The Simpson Bandit series bills itself as the “original tough guy” helmet, and just looking at it, there might be something to that. Minimalist in design, this sleek helmet practically screams cool, and spending decades with the reputation as the helmet of choice for performance riders.
It might have a minimalist approach to design, and even to some of its functions, but what it lacks in those areas it more than makes up for in safety and overall performance. This helmet does exactly what you’d ask it to do. Overall, the Simpson Street Bandit is a no-nonsense helmet that makes a statement no matter where you ride.
Ratings
Comfort:
Visibility:
Ventilation:
Quietness:
Specifications
Outer shell material : Fiber Composite
Shell size : XS-2XL
Liner : plush, washable liner
Weight : plush, washable liner
Pinlock : Ready
Strap System : Chin air ram duct vents
Safety Ratings
DOT : Yes
ECE : Yes
SNELL : Yes
SHARP : Not tested
Shape and materials
The Street Bandit is made with a fiber composite material that gives it extreme toughness and durability. It has a fairly neutral shape overall, which means that most riders can expect to find a helmet that feels good and fits with their head shape.
The inner liner is a plush, comfortable soft material that molds to your head and provides a nice, cushion-like padding. If you don’t like that you also have the option of swapping the liner out for thinner cheek pads, giving you a bit more room on the inside.
Overall comfort
Due to its neutral shape, the Simpson Street Bandit is a comfortable helmet that is bound to feel good on just about everyone. The shell is available in six different sizes, ranging from XS all the way to 2XL, so there’s just about no head size too large or too small to fit.
As mentioned above, the liner provides you with a ton of comfort, and is easy to remove and wash. Swapping it out for those cheek pads is also an option, so that every rider can find the fit and feel that works best for them.
Things I liked
Things I don’t like
Visibility
One area where the Simpson Street Bandit definitely excels in is visibility. This helmet comes with a large, almost oversized visor that gives you more than an ample view of he road ahead. Some users say that operating the visor takes some getting used to, but once you figure it out you’ll agree that this helmet comes with almost unmatched visibility.
This helmet is also Pinlock-compatible, although it doesn’t come with the anti-fog shield itself. This is an extra option you can purchase, though, to help keep you fog-free and keep that high visibility.
Quietness
The sleek design of the Street Bandit helps to give you a relatively quiet ride. It’s not silent by any means, but the sleek, aerodynamic design of the shell helps to cut through the air and leave little in the way of disturbance or wake, both of which can make for a louder riding experience.
Ventilation
The ventilation system on the Simpson Street Bandit is another area where a minimalist approach still seems to pay off. Where other helmets have ports all over the place that may or may not work, the Street Bandit has only a few: chin air ram duct vents along the bottom, and a pair of top vents along the top.
This might not seem like much, but when you’re rolling they really do get the job done. The top vents are even adjustable, allowing you to open or close them depending on your situation. All in all, these vents do a good job of moving air when you’re on the road.
When you’re going slower or are completely stopped, however, the lack of ventilation becomes more of an actual problem. There’s not a lot of places for air to get in the helmet without help from inertia, so unless it’s getting pushed in there at highway speeds you’ll find it getting a little stuffy inside the helmet.
Safety
The Simpson Street Bandit is certified by DOT, ECE and Snell, which means you can trust this helmet to keep you safe. It has not been tested for a SHARP rating yet, so if you’re a completist when it comes to helmet safety ratings, you might want to take note of that.
The DOT certification, however, means this helmet has been rigorously tested and has passed, which should be good enough for just about everyone.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a very solid, no-nonsense helmet. It doesn’t come with a lot of bells and whistles, but it performs solidly well and does what it’s supposed to do. Unfortunately, the bare-bones approach doesn’t result in a bare-bones price tag. This is where the reputation and legendary status of Simpson comes into play. You can expect to pay for this helmet.
Still, the high visibility, well-designed ventilation system and comfortable design give this high overall ratings. When we look at everything, we give this helmet an average rating of 90/100, which works out to 4.4/5 stars.
Where to buy this helmet :