HJC makes excellent full-face motorcycle helmets, and they are undoubtedly one of the leaders in the market. Surprisingly so, they produce high-quality lids at reasonable price tags. Can that be said for all of their budget models? In our HJC F70 helmet review, we will prove again that HJC is one of the kings when it comes to designing robust budget motorcycle helmets!
Keep on reading to find out what makes the HJC F70 motorcycle helmet one of the best sub-$300 motorcycle helmets around!
Table of Contents
HJC F70 Helmet Review – Features
If you are in a hurry, here are all the essential features of the HJC F70 helmet to know about:
- Fiberglass composite shell
- Weighs 1,56 kg (3 pounds and 7 ounces)
- Intermediate oval head shape
- Pinlock-ready HJ-32 clear face shield
- Interior drop-down HJ-V9 sun visor
- Actuated chin and top vents
- Passive rear exhaust vent
- Comes with a breath guard and chin curtain
- D-ring chin strap
- Removable and washable inner liner
- 40 mm speaker cutouts
- Bluetooth-ready design
- DOT and ECE safety ratings
Without further ado, let’s begin our HJC F70 helmet review!
Construction & Design
HJC F70 helmet sports a surprisingly lightweight fiberglass composite shell that weighs 1,56 kg (3 pounds and 7 ounces). It’s a remarkably durable helmet when you consider its weight, but more on that later on.
When it comes to the internal shape of the HJC F70, it sports an intermediate oval shape. That means that it’s a bit more elongated on the front to back section than on the side to side section. Because of that, it might feel a bit snug on the cheeks at the beginning. After a while, the helmet will break in and feel much more comfortable.
Looking for more full-face HJC helmets? Check out our HJC C70 review for a good pick!
The HJC F70 motorcycle helmet is a great sport touring helmet, considering that it provides ample protection and a lovely feature package for the long-term rider. All that at a reasonable weight so that the helmet doesn’t strain you on longer rides.
Vision
HJC F70 sports the HJ-32 Pinlock-ready clear face shield. It’s a fairly nice face shield with a strong seal against the gasket. We can see the two plastic tabs used to open and close the face shield. Keep in mind that the Pinlock insert is not included in the package, so make sure to buy it separately. It is an amazing small piece of gear that prevents the face shield from fogging up.
The clear face shield is removable, but you will need a screwdriver to remove it altogether.
On the lower part of the face shield is a little breath guard. It does a fairly good job of helping reduce the fog buildup on the visor. Honestly, Pinlock does a better job of defogging, and you will have more vision if you remove this breath guard. It is relatively easy to remove, as it pops out like a charm.
The thing that separates the HJC F70 from most other budget full-face helmets is the retractable internal sun visor. Its mechanism is located on the left jawline part of the helmet. While it might feel a bit cumbersome to operate initially, especially with a gloved hand, it becomes muscle memory after a short while. The inner sun visor itself is quite useful – it adds more coverage and sits pretty low. Also, it locks in place when you retract it into the shell.
Want a good modular helmet from HJC? Check out our HJC RPHA 90 review, their best modular so far!
Overall, the peripheral vision you get with the HJC F70 is awesome and beats out most other helmets in a similar price range. Bonus points to HJC!
Comfort
As we continue our HJC F70 helmet review, we are delving into the guts of the helmet itself.
First up is a fairly standard double D-ring chin strap. It’s very easy to manipulate, and we have no complaints on that front at all.
The cheek pads are removable, and we can see that they have a contour that’s going to break in pretty nice to your cheeks after some time of riding. Keep in mind that this motorcycle helmet will feel tight at first but will get comfortable over time as you break in the cheek pads.
We can also see a chin curtain on the inside of the helmet, which is not removable. There is a removable Velcro piece on the chin curtain that forms a nice seal with the cheek pads. It helps out more when it comes to blocking out the wind noise further.
The inner liner is quite easy to remove and is fully washable. Thankfully, the inner liner has no big pressure points, so don’t worry about your forehead hurting after an hour of riding.
When we remove the inner liner, we can see the recesses on the inside. These are speaker cutouts that are 40 mm wide. Sadly, it won’t be enough for the increasingly popular 45 mm JBL speakers from Cardo’s new Bluetooth communicators, which is a bummer.
Looking for a high-quality Bluetooth communication device? Check out our list of best Bluetooth communicators for 2021!
The speaker cutouts and the chin segment in the HJC F70 helmet are made with HJC Smart System communicators in mind, but you don’t necessarily need to implement that particular comm system.
Airflow
First of all, the HJC F70 ventilation system is top-notch. We certainly didn’t expect this at such a low price range! Let’s break it down!
We have two active vents on the chin. You can open up both of them, and they will let in the air directly to the face shield. Sadly, it will be hard to mount an action camera on the chin vent because of the two vents, so make sure to get a side mount!
Next up, we have two active vents on the top of the helmet that will pull the airflow in through the helmet. This air will escape through the rear exhaust vents and through the EPS liner to keep you more comfortable.
The rear vents look like they can be opened and closed at first glance, but these are passive vents. Overall, the vent scheme provides a quite aerodynamic design to the F70 helmet, which is awesome, considering the sub-$300 price point.
Also, the wind noise on the HJC F70 is greatly reduced thanks to the aerodynamic properties. It will be quiet even at 80 mph (129 km/h), which makes it one of the best full-face helmets to protect your hearing in the long run. Keep this in mind, as this is a very important characteristic!
Safety Ratings
The HJC F70 helmet features DOT and ECE safety ratings. These make it fit for riding on US and European roads. Overall, this is a quite safe helmet due to its sturdy build, snug fit, and aerodynamic profile.
Available Models
First of all, the HJC F70 motorcycle helmet comes in the following shell sizes:
- XS – 53 to 54 cm
- S – 55 to 56 cm
- M – 57 to 58 cm
- L – 59 to 60 cm
- XL – 61 to 62 cm
- 2XL – 63 to 64 cm
When it comes to color schemes, the F70 comes in a variety of styles:
- Semi Flat Black
- Metal Black
- Pearl White
- Semi Flat Metallic Blue
- Stone Grey
- Semi Flat Titanium
Then, there are the special variants of the F70 helmet:
- Dever
- Tino
- Deathstroke
- Samos
- Feron
- Mago
Check out the gallery below for all the HJC F70 styles:
Price
Right now, the HJC F70 costs $250/€207/£178. We must say, it’s a true budget champion, with a robust feature package backing up such a low price. It is undoubtedly one of the best full-face helmets you can get for such a low price tag.
Summing Up
Now that we are at the end of our HJC F70 helmet review, what is our final verdict? We think that you should go out and buy one of these lids for yourself if you want the best budget pick for long-term riding!
HJC F70 is an overall amazing choice for touring, sport, and street riders looking for a robust feature package. It has an interior sun visor, a robust ventilation scheme, and is fairly lightweight for all it offers.
Yes, it can feel a bit too snug at the beginning, but as you continue to use this helmet continuously, you will get rewarded with one of the best budget helmets on the market.
Interested in more motorcycle helmet reviews? Make sure to check out our motorcycle helmet reviews section for more!
