If my memory doesn’t fail me, it must have been about fifteen years since I was able to test the very first version of the Shark Shark EVO-GT. Quite a revolutionary helmet at the time, because a chin piece that hinged at two points so that you could lay the entire handle on your neck was completely new at the time. Roof had something similar – you couldn’t really call it a touring helmet at the time, although the brand now also has a full touring model in its range with the Desmo.
The first Shark EVO-GT was by no means free of teething problems. For example, I remember that at a red traffic light the visor took off when I opened the helmet. Fifteen years and a number of versions later, the Shark EVO-GT still revolves around two pivot points. That system gives the Shark EVO-GT a huge advantage compared to most other flip-up helmets on the market. After all, you simply fold the front piece upwards so that it comes ‘on top’ of your helmet and catches a lot of wind there. The Shark EVO-GT’s double hinge system allows you to fold the chin guard all the way back, where it won’t catch any wind.
If that looks like a big advantage on paper, you can immediately think of the biggest disadvantage: how much does a helmet with such a complicated hinge system weigh? For a Shark EVO-GT in size Medium, Shark gives 1,650 grams, my kitchen scale puts it at 1,710 grams. That’s quite a weight on your head, but both closed and with the chin piece folded back, the helmet doesn’t really feel heavy on your head. It is of course not a carbon full-face helmet, but the weight is not disturbing.
The double-hinged folding system works properly and is a lot more accurate than it did fifteen years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely sin-free. What irritates me immensely is that if you fold the chin piece of the EVO-GT back, the visor also folds up and vice versa: if you have the visor down while you rotate the chin piece forward, it folds up. That is disgusting. Because if you drive onto the highway and decide after a few hundred meters to close the helmet, then a few seconds later you are full with your snout in the wind. Bummer.
A second drawback of the construction is that the visor does not fit perfectly on the helmet. During my first test helmet, I was bothered by rainwater that ran down the inside of the visor. That first test helmet went back to Shark, after which I got a new one … but the Shark EVO-GT won’t keep it dry inside either when the heavens open. Less bad than the first helmet, but still enough to be annoying.
The visor offers a large field of view and a Pinlock is always a guarantee of a vapor-free view. The sun visor is large (without touching the nose) and feels qualitative. Due to the up/down construction of the chin area, Shark had no choice but to position the sun visor control knob on top of the helmet. Although the button is easily accessible there, every time you operate it, you have your hand full in the wind.
The two ventilation channels on the top of the helmet are surprisingly efficient, the sound volume in the helmet depends a lot on the cheek pads you use. With the 15 mm cheek pads the helmet was still quite noisy, with the 25 mm pads the noise level is not too bad. The Shark EVO-GT comes with the thick and the thin cheek pads anyway, so you can choose. The soft liner is of course removable. The fit is quite round, owners of an oval head may experience a pressure point on the forehead on longer rides.
All in all, I find that I prefer to wear the EVO-GT in the summer. With the front piece folded up/back, the EVO-GT is a comfortable jet helmet; the possibility to close everything on a stretch of highway is then a great added value. In other words: for me the EVO-GT is much more a jet helmet that you can also wear closed than a modular helmet that you can also use as an open helmet.
There is a choice of fifteen colors and designs, all helmets come with a sun visor and clear visor with Pinlock Max Vision. Optionally, mirror visors with Pinlock preparation (84.80 euros) and dark anti-fog visors (74.20 euros) are also available. The cheek pads always have a recess to allow the legs of glasses to pass smoothly.
Price: €449.99 (solid matte or glossy), €479.99 (designs)
Tested by: Bart De Schampheleire
Sizes: XS-XL + King Size (XL with extra room at the cheeks) | More info: shark helmets
Photography: Shark, Peter Naessens, Georges Deswijs
#Helmet #test #Shark #EVOGT #Motokicx