New: Icon Variant helmet

We've just received an Icon helmet in for testing. If you haven't yet heard of Icon, they're an up-and-coming brand in the US and starting to appear on the motorcycle radar more and more frequently.

This is their Variant helmet in the 'Ghost Carbon' finish. Looking like something straight out of Alien vs. Predator, Icon's designers clearly aren't going for the conventional look.

I'll be testing it over the next few weeks, until then, here are my first impressions:

The good:

• Much wider peripheral vision than normal lids
• Quiet
• Despite having a matt finish, the helmet doesn't pick up oily fingerprints

The bad:

• At 1,590G it feels heavy
• Swapping visors is fiddly and requires you to remove several screws and thin bits of plastic 
• The helmet seems under-padded, making it hard to remove once it's on

You can pick up a Variant on UK sites now, starting at £249.99 and available in several colours and designs.

Full review to come soon!