What’s the Quietest, Noise Canceling Helmet? Our Top 3 Picks
Evan Rally
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Tired of the whistling wind through your $100 lid? The crack of your uber-expensive Vance & Hines pipes shattering your eardrums? Or you just want to hear the radio over it all?
I’m Evan, and I’ve been there before.
I even had a brush with death once as a result. Too much wind noise in my helmet and I didn’t notice a semi-truck bearing down on me late at night until the last minute.
But trust me on these:
- Do not spend less than $500 on a helmet – If you want a helmet that keeps noise down, build quality is key. No cheap helmets allowed.
- Do not buy a loose helmet – Helmet snugness is the biggest factor in helmet noise. Even a high end helmet won’t be quiet if air is rushing in every nook and cranny. Get the perfect fit with our helmet fitting guide.
- Noise cancelling is not what you want – You want a quiet helmet that dampens the noises you don’t want, leaving room for those you do.
Controversial, I know. Other reviews will shill you fake helmets from Chinese manufacturers that just don’t do the job in any sense. This list of noise canceling and quiet helmets is for those of you who don’t want to get pancaked by stupid drivers. Or stuff foam ear plugs in every time you ride.
Here’s a quick rundown of the quietest helmets. Want the full reviews of each? Keep scrolling.
- Absolute Quietest: Shoei RF-1400
- Quietest with Speakers: Sena Stryker
- Quietest Modular: Shark EVO GT
Before you turn around and yell, “Evan, how is a quiet helmet going to help me stay aware of what’s on the road?!”
A well built and quiet helmet helps because it tunes out the routine noises that deafen your sense of hearing, like your tires on the road and the wind rushing over your helmet. Certain types of ear plugs do the same.
And boy am I glad I had a very quiet Shoei when I tailed the red and black beauty below. I was riding from Denver to Phoenix with my dad, and we came across more than a few loud cruisers.
By the way, my dad rented a motorcycle for that one-way trip from EagleRider. They rents bikes from all makes (not just Harley) through a huge network of dealers across the USA and world. They do guided tours as well – from weekends in Baja to 15+ days on Route 66. Check out their rentals and tours below.
A quiet helmet actually makes it EASIER to hear cars passing you, horns and other out-of-the-ordinary noises. Sure, those noises will likely be quieter than before on an absolute, decibels basis - but they will be louder than other distracting noises.
So for this roundup of helmets, I rode around with a couple friends to chat about their experiences with noise in different helmets...
Here's what we came up with as the quietest helmets on the market today:
Quietest 
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With Speakers 
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Modular 
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4.8 |
4.6 |
3.8 |
- Quietest
- Great fit (4 shell sizes)
- Lightweight
- 15+ Rider Mesh Intercom
- 18 hour battery life
- Harman Kardon sound
- Tail light
Get My Favorite Gear: Here's what I wear every day on the motorcycle, from helmet to boots: My Gear
On to the helmets!
Shoei RF-1400 - The Best Motorcycle Helmet for Wind Noise Reduction
Throw out your beloved Shoei RF-1200. With the release of the RF-1400, the wizards at Shoei made the 1200 look like an old bucket in your garage. While the 1200 was already quiet, you could wear the 1400 in a Category 5 hurricane and get the best sleep of your life.
In fact, if you have young kids, you might want to wear this to bed too. How do I know?
While the RF-1400 isn't an active noise cancelling motorcycle helmet, I have a crazy friend that has put it to the test.
Why the Shoei RF-1400 is So Quiet
A friend of mine with low regard for his own life donned this lid and ripped up to 120mph. When he hit that speed, he moved his head all around while chatting through his Sena headset with us humble folks rolling at highway speeds.
Not only did he say he could barely hear the wind even at 120, we could hear him clear as day over the intercom. Nothing short of zen.
The RF-1400 is one of the quietest helmets ever to grace this Earth. Shoei knocked it out of the park with the RF-1200, so they eeked out a 4% improvement on drag and 6% less lift with the RF-1400 in their wind tunnels.
Why do you care? That's less turbulence for you, meaning less strain on your neck and less wind noise.
Back to my friend's 'daredevil test' - did I forget to mention he ripped that run a second time with all five vents open? The RF-1400 has a chin vent about the size of the Joker's smile, and three across the brow that give BMW's latest front grille a run for its money in size. Again, no ear plugs.
A tight neck roll that curves in at the front to fit to the rider's jaw and a nice big chin guard to seal wind noise out from below. The visor seal is, in classic Shoei fashion, incredibly well sealed. You couldn't fit a razor blade anywhere in between the seal and the visor (do not try this at home!)
Still not convinced? A couple other benefits:
- Lightweight Helmet (for a full face): Weighs just 3.56 lbs or 1,616g in Medium
- Ear Cutouts for Added Comfort: Not only is it quiet in there, Shoei made little lounges for your ears. No padding squeezing them in, and space for speakers from a Bluetooth headset.
- Better than Average at Absorbing Impacts: Using Shoei's AIM (Advanced Integrated Matrix +) material - a fiber-reinforced plastic (1) - the RF-1400 one-ups all the polycarbonate brain buckets out there without entering the stratospheric price range. It's also Snell certified!
- Comfortable fit for Everyone's Head: Even if you came off a spaceship, the four shell sizes covering XS to 2XL mean no matter your head size, this helmet will fit snug. That means quieter too.
- Easy Visor Operation with Gloved Hand: My 120mph friend could even crack the visor 1/8th open with a gloved hand, using the huge lip in the center.
Seal Out the Bad, Keep the Good
Sure, the Shoei RF-1400 doesn't actively block out noise. But it's quiet, and that's what really matters. The brilliant design in this helmet's shell and padding make it one of the quietest helmets on the market. Shoei has noise reduction down to a science. No need for foam ear plugs in this one.
Recent reviews speak for themselves:
- “Awesome Helmet. Very light and great aerodynamics. Great vents and noise protection.” (2)
- “This helmet dampens sound better than my other helmets. I wear earplugs and still hear some wind noise, but the snug fit and chin curtain helps a lot.” (2)
Pick it up in classic glossy or matte black, blue, grey, or even yellow. Toss in the Cardo Packtalk Edge for and you're set for rider comms, GPS, music and calls.
- Staff pick at Revzilla
- Excellent build quality
- Thick noise-sealing cheekpads
- Airtight visor seal
Pop in a Cardo Packtalk Edge unit to this helmet and you have phone, GPS, music, and communication with 15+ other riders in your pack ready to go on day one. I ride daily with a Cardo Edge unit (with the 45mm JBL speakers upgrade) and will never go back to living without one of these.
The Gold Standard in motorcycle communication units. Simple to use, rugged and reliable, with premium sound and long battery life.
Sena Stryker - Integrated Bluetooth Speakers
Before I get in to the Stryker, I have to talk about Sena's earlier Momentum line of smart helmets.
In the Momentum line was the Momentum INC - this was, and still is, the only decent helmet with an active noise canceling helmet that ACTUALLY WORKED. Unfortunately, Sena decided to discontinue that lid.
However, the successor to the Momentum is the Sena Stryker, which is now the best smart helmet on the market - and while it lacks active noise canceling, it's build quality and integrated Harman Kardon speaker system more than make up for it.
Sena isn't from some rinky-dink company with a slick Squarespace site and $10,000 of mom's money in the bank. They are a storied company in motorsports with a reputation to uphold.
Sena keeps improving their smart helmets with every iteration, and the Stryker is no exception: a tighter neck roll, form-fitting liner and chin curtain block out wind noise better than any predecessor.
This lid also packs a full Bluetooth comms system inside, with integrated microphone and speakers from Harman Kardon - a juggernaut in audio equipment design. The battery is hidden inside the shell too, meaning it packs a stunning 20 hours of talk time. That's a good week-long trip without needing to plug in.
Pop this lid on and immediately chat with 15+ other friends over Sena's Mesh technology, plus make phone calls and listen to music and GPS updates.
All while tuning out the road and wind noise around you.
Outside of its impressive noise reduction, this lid covers all the usual bases for a helmet. All that stuff that doesn't matter until you screw up: EPS foam, DOT certification (ECE version for Europe), Pinlock visor in the box.
And it has a TAIL LIGHT. On the helmet. Find me another lid with that!
Grab the Stryker from Revzilla or Amazon below. I've linked to the listing for size L - just search for another size if L doesn't fit you (Sena didn't put all the sizes on one product page, weirdly).
- 15+ Rider Mesh Intercom
- 18 hour battery life
- Harman Kardon sound
- Tail light
Shark EVO GT - A Modular Helmet w/o Screaming Wind Noise
If you've ever worn a modular helmet on the highway, you might have experienced the famous scream.
Wind loves to terrorize your ears by exploiting that little crack for the chin bar.
Shark said NO MORE when they released the EVO One 2 (Apparently they said "Yes" to a strange name), which was the precursor to the new Shark EVO GT.
But that strange name fits the capabilities of this helmet, because it's a transformer.
The Shark EVO GT looks like a normal full face. It has your run-of-the-mill thermoplastic resin shell lined with EPS foam. In a medium it weighs 3.87 lbs or 1,755g, average for a modular. It's an intermediate oval, leaning towards round.
It comes with a Pinlock insert. And you can drop down a sun visor with a switch on the side.
It lives on Smith Street in the brick house with the white picket fence and the golden retriever.
So what is this little bugger hiding?
Flip the Script
The Shark EVO GT is not so much a modular as two helmets in one: a full face and a 3/4 helmet.
The chin bar doesn't just lift up in to an awkward popped-up baseball cap brim like your average modular. It folds all the way over your head, becoming a spoiler of sorts.
Kind of like when your accountant neighbor opens their garage door to reveal a Ducati Monster.
That means you can ride with the chin bar down or up, even at speed. The visor can sit over your eyes or flip up with the chin bar in either position.
Hold on, those gymnastics mean this lid has no chin guard or curtain. I can hear you now: "Evan, all that wind coming up in my face is too much!"
Well, it isn't. A recent review echoes that, saying “After 3-4 rides I absolutely love this helmet. With the visor open, the noise isn’t bad at all; with it down, it’s quiet and comfortable” (4).
Shark managed to make a modular as quiet as a full face, and I think that's worth an award - or at least some of your hard-earned dollars. It's also ECE safety rating, which is a great achievement for a modular. If you want the convenience of a modular and the noise-cancelling effects of a full face, the Shark EVO GT is the one to buy.
However, I do recommend you consider the fit and finish on the inside of this helmet. It's pricey for the finish you get (velcro and zipties) but the unique design might make up for that for you.
- Quiet with foldable chin bar
- ECE safety rated
- Versatile for all riding needs
Adding Noise Cancelling to Your Current Helmet
Maybe you already have an awesome customized helmet and you want to make it quieter. Never fear - there are fixes for your current lid: Earplugs and noise cancelling headphones.
Earplugs
Earplugs are a lot cheaper than a top notch quiet helmet, but they're often a pain.
For me, earplugs either fall out constantly or get uncomfortable after 10 minutes. It's hard to find a set that does its job without feeling like a screw tightening in to my ear canal.
The solution for me was finding a set that molded to the shape of my ears, to stop vent noise and engine noise.
Decibullz are those plugs. Our correspondent Alan Jackson had a chance to test these, so we've weaved in his thoughts below.
First, these plugs are moldable (and re-moldable) - drop them in boiling water, let them cool, and mold them to the shape of your ear. Alan had to remold them once to get a good seal, but said the process was easy and well documented in the instructions.
These earplugs have a noise reduction rating (NRR) of 31 dB, taking motorcycle engine noise down to the level of normal conversation.
That means more awareness of the road around you and less chance of hearing damage. They are not meant to block out all noise like foam earplugs, but instead to block out damaging levels while retaining the ability to have conversations and hear traffic. Alan's experience was exactly this - noticing reduced noise while riding his Harley and while walking around the jet he flies while the auxiliary power unit was running (which makes a shrill noise).
Even better are the Decibullz that feature percussive filters. These special filters block out large spikes in volume, like say each power stroke flying out the back of your 2-in-1 pipe.
Again, less fatigue and lower overall volume means less hearing damage and a safer ride. Don't be like me, almost getting run over by a semi!
Decibullz with Percussive Filters AND a cord - so you don't lose your buds!!
Top Choice 
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Decent Value 
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4.9 |
4.7 |
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- Custom molded for perfect fit
- Easy to shape and remold if needed
- Percussive filters reduce peak noise while maintaining normal hearing
- Custom molded for perfect fit
- Easy to shape and remold if needed
Noise Cancelling Earbuds
Earplugs are indiscriminate. Like an electric fence, they will keep you out whether you're a cow or a bumbling human.
But on the road, I'll bet you want to hear your music, calls, and GPS directions clear as day while tuning out repetitive road noise.
Me too. That's why I like noise canceling earbuds for reducing noise.
I can hear some of you screaming from the back: "THAT'S NOT SAFE!!" - hear me out.
AirPods Pro are my go-to, as a member of Apple's evil empire. Their active noise canceling is SO GOOD that I once thought my bike broke down because of them.
Seriously. I fired up my supermoto in a parking garage once, put in the AirPods, and flipped on noise canceling.
Total silence.
I thought I had bumped the engine off switch.
However... once I took to the streets, I noticed something.
I could hear cars and trucks coming to pass me much more clearly.
I heard environmental noises I wanted to hear because I heard a lot less of the constant droning of engine and wind noise. Those were reduced to a faint whine, whereas the sound of an upcoming car wasn't tuned out in quite the same way.
I don't have any scientific evidence for this, I only have my own experiences on the road for thousands of miles wearing AirPods. I really like them as normal headphones as well, and especially when used with noice cancelling on but no music (or soft music) I find they make hearing traffic and other important environmental cues around me when riding a lot easier.
- Enhanced audio with smarter noise cancellation.
- Up to 2x better ANC and adaptive transparency.
- 24 hour battery life with case
- Comfortable fit with multiple eartip options
If you use any phone that’s not Apple, for top-end noise-cancelling earbuds, go for the Sony WF-1000XM4s. They regularly top lists of the best earbuds and for good reasons. No unwanted noise is getting through these babies.
At the cheaper end of the noise-cancelling earbud spectrum are the Earfun Air Pros. The noise-cancelling tech is more basic than other options, but then again they won’t have you cursing if one falls down the storm drain as you lift off your lid.
FAQs
What’s the quietest motorcycle helmet?
The quietest motorcycle helmet is the Shoei RF-1400. There are other quiet helmets, like the Schuberth C4 Pro, but only the RF-1400 has both a DOT and Snell rating.
How do I reduce wind noise on my motorcycle helmet?
There are lots of wind noise reducing options for your helmet, such as:
- Wearing earplugs
- Choosing a good riding position
- Installing a windshield
- Wearing a scarf or balaclava
Here’s our full guide to making your helmet quieter.
What makes a motorcycle helmet loud?
Motorcycle helmets are loud because the wind rushing into your helmet when you’re going fast is at a higher pressure than the air inside your helmet, meaning air tries to rush up into your helmet. This creates turbulence - like on a plane - and makes your helmet noisy. Engine and road noise sure don’t help either!
Curtis
2 years ago
The shoei 1400 doesn’t com in hi-viz yellow, it’s banana yellow and it’s not safer than any other color. Hi=viz means it fluoresces under UV, that means sunlight and headlights and streetlights. Banana yellow doesn’t do any of that.
Evan
2 years ago
That’s a good point… it’s more of a gold even. Thank you, updated!