So let's talk a little bit about this helmet. As you may have read before it's now almost 20 years that I am riding motorbikes I started with an old two stroke Kawasaki 500 and now I am owner of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy. I guess I have bought and used at least a 6-7 helmets over the years, I remember open face ones, a modular high tech one made by Shoei and jet helmet from Nolan.

Now I went back to riding again after the years on the sailing yacht so I wanted to get some new gear and a new helmet was first on this list. After some research I noticed the Bell helmets and the Ruby, to be precise the Bell Custom 500 and the Pavillon by Ateliers Ruby. I do like the look of both and the option of having an open face helmet with an easy way to clip on a shield was appealing. During one of my Sunday rides I visited Harley Davidson in Verona and tried on the Bell, which fits nicely and the inside of the helmet has nice stitchings it is certainly a well build helmet. The next weekend it was time to check out the Pavillon, which was hard to find and the closest reseller was 400 kilometers away. Oh well so this time it was a ride to Monza.

What can I say? The Ruby Pavillion is unbelievable, the first moment when I picked it up I couldn't believe it. This helmet is so LIGHT! The main reason for a weight less then 900gr is the fact that the Pavillion is made out of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass and not injected plastic like cheaper helmets. This helmet has aluminum and titanium screws adding even more quality and it all is finished with a double D ring fastening system, easy and secure.

The Nappa leather is soft, top quality and perfectly stitched and the different density foams give a very nice padding and the lining has antibacterial properties. This is important as you can not take the lining out for a wash, but you can clean the leather with some leathercare products and some soapy water.

The ventilation during riding is perfect too, even on longer rides on summer days I never felt sweaty or hot. The clip on visor is thick and also with polarized sunglasses it does not create the strange color hue some plexiglass shields do.

On their website Ateliers de Ruby also offer an almost endless options of customisation of your helmet and leather colors as well as the material of screws, clips and rims. I could spend hours just designing one helmet after the other with different pattern and designs, actually I did spend some time playing around with their configurator.

When it comes to the price of this helmet, the Pavillon is expensive but you get what you pay for and it is worth the price...and remember: Your head is inside.

Bon Voyage.

Helmet by Les Ateliers Ruby.