Anyone ever heard of TORC?

[WebDevDan]

So apparently this company, H&H, a big helmet OEM shell maker, has created a new brand called TORC. I've never seen one or heard of them before today, and at both shops I was at, they had just gotten them in recently.

One of the sales folk I was talking to wore an H&H Nitek helmet and said it was comfortable and quiet. I tried one on and HOLY CRAP IT WAS COMFORTABLE. Seriously. Even with the fancy pants Blinc Bluetooth speakers, it was maybe the most comfortable helmet I've tried. It also had like 5 separate adjustable vents on it in some fairly strategic locations and seems like it'll breath pretty well.

Here's the fun part though, the helmet was $169. I know how adamant a lot of people are about the whole "you get what you pay for" thing, so I was wondering if anyone's actually paid for one of these, wears one, tried one on, knows anyone who survived a wreck wearing one, etc.

Anyone?

[Mopedmafia]

I will let u know in a few days I just ordered a Torc from eBay but it was closer to $300. I think it's a Torc T-22

[Wild-Bill]

I remember seeing somebody mention the TORC bluetooth boxes a while ago. Didn't have anything really nice to say about them IIRC but I could be off. Big thing on the helmet is that if it's DOT certified then it at least meets the minimum safety standards and if it's comfortable on your head then go for it. Seems to me that being comfortable in your helmet is way more important than any brand name so long as those minimum safety standards get met.

[WebDevDan]

I remember seeing somebody mention the TORC bluetooth boxes a while ago. Didn't have anything really nice to say about them IIRC but I could be off. Big thing on the helmet is that if it's DOT certified then it at least meets the minimum safety standards and if it's comfortable on your head then go for it. Seems to me that being comfortable in your helmet is way more important than any brand name so long as those minimum safety standards get met.

Dot and Snell, and if I remember correctly I think ece as well.

[scottynoface]

I wouldnt buy a helmet from someone who intentionally misspells "torque."

[GSXFJim]

I wouldnt buy a helmet from someone who intentionally misspells "torque."

werd....

[Psycho1]

I believe they only listed one helmet on their site that was ece certified, and none of them were SNELL. The T-19 was DOT/ECE .

[WebDevDan]

I believe they only listed one helmet on their site that was ece certified, and none of them were SNELL. The T-19 was DOT/ECE .

Crap, that's my bad then. I wonder which one I was looking at... I did a lot of helmet try-ons over the weekend and all that stuck in my mind was how comfortable theirs was.

[Wild-Bill]

Dude, if you like the helmet, it fits your head and works with your budget then it doesn't really matter if it's SNELL or ECE rated. A DOT helmet will protect you fine.

[WebDevDan]

Dude, if you like the helmet, it fits your head and works with your budget then it doesn't really matter if it's SNELL or ECE rated. A DOT helmet will protect you fine.

I'm more concerned with quality (whether the padding breaks down and starts to suck after a few months, whether the plastic on the vents cracks, the visor hinges turning to crap after a while, whether they turn into pumpkins after midnight, etc)

[Wild-Bill]

I think the general consensus is that nobody knows much about the brand first-hand so we've all been throwing attempts at humor and general comments about safety certifications at you instead of being really helpful.

How's it seem to you? Does the vent plastic seem flimsy? Is the stitching sloppy? Compare it to some other brands on the shelf. You can tell pretty quick what kind of care they put into their product. The one thing that throws all kinds of red flags for me is when they try to cram all kinds of extra features into a low-priced product. You can build a good, basic product for cheap but it's really hard to add extra features on the cheap without messing things up. I wouldn't expect Shoei or Arai level construction but for that price, if they build the things as well as Scorpion builds theirs then you've got a winner.