Matrix – Weary Rider

Some Less Than Pleasant Surprises

I was really looking forward to testing this helmet due to the lightness. I am religious about wearing a full face helmet and the lighter the better. I also was very interested in the airflow thinking that the Matrix Alpha Streetfighter had the potential to be my go-to helmet for the hot summers here in Phoenix.

The Alpha Streetfighter offers a large chin bar with two large vent openings on each side of the helmet. Most helmets offer a single vent in the center of the chin bar and the Alpha Streetfighter looked like it would provide far more airflow even at lowers speeds on city streets.

The Alpha Streetfighter, as well as the Street FX Streetfighter the other fiberglass helmet offered by Matrix, are both offered in a high gloss white or a matte black finish. The sizes range from XS to XXL. And the standard visor on the Streetfighter is a 3mm adjustable dark race style visor. A quick release micrometric buckle secures the helmet.

Reasonable Pricing

The helmet sells for just under $250.00 USD. But this is subject to change due to the exchange rate as the matrix produces are sold from the UK. When I entered my shipping address, the website estimated my shipping to be an additional $32.00 roughly bringing the total cost of the helmet to around $280. This price range puts the Alpha Streetfighter in the mid-range for helmets in the United States and a relatively reasonable cost for a quality helmet.

Fit, Comfort, & Sizing

Fit and comfort are important qualities of any piece of riding gear but size is possibly the most critical for a motorcycle helmet. And because riders need to order this helmet without having any way to try on a sample before the purchase, I feel that accurate sizing and sizing information on the website is critical.

When I put on the Alpha Streetfighter for the first time I was relatively disheartened as I knew immediately that this helmet was not a good fit for me as it felt very loose across my cheeks. I was able to grab the chin bar and slide the helmet up and down several inches.

My hope was that once I secured the chin strap, the helmet would feel more secure and that I would begin to get more comfortable with the fit. This was my first experience with the quick release chin strap fastener and I was thinking that I would really like this simple but useful feature.

As it turned out, muscle memory for the old standard double D ring closure is fairly ingrained in me and the quick release was not really much quicker, but it felt odd. Knowing that I would need to really snug the helmet down with the chin strap, I shortened the strap as much as possible before buckling it. To my dismay, the strap hung a good two finger widths below my chin.

The cheek pads in the Alpha Streetfighter are a good 1.5 inches thick and are removable but the rest of the helmet has only a thin poly liner which appears to be held in place with a matte adhesive or possibly double-sided tape. From what I could tell the liner is not removable which means that it is also not washable or replaceable.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the fit and sizing of the helmet. I have worn assorted Icon, Schuberth, Scorpion helmets and never had an issue with the sizing. I did double back to the website to see if I had misinterpreted the Matrix sizing but the XS is listed as 53-54 cm which is pretty standard.

I also doubled back to look at the helmet, the box and the documentation included in my order to verify that I was shipped the correct size. The box was labeled XS but I was unable to find a size listed inside the helmet or on the packing slip enclosed in the order. My assumption is that I did receive an XS but that the product runs large.

Field of Vision

As I mentioned earlier, I am a die hard full face helmet rider. As such, I am willing to accept a little reduction in my field of vision to get the added protection. I understand that I need to turn my head further to see to the sides and also behind me. But I have never worn a helmet that was so restrictive when looking straight ahead.

The opening at the bridge of the nose is only 1.75 inches and the largest portion of the opening is 2.25 inches which are located about mid cheek.

Peripheral vision is limited to about 1.5 inches at the far left and right of the opening. I found the vision very limited and felt the need to really crank my head around to get a good look when making a turn or changing lanes. There was no way to quickly glance back. Instead, I needed to shift my entire body and rotate at the waist to get a decent view of what was around me.

Chinbar Concerns

This limited field of vision also brought up another concern. The chin bar on this helmet is huge. Normally, I have a very difficult time getting my hand inside my helmet to scratch my nose or touch my lips, but in the Alpha Streetfighter, I can slide my entire hand in front of my face and reach my forehead. In some instances that could be considered a benefit, but it can also create an issue.

When turning my head, the front of the chin bar was hitting and catching on the shoulder armor on my jacket. My only solution was to look up as I turned my head and then let the bottom of the chin bar rest on my shoulder which caused the helmet to move on my head. As I turned back to a forward facing position I then had to readjust the helmet to look forward and not be looking into the arched nose portion of the chin bar.

When looking forward, the large chin bar becomes a big obstacle. In a normal riding position, I was able to look forward and see the road clearly but could not shift my eyes down to see even the top of my windscreen.

Vision Obstacle

To look at any gauges on my bike I needed to tilt my head down enough that I was no longer looking at the road in front of me. With any other helmet I have ever worn, I might have needed to move my head slightly, but I could still glance down to the gauges while still seeing some of the road.

Overall, I was very uncomfortable with the limited vision that this helmet offers. I had a feeling of tunnel vision that reminded me of when I first learned to ride. It took some time to learn the skills needed to be a safe rider and to look around and take in all of my surroundings to know what was coming and what my alternatives were in a worst-case scenario.

I feel that wearing this helmet took away my ability to really be looking at the big picture to be the safest rider that I could possibly be.

Visor

The Alpha Streetfighter visor is tinted and 3mm thick. There are three positions that the locking mechanism offers.

Riders can have the visor completely open, lowered so that there is about an inch gap between the bottom of the visor and the top of the chin bar or the visor can be fully closed. I rode most of the time with the visor fully closed as I was wearing clear prescription glasses, not sunglasses, and I did notice that there was a thin line of sunlight coming in under the visor.

MATRIX ALPHA STREETFIGHTER SURE LOCK VISOR SYSTEM OPEN

MATRIX ALPHA STREETFIGHTER SURE LOCK VISOR SYSTEM CLOSED

Sure-Lock Visor System Open & Closed

The Sure-Lock system on the visor is basically a pin on the helmet and a hole in the visor. There is an angle to the edge of the visor that is designed to be a tab to move the visor.

I found it virtually impossible to secure the visor with one hand when I was riding and equally as difficult to open the visor when it was secured with one hand. Part of the issue with opening the visor was related to the fact that the helmet was very loose and would move when I tried to unlatch the Sure-Lock pin system.

A Little Discovery

It wasn’t until I got home and looked more closely at the front of the Alpha Streetfighter that I discovered that the visor does not fit the helmet correctly and sits offset to one side. That could account for some of the light getting past the visor as well as the difficulty in trying to align the pin and hole in the visor to get it locked and unlocked.

Airflow

As expected, the air flow in this helmet is very good in the face area of the helmet. The extended chin bar and the large vent openings allow for a ton of air to enter the front of the helmet. Unfortunately, there is no way to control the amount of air. Also, the lack of vents in the top of the helmet will result in a pretty sweaty head in the summertime.

The gap between the visor and the front of the helmet also created a whistle at higher speeds. I was able to eliminate the whistle by opening the visor to the setting of about an inch open but that created some additional light and glare. The large opening at the bottom of the helmet did make this helmet overall more loud than most others that I have worn.

The Verdict?

I had high expectations for the Matrix Alpha Streetfighter as soon as I picked it up. I was hoping for a great lightweight summer helmet with great airflow. In fact, the helmet is very lightweight and does offer a lot of airflow due to the very large opening at the base of the helmet to accommodate the very large chin bar.

But I could not get past the poor sizing of the helmet and the fact that it created the feeling of tunnel vision. In addition, the ill-fitting visor made me wonder about the quality of the parts and construction that was not visible.

To be fair to the Alpha Streetfighter and the manufacturer, I hope that a properly fitting helmet would eliminate some of the comfort issues that I experienced as well as aiding in the used of the Sure-Lock visor system. But the field of vision will always be too tight for my comfort.

The Matrix website clearly states that the Alpha Streetfighter helmet as suitable to, “Test the limits of your sport bike, sprint car, or go-kart in this commanding composite helmet!” And while I disagree with the helmet’s function as in the motorcycle use case, it could be the perfect protection for a sprint car or a go-kart where you keep your head fairly stationary. But in my opinion, the Alpha Streetfighter is not a great choice for motorcycle riders.