Five of the best... sports-touring helmets under £200

This helmet is an evolution of the very popular K3-SV, improving on the visor and aerodynamics to create an even better lid. The new visor is stronger and carries an improved Pinlock anti-mist insert, which have helped boost the average review score to a very impressive 4.90 from the first 55 reviews. The K3 SV-S has a plastic shell, a dropdown sun visor and and a micrometric strap fastener. It’s ACU Gold approved for use on the track and meets ECE 22.05 approval for the road. At the time of writing, only the plain black options (matt or gloss) fit under our threshold, and the graphic designs cost another £20, or it’s an extra £30 for the Valentino Rossi replica schemes.

The first 81 reviews for HJC’s C70 helmet led to a highly respectable 4.84 average review score. It has a polycarbonate shell, a comfortable and removable interior and a decent dropdown sun visor. The strap fastener is a D-ring arrangement, which goes against the norm for helmets for this price, which is particularly attractive to some riders. The outer visor is dead simple to change thanks to HJC’s RapidFire mechanism, though it’s worth noting that a Pinlock insert has to be bought separately if you want the anti-mist protection that comes from one of those. Still, at the time of writing, you could add a Pinlock to the most costly C70 design and still get some change from £200.

When Shark first released the Skwal the whole idea was a helmet with integral lights to help the wearer stand out at night. But it quickly became apparent that it could also be a popular helmet without the lights. So take out the LED set-up, fit a slightly lower spec comfort liner, reduce the price and hey presto you get the D-Skwal (Dark-Skwal) and now the D-Skwal 2. It’s a plastic-shelled lid with an internal sun visor, micrometric strap fastener and a Pinlock anti-mist insert included as standard. At the time of writing, even the lairiest paintschemes come in under our £200 cut-off (and there are some pretty lairy designs in the range). The D-Skwal 2 has been very popular with owners, taking a 4.85 average score from the first 60 reviews.

The Shark S900 is one of the most reviewed helmets on the Sportsbikeshop website and achieves an impressive average of 4.76 stars from the first 408 reviews. It receives praise for its build quality, as well as a snug, true-to-size fit. Many customers are buying a S900 for the second time after being so impressed with it the first time around. It is noted that the helmet can be a little loud at motorway speeds, so reviewers recommend wearing earplugs.

This one earns its spot in the list because it takes over where the popular Exo-510 Air left off - and this one’s a better lid. It’s another with a thermoplastic shell - par for the course in helmets costing this money - and it’s backed by a dropdown sun visor, which has an anti-fog coating for clear vision in all conditions. It’s got a decent venting system, Bluetooth comms can be integrated very neatly and there’s even Scorpion’s AirFit system to fine tune the fit around the cheeks. Sadly the Pinlock costs an extra £29.99 at the time of writing (it’s a top-grade Pinlock 120 insert, though). To stay within our price cap, you’ll need to go for the plain black paintscheme as the graphics will take you a tenner over budget.