I recently bought an Arai Contour X after wanting to try an Arai for a long time. Wish I'd bought one sooner!
The now discontinued Scorpion T1200 model I've used for a long time had an internal drop down sun visor that was handy, even though it adds some weight and isn't perfect. Since I commute directly into the sun both ways to work, I quickly wanted a tinted shield for the Arai but didn't want to carry two...this is not a new story for any of us.
Anyway, I ponied up and bought the Arai VAS V Pro Shade system. Generally speaking it's not a bad solution, but not perfect either. It can be fiddly to operate in a hurry (think tunnels) and I wish it had better coverage; the operation may just require some more use/muscle memory. I'd say the biggest gripe is that the normal brow vents can't be used with the Shade system so Arai put a little slider vent on that doesn't work as well. One thing I didn't think about before buying is that it can be really nasty with bugs but when you lift up the shade you can have a clean shield under it once the sun goes down, so that's handy.
I stumbled onto a transition shield on eBay and decided it was worth $12 to try out. It was well packaged and fits the helmet well, although it doesn't seal at the top perfectly. I'm pretty confident that it isn't made of the same quality of materials as feels a touch lighter than the factory Arai shield. There is a touch of refraction around the edges so it isn't optically correct but the clarity is good otherwise and the shield latches as it should also. It is recessed for the PinLock but I didn't attempt to install it. I should mention that I wear polarized eyeglasses also, so the refraction may not be as noticeable to others.
Is it worth $12? It is for me, but I also understand it likely isn't as protective from debris as a proper Arai one would be. If I'd found it before I bought the Pro Shade, I likely would have kept $75 in my pocket. It may scratch easily or cause other problems though, time will tell.
I figured others may be curious also so here are some pics next to the Pro Shade system.
First pic is inside the garage, doors down, etc.
Next is 30 seconds outside, partly cloudy/overcast.
Last is after the sun came out a bit and 30 more seconds, just a bit darker.
The now discontinued Scorpion T1200 model I've used for a long time had an internal drop down sun visor that was handy, even though it adds some weight and isn't perfect. Since I commute directly into the sun both ways to work, I quickly wanted a tinted shield for the Arai but didn't want to carry two...this is not a new story for any of us.
Anyway, I ponied up and bought the Arai VAS V Pro Shade system. Generally speaking it's not a bad solution, but not perfect either. It can be fiddly to operate in a hurry (think tunnels) and I wish it had better coverage; the operation may just require some more use/muscle memory. I'd say the biggest gripe is that the normal brow vents can't be used with the Shade system so Arai put a little slider vent on that doesn't work as well. One thing I didn't think about before buying is that it can be really nasty with bugs but when you lift up the shade you can have a clean shield under it once the sun goes down, so that's handy.
I stumbled onto a transition shield on eBay and decided it was worth $12 to try out. It was well packaged and fits the helmet well, although it doesn't seal at the top perfectly. I'm pretty confident that it isn't made of the same quality of materials as feels a touch lighter than the factory Arai shield. There is a touch of refraction around the edges so it isn't optically correct but the clarity is good otherwise and the shield latches as it should also. It is recessed for the PinLock but I didn't attempt to install it. I should mention that I wear polarized eyeglasses also, so the refraction may not be as noticeable to others.
Is it worth $12? It is for me, but I also understand it likely isn't as protective from debris as a proper Arai one would be. If I'd found it before I bought the Pro Shade, I likely would have kept $75 in my pocket. It may scratch easily or cause other problems though, time will tell.
I figured others may be curious also so here are some pics next to the Pro Shade system.
First pic is inside the garage, doors down, etc.
Next is 30 seconds outside, partly cloudy/overcast.
Last is after the sun came out a bit and 30 more seconds, just a bit darker.
