Many riders expressed dissatisfaction with certain Simpson helmets due to the lack of features tied to a premium price tag. Simpson listened to the user feedback and finally delivered on their promises with the Simpson Ghost Bandit motorcycle helmet. Learn all about their best modern full-face helmet in our Simpson Ghost Bandit review!
Table of Contents
Simpson Ghost Bandit Review – Features
If you are in a rush, here are all the essential features of the Simpson Ghost Bandit motorcycle helmet:
- Fiberglass composite shell
- Weighs 1,28 kg (2 pounds and 13 ounces)
- Intermediate oval shape
- Pinlock-ready clear face shield
- Interior sun visor
- Antimicrobial and moisture-wicking interior fabric
- EPS liner with 11 cutaways
- Chin curtain for wind protection
- Speaker cutouts for seamless Bluetooth comm device integration
- Active chin vent
- Passive double top and rear vents
- DOT and ECE-certified
Let’s start with our Simpson Ghost Bandit review!
Construction & Design
Simpson has stepped up their construction game with the Ghost Bandit motorcycle helmet, as it sports a composite fiberglass shell. It’s one of the lightest full-face motorcycle helmets on the market, weighing 1,28 kg (2 pounds and 13 ounces).
The shape of the Ghost Bandit is a true intermediate oval. It sports a slightly longer front-to-back section, and it’s not overly round or neutral like the previous Simpson helmet iterations. Overall, this is the shape that’s going to fit most motorcycle riders out there.
Regarding the looks of the Ghost Bandit helmet, this is probably the main selling factor for most riders. It sports that retro streetfighter helmet look, slightly leaning on the Predator without the dreads design angle. This helmet will surely turn heads when you ride on the road.
Vision
As we continue our Simpson Ghost Bandit review, let’s take a closer look at how the company has improved its visibility aspect. After all, Simpson has made some welcome quality-of-life changes to the visor mechanism that we have to mention here!
First of all, it’s great to see that Simpson has listened to feedback aimed at the visor mechanism of their previous helmets from the Bandit lineup. They have improved the gasket along the visor seal, making it more weatherproof than ever before.
The clear face shield now has a new removal system, so you won’t need a screwdriver to replace it as you had to before. This is a quick-release mechanism made possible so that you can easily swap out the tinted visors if you wish so. Simpson has six different coatings for the clear face shield if you want to style it further. Just watch out when you are swapping visors so that the locking mechanism doesn’t break.
Now that we mentioned it, the locking mechanism is clunkily located beside the quick-release mechanism, and we would’ve preferred if it was placed further down the visor, as before. Just putting a detent below the visor tab would do wonders.
If you want fog-free riding, make sure to invest in a Pinlock insert. Without the insert, the visor can get fogged up, but you can simply pull it up and solve that problem.
Also, the Ghost Bandit helmet comes with an internal sun visor. It’s an excellent addition for day riding when the sun is too much to handle. You can pull it down and up with the actuator tab on the left jawline part. The only gripe that we have with it is that it doesn’t come down enough. That results in the air from the chin vents going directly in your eyes, so keep that in mind.
Nevertheless, we love that Simpson listened to feedback and improved the visibility aspect, even though it is still a bit flawed.
Comfort
Let’s take a closer look at the guts of the Simpson Ghost Bandit! First of all, the whole interior material is made from an upgraded fabric with antimicrobial and moisture-wicking qualities.
We have the cheek pads connected to the sides of the helmet with hard snaps. No more Velcro! These snaps are very tough, so be extra careful when pulling them out so that you don’t break the helmet. The cheek pads have additional foam for more comfort, and we can see the speaker cutouts too. This will come in handy for Bluetooth speaker integrations.
The Ghost Bandit utilizes the standard double D-ring chin strap construction. One gripe we have with this particular chin strap is that it can sit way back against the bottom of your jaw, which may be a distraction.
As we go further inside the helmet, we can see the removable chin curtain that helps block out the wind for more bearable wintertime riding.
The comfort liner has a plastic brow mount connected to the plastic tab on the front. This implementation removes big pressure points, so the helmet feels quite comfortable over longer rides too. The liner itself is made of more premium material that fits much better. We can see that it has 11 cutaways that promote airflow and ventilation through the whole helmet.
Because of that, this helmet can easily fit in the three to four-season category of helmets. Underneath the inner liner, you can see large speaker pockets that can accommodate even the 45mm JBL speakers from Cardo!
Looking for awesome Bluetooth comm devices? Check out our list of best Bluetooth communicators in 2021!
Overall, Simpson upgraded on the comfort with the Ghost Bandit, which is great to see and feel!
Airflow
As we continue with our Simpson Ghost Bandit review, let’s break down its ventilation scheme! It’s good to see that Simpson has continued its streak of improvements with the vent scheme too.
First, we have six lined chin vents, with three lines on each side. These vents are actuated with the triggers behind the chin bar itself. An active chin vent is a novelty for Simpson helmets, so it goes without saying that the other Simpson helmets don’t vent nearly as well as this helmet.
There are mini passive vents on the inside of the face shield to further complement the new vent scheme. On the top, we have two vents and rear winglets that serve as passive vents. All of this adds to the overall high aerodynamic qualities of the helmet.
The only gripe we have with the top and rear vents is that they are not actuated. Yes, they provide a nice and stable aerodynamic profile to the helmet, but it adds a new problem – wind noise.
The Ghost Bandit can be quite noisy, even above 40 mph (64 km/h). If you are riding on a highway, don’t go without a decent pair of earplugs if you don’t want to destroy your hearing.
Safety Ratings
This is quite a safe helmet, coming with DOT and ECE safety certifications right out of the box. As noted by some riders who crashed with this helmet, it can save your head, which is excellent to know!
Available Models
The Ghost Bandit helmet comes in select shell sizes:
- XS – 52 to 54 cm
- SM – 54 to 56 cm
- MD – 56 to 58 cm
- LG – 58 to 60 cm
- XL – 60 to 62 cm
- 2XL – 62 to 64 cm
Here are the color schemes available for the Ghost Bandit:
- Black
- Matte Black
- White
- Flat Alloy
You can see how the Ghost Bandit motorcycle helmet looks like in the mentioned color schemes in the gallery below!
Price
All of the mentioned functionality and design novelties come at a price, of course. On the US market, the Simpson Ghost Bandit costs $469.
On the European market, things are a bit more complicated for the Ghost Bandit helmet. First of all, the helmet is called Simpson Venom due to some copyright issues. Also, it costs substantially less in Europe, with the £224/€260 price tag.
Summing Up
Now that we are at the end of our Simpson Ghost Bandit review, what is our final verdict?
First of all, this is one of the lightest full-face helmets on the market, and the protection it offers is amazing. Also, the signature retro Simpson design is just something that many riders come for in the first place.
But, apart from the looks, the Ghost Bandit is quite functional, with the upgraded visor mechanism and interior sun visor. Also, the venting scheme is improved, which provides an awesome, stable aerodynamic profile. The Ghost Bandit feels quite comfortable during long rides, thanks to the premium interior features.
But, there are still some flaws here. The visor locking mechanism kinda makes no sense, and the inner sun visor doesn’t go down low enough. Also, the wind noise is a big problem that can’t be ignored.
Even though it’s a bit expensive, the Ghost Bandit is totally worth it for the comfort, safety, and killer style!
If interested in more helmet reviews, make sure to check out our motorcycle helmet reviews section!
[…] Overall, the Simpson M50 helmet is a pretty barebones helmet when you look at it as a whole feature package. You might be better off with the Simpson Street Bandit or with the Ghost Bandit. […]
Well, this was the “Ghost Bandit” review!