'm assuming most of the mirrored visors have about the same effect looking through them.

Thanks for the help!

I've got a dark-tinted AND mirrored visor on the AGV X-Vent, and it's the best! fing02.gif On my new XR-1000, I got a dark-tinted visor, and it's nowhere near as good for cutting the glare (plus it's a dark green whereas the AGV's one is a dark neutral (grey) tint.
I noticed the first time I wore it that the sun shining through it was noticeably hot, whereas the AGV's visor cuts out all the UV and some of the IR too. The downside is that in gloomy wet weather or at dusk it does make everything more dim than the Shoei's visor.

The WifeAccountantPorcupinePillionist has a lightly tinted and mirrored (iridium) visor on her Shoei Raid, and it takes the edge off the glare, but she has to wear her sunglasses underneath as it doesn't cut enough of the glare (sun is very bright in Noo Zilund, y'know).

767fixer, Jul 23 2007, 11:46 AMthe reason the sun appears brighter in new zealand is that you are Upside down and the polarization of the lens need to match. unfortunatly there is not a market for reverse polarity products as 98 % of all riders are on correct side of the world.

No!! You are wrong!

98% of the world's riders do NOT live in Noo Zilund. warranty.gif

I stopped using the Shoei Iridium shields several years ago. They worked great BUT they scratch very easily. The scratch removes the iridium tint which leaves a very annoying bright mark. I got tired a replacing them and just bought the smoked screen with no regrets.

I too, prefer a mirrored visor to a tinted one. I run one on each of my three helmets and carry a pair of clear safety glasses from work under the seat in case I get caught out after dark.

AuburnVFR, Jul 22 2007, 07:50 PMI stopped using the Shoei Iridium shields several years ago. They worked great BUT they scratch very easily. The scratch removes the iridium tint which leaves a very annoying bright mark. I got tired a replacing them and just bought the smoked screen with no regrets.

I was a bit disappointed with the quality considering the price $$$. I just use the dark smoke or clear for night. The mirrored shield doesn't block nearly as much light as the dark smoke but does seem to kill glare.

AuburnVFR, Jul 23 2007, 12:50 PMI stopped using the Shoei Iridium shields several years ago. They worked great BUT they scratch very easily. The scratch removes the iridium tint which leaves a very annoying bright mark. I got tired a replacing them and just bought the smoked screen with no regrets.

That's the one BIG disappointment I have with my new Shoei c.f. my old AGV. The AGV's mirrored finish is VERY resistant to scratching, and the visors themselves are 2/3rds the price of Shoei ones, and a third of the price of Arai visors. The only marks on the mirror finish of the AGV visor were from stones hitting it hard enough to penetrate the surface! Oh - and that sidewalk that jumped up and tried to hit me in the head... unsure.gif
That did scratch a bit.... but only to a depth of about 2mm or so...

I've been running the same Shoei gold mirrored shield that I bought in the summer of '02. Although I've never owned a smoke shield, and therefore can't compare, I do find the mirrored shield does a great job cutting the brightness during those sunny outings and is quite tolerable while riding at night.

It has a couple of small scratches on it from flying rocks on the road but really no worse for the wear. I've always cleaned it with ProtectAll and Scott paper towels and never had any problems with scratching and/or swirl marks.

YMMV though.

Cheers,
-T

I opted for clear stock screen and sun glasses.
If it's bright, I wear glasses and open the screen for air.
If it's dark I remove glasses.
Works great - no scratches fing02.gif

Rice, Jul 22 2007, 10:33 PMI opted for clear stock screen and sun glasses.
If it's bright, I wear glasses and open the screen for air.
If it's dark I remove glasses.
Works great - no scratches fing02.gif

Me too except I find that I can't wear polarized sunglasses as they make weird rainbows when my clear Arai visor is down. It is a shame as I love polarized sunglasses! You can see inside cars to see who is paying attention and who is sipping their latte with one hand and texting with the other. It gets really hot here in the mid-Atlantic and riding with the visor open can really help with the cooling.

FWIW, clear polycarbonate on its own (no tinting or mirroring) cuts out 98% of UV rays.

Went away from the mirrored visors due to scratching. Didn't last me 6 months before it needed to be replaced - my dark smoke visor doesn't have such problems. I do think the mirrored visor cuts out more glare, however. Would be nice if polarized visors were available. Maybe its time to wear my sunglasses under the clear visor, as dorky as that looks (no offense to those of you who do it). Oh, these are for the HJC AC-11

Seb - the safety glasses trick after dark is flippin brilliant!

I've been running the iridium/mirrored Shoei visors on my last four helmets. They have held up very well, in fact I think they scratch LESS easily than the clear ones.

(However I seem to be really good at keeping my visors unscratched. Maybe it's because I wear my helmets a lot, they don't sit around on the floor getting kicked, or roll around in the back of my car, or get carried around on the helmet lock or whatever. It always amazes me how some other folks tear up their visors, and I wonder how they can stand riding with them like that?)

I had an Arai for a while and I bought an iridium visor for it, and was disappointed, it wasn't nearly as dark as the Shoei ones, and smudges made it look like the finish was coming off (it wasn't - it could be cleaned and the finish was fine).

I think it's cooler with the mirrored visor. And I have taken trips where I rode thousands of miles in the beating sun, didn't wear sunscreen, and didn't get my face sunburned. So I know they keep the UV out.

Great responses - thanks! Please keep them coming if you have experience to share. Hope this is helping others, not just me.

+1.gif on the responses. You guys just saved me $80!!! Was gonna buy a mirrored for my Arai, but not if they scratch that easy. Thanks

I have had 3 Shoei RF-1000's and have used clear, gold and silver mirrored visors. Scratches do happen but they are usually do to flying objects (big bugs, rocks, etc) and frankly I am very happy with how well the visors have held up over the 2-3 years I have been using them. My only problem is mirrored visors seem to attract a lot of insects. dry.gif Still, they look great, hold up well, are dark enough even for New Mexico sunlight, and really cut down on glare which will tire the eye out. Definitely worth the price in my opinion. fing02.gif

vanion2, Jul 23 2007, 01:51 AMI have had 3 Shoei RF-1000's and have used clear, gold and silver mirrored visors. Scratches do happen but they are usually do to flying objects (big bugs, rocks, etc) and frankly I am very happy with how well the visors have held up over the 2-3 years I have been using them. My only problem is mirrored visors seem to attract a lot of insects. dry.gif Still, they look great, hold up well, are dark enough even for New Mexico sunlight, and really cut down on glare which will tire the eye out. Definitely worth the price in my opinion. fing02.gif

Thanks Vanion... now I am back on the fence again tongue.gif (JK) Did your bike come with that pretty girl in your avatar? How come I didn't get that deal? ohmy.gif

I have an X-11 and use the light smoke shield....why? Because I ride early in the morning and I can still see plenty. It works great during all hours. Now of course a the dark smoke would be better during 10a-4pm hours but I need a shield that is the best overall.....kinda like my reasoning for owning a VFR. The light smoke does everything I need it to.......and if the sun is really bad I just pop on my Oakleys and ride on. I just hate having to change from clear to smoke so on so on. So for me the light smoke works the best. Also no sun burn either! Good luck.

my prior helmet (Shoei) used to have a smoke shield. Then I bought a

[image: d4.jpg]

I donot recall either of them to be darker/lighter. In fact, I'd still wear a pair of sunglasses as well.


Same with my new helmet
[image: HPIM4501.jpg]

We donot have a lot of tunnels in the Netherlands, but when I do ride in one, I need to lift te visor......

The perception of dark/light depends on your eyes I guess....

Sorry this is a little offtopic.gif ...

Anybody have any experience with the photo chromic shields? Specifically, this one?

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=1434

How does it compare to the mirrored and/or tinted shields?

sesand, Jul 22 2007, 11:47 PMMaybe its time to wear my sunglasses under the clear visor, as dorky as that looks (no offense to those of you who do it).

It must depend on the glasses. No one has called me dorky yet... At least to my face.

i prefer the smoked visors. i have a clear, mirrored and smoked visor for my HJC CL-SP helmet. the mirrored one is less restrictive to light, but apparently cut down on damaging rays of the sun. i found that it scratches way easier, and actually trapped reflective light in the helmet creating bright spots, and i actually got a better tan (inside the helmet) goofy.gif

the smoked tended to last longer for me, and were closer to wearing dark UV sunglasses.

I would be careful about assuming that the mirrored visors have UV protection unless they specifically indicate so. I went across country with my rainbow mirrored visor thinking I didn't have to put on any sunscreen on my face and boy was I wrong. Luckily I noticed it after the first day. I was very surprised since I thought the mirroring would naturally reflect the UV, but not the case. Just make sure you check.

vfrqqq, Jul 24 2007, 09:08 AMI would be careful about assuming that the mirrored visors have UV protection unless they specifically indicate so.

That shouldn't be an issue - polycarbonate absorbs 98% of UV light anyway, regardless of whether or not it is coloured or mirrored.

enzed_viffer, Jul 23 2007, 06:03 PM

vfrqqq, Jul 24 2007, 09:08 AMI would be careful about assuming that the mirrored visors have UV protection unless they specifically indicate so.

That shouldn't be an issue - polycarbonate absorbs 98% of UV light anyway, regardless of whether or not it is coloured or mirrored.

+1.gif My clear HJC visor does a great job, although I've never actually tested it out during the day for very long.
On second thought, my blue mirrored visor looked pretty bad @$$, but its not worth the replacement cost - one or two good sized scratches and 20 or so times cleaning it (with just plain water and a clean terry cloth) is all it took to make it look like crap (the finish just starts to rub off in places). After it started looking bad enough, I just cleaned it until all the mirror finish was off, and it was essentially clear afterwards. The smoke visor doesn't seem to have rub off coloring. This may not be a problem with other visors, but beware the HJC CL-14 / AC-11 visors.

Shoei's light smoke vs blue reflective.....


[image: th_0a25d668.jpg]


linky

I have the mirrored shield on my Scorpion and I have found that if you touch it with anything less than microfiber it scratches the hell out of it. I like the glare reduction but can't really compare it to a tinted one. The fragileness of the coating is pretty rediculous. It also has a lot of reflection of my own face, especially when the sun is to the side.

Jeff

Dutchy, Jul 24 2007, 12:02 PMShoei's light smoke vs blue reflective.....

Now that's a comparison - thanks!