Kali Naza FRP Helmet Review

[scratch]

First a little background - First helmet was an XS Shoei ER-5, followed by Shoei GX-1 (XS), Bell Star (6 and something inches (XS)), 2 Shoei RF-800’s (M & S), 2 Shoei TZ-1's (S & XS) and a Shoei Qwest (XS and added the 41mm thicker cheek pads), and I've got to say this Kali Naza is the best helmet I've ever owned.

It's a small, and fits my oval head perfectly, but I do have to cinch the helmet strap all the way to keep it on my head. They do not offer an Extra Small and wish they did, because I’d buy one (and have 2!). Maybe a shorter strap on the left-hand side would do.

Note: I normally rides bikes without fairings/windshields

It’s the quietest helmet of all, and flows an amazing amount of air. I was even surprised with airflow over my right ear, but not from under the helmet, with no additional wind-noise. The shield doesn’t fog on these cool mornings to work (8am), but does have some distortion which doesn’t bother a veteran rider, but may disorient a newer rider. The view port is narrower than the aforementioned Shoei’s, with noticeable impingement in peripheral vision. Not a problem for a vet, but I do wish for more peripheral. Hopefully, Kali will address this and the face shield distortion. There are three positions for the shield, and with glasses, the 1-inch breath guard does a very good job of deflecting the air from my eyes.

Glasses, or shades, fit very well with the plushest interior ever experienced, unlike the Shoei Qwest which likes to prop up the glasses up to my eyebrows (which may be because of the thicker cheek pads, but still).

On the freeway, there's no helmet lift. At all. And, turning my head did not result in any difficulties. But, I do notice that it acts like a sail in crosswinds (afternoons on 101 North from Montague to Lawrence), not dangerous, but weird.

I’ll be exploring tinted and mirrored face shields when they come in at Santa Clara Cycle Accessories, which is where I bought the helmet, and will report on those here in the coming weeks.

All in all, I am very pleased with this helmet, and excited about wearing it every ride.

Graphics: Normally, I wear an all-safety-white helmet, but I bought the Brush graphic and it gives me a good naughty feeling when I wear it.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

I have the Naza carbon, and I echo all of your positives. I have no eye port or shield distortion issues, but I wear a large. Maybe it's a different shape? I bought a tinted shield, and it seems to have a sort of haze that won't go away. Like I left the anti scratch film on it, but I have taken it off... Makes it seem sort of blue outside. Let me know how a mirrored one works when you get it.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

An update/story...
Someone who works for Kali Protectives is a member of this forum, and read my post regarding the hazy tinted shield. He proactively contacted me, and direct shipped me a new shield, NO CHARGE! I have never received such amazing customer service. The new shield is clear, and works perfectly.

 

[scratch]

I did buy the dark shield and it is really dark. I definitely will not ride at night with the dark shield.

I did not notice any haze or bluing.

Since I bought the dark, I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy the mirrored one. I will say looking through the mirrored one at the store just didn't do anything for me, but it was clear with no distortion, and a lighter tint than the dark shield.

It's been a couple years since I bought the dark shield. My apologies about the late review. Life happens, y'know.

 

[Guoseph]

Hmm, time to check out Kali, haven't found a real round helmet since Arai Quantum 2

 

[ScarySpikes]

Wow, bringing a thread back from the dead.

I will say, I bought an Orange Naza FRP from SCC, I've been pretty happy with it so far. It's a bit loud at speed but I don't have a point of comparison since I'm a newbie. For me, it is extremely comfortable. I went looking at other helmets this weekend and tried helmets from Shoei, Icon, Shuberth, Arai, ect. None of were anywhere near as good as the Naza when I first got it, and of course it is better now since it's been broken in a bit. I'm at a strange size where XL fits a bit too big but most larges pinch a lot and are uncomfortable, probably because most companies change shell size between Large and XL, The Naza doesn't have that at all. I fit in the large with no discomfort. The color is extremely bright and visible, without that ugly puke yellow shade of high vis, a plus there.

There are some things I wish the helmet had though. The biggest one is a chin curtain. I think it would help with wind noise and on colder days. I can't find any aftermarket ones for it either. The vent controls are also difficult to use with gloves and the one for the chin vents is inside the helmet itself, which seems weird to me.

I definitely notice some distortion on the face shield as well, it doesn't bother me, but I do see it.

Overall, it seems like a good helmet so far. I like that the company is local in Morgan Hill, I hope that they can come out with an updated version for the Naza, and possibly an ADV style helmet as well.