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Best reason to buy an Arai helmet
Arai's shields are the best available in my experience for one simple reason: they don't scratch as easily as other shields I've used, including other presumably hard-coated shields such as Shoei. For this reason alone I can expect to get 1-2 years of near as-new use out of an Arai shield even when riding 20k miles per year through bugs, ice and wind-blasted grit. Other shields scratch simply as a result of fairly careful cleanings and in my experience can be expected to have dramatically shorter useful lives. To attempt a quantification of my point, I'd estimate that Shoei's shields require double the care to provide perhaps half the life of an Arai shield, at least in my use, and an un-coated shield like the Kiwi shields I'm familiar with might require double again the care for again half the lifespan of the Shoei shield.

I recommend the clear and dark smoke shields. Even the dark smoke shield can benefit from being used with sunglasses under under very bright conditions, so I wouldn't bother with the light smoke.

Venting is not a major factor for me. I usually ride with the shield cracked to get the desired airflow. Another nice feature of the Arai shields is a fairly heavy and durable first detent position. On some shields the detents wear out quickly and the shield will close by itself as a result of airflow after some use.

The shields are in my opinion the best reason to buy Arai helmets. Many excellent helmets are on the market today. For real-world, more-than-occasional use, however, Arai's top-notch shields make all the difference in terms of usability, enjoyment and cost per mile ridden.
Comment

Best reason to buy an Arai helmet
Arai's shields are the best available in my experience for one simple reason: they don't scratch as easily as other shields I've used, including other presumably hard-coated shields such as Shoei. For this reason alone I can expect to get 1-2 years of near as-new use out of an Arai shield even when riding 20k miles per year through bugs, ice and wind-blasted grit. Other shields scratch simply as a result of fairly careful cleanings and in my experience can be expected to have dramatically shorter useful lives. To attempt a quantification of my point, I'd estimate that Shoei's shields require double the care to provide perhaps half the life of an Arai shield, at least in my use, and an un-coated shield like the Kiwi shields I'm familiar with might require double again the care for again half the lifespan of the Shoei shield.

I recommend the clear and dark smoke shields. Even the dark smoke shield can benefit from being used with sunglasses under under very bright conditions, so I wouldn't bother with the light smoke.

Venting is not a major factor for me. I usually ride with the shield cracked to get the desired airflow. Another nice feature of the Arai shields is a fairly heavy and durable first detent position. On some shields the detents wear out quickly and the shield will close by itself as a result of airflow after some use.

The shields are in my opinion the best reason to buy Arai helmets. Many excellent helmets are on the market today. For real-world, more-than-occasional use, however, Arai's top-notch shields make all the difference in terms of usability, enjoyment and cost per mile ridden.