We offer you the Bell ProTint test, the helmet visor that automatically darkens and lightens depending on ambient light conditions.
The American helmet brand Bell equips its high-end helmets with an automatically darkening helmet visor, like the sunglasses of yesteryear, the Bell Protint visor.
It offers it as standard on its Qualifier DLX range of tarmac helmets, although it also offers it as optional equipment that can be purchased separately for mounting on an RS-2 or Star DLX.
It is a transparent and clear visor that automatically and gradually darkens as soon as it begins to receive sunlight.
Similarly, as soon as the light disappears, the visor returns to its original transparent and colorless state. It is the visor with ProTint technology patented by Bell, and that does not use any kind of battery for its operation.
It is the same system used decades ago in eyeglass lenses, which are darkened by ultraviolet radiation, but in this case the photochromic component has been applied to a plastic material, not glass, which is quite an achievement.
In other words, the visor reacts to ultraviolet light, darkening automatically, which allows you to have a light and a dark visor, two in one, without the need for the typical “sunglasses” so fashionable in helmets integrals.
Bell ProTint visor automatically darkens and lightens, but its reaction time is slow
One of the advantages is that this visor does not reduce the impact resistance of the helmet shell, a case that does occur in those that equip retractable “sunglasses” that are hidden under the shell with a cam that is activated by the pilot.
To check the benefits and defects of the Bell ProTint visor, we subjected it to a use test. We sacrificed ourselves and went out for a ride on a motorcycle on a Saturday, to see its effectiveness in all kinds of conditions. Everything is for Solo Moto…
The Bell ProTint visor mounted on our Bell Qualifier DLX helmet is thick, solid, and feels tamper resistant with an easy, airtight seal. In the darkness of the garage the visor is colorless and transparent.
We went outside on a sunny and clear day, without clouds. I tried to look to see if I would be able to perceive the darkening of the visor, but it did not.
The visor gradually darkened and I couldn’t see the change. Maybe it took a couple of minutes, it’s not instant, and I only noticed it when I looked in the rear view mirror.
The change between light visor and dark visor is very gradual and not noticeable
The smoke is not intense, at least from the inside it is not appreciated as such, but externally the visor is very dark and you hardly perceive your face reflected in the rearview mirror.
And it works because for me, personally, the sunlight bothers me a lot when riding a motorcycle, and I rode perfectly. But now the litmus test would come and one of its reasons for being…
With the visor completely darkened after half an hour of driving in full sun, it was necessary to test if it was effective when entering a tunnel…
And there was the first tunnel of the road, about 50 meters. This time I did pay attention to my image reflected in the rearview mirror to see if the visor cleared up.
quickly…
The truth is that in the scarce 20 seconds that it took me to go through the tunnel, the visor did not clear. She’s still dark, so her reaction time isn’t as fast as she thought.
I tried a second longer tunnel, about two kilometers long. Here the visor started to lighten mid-tunnel, so we can testify that your reaction time is slow, so in short, dimly lit tunnels, and at the start of long tunnels we’d advise raising the visor.
On the other hand, where it did show itself to be perfect was in the transition, evening-night, since the visor has plenty of time to adjust to the change in ambient light. It adapts to the ambient light, so it is also a gradual visor, which offers you different degrees of shading depending on the light received.
Here it was shown to be 100% effective, so after shooting all day in the sun with your dark visor, you will be able to return home at night without problems since the visor will be completely lightened.
Here lies the great advantage of this true two-in-one visor, in the gradual changes in brightness, not in the immediate ones.
And a negative fact is that it is a pity that this visor is not available for other helmet models. They are for Bell helmets and certain road models only. Its price is 80 euros.
