I'm very much for the transitions shields. I had one on my older Bell Star and I have one on my new Sheoi RF-SR. They are expensive, and although I would not purchase a helmet because it had a transitions shield, I would buy a transitions shield if it was available for the helmet.
Pros:
* I wear glasses and its very convenient when I'm riding close to the darker hours, no need to pull over and change from prescription sunglasses to prescription glasses
* Dark enough most of the time, very very bright days I wear prescription sunglasses under the shield
* The Shoei Transitions includes a fog insert.
* No need to swap visors at night (vs tinted visors)
Cons:
* On very bright days when riding from very bright to very dark areas the speed of changes can be a pain. To be honest, I encounter this infrequently enough that just flipping up my shield has not been a problem. YMMV depending on where you ride.
* Eventually the shield will be scratched, you'll notice this in the bright sun as it seems the transition tint get scratched off. I started to notice this after 40,000 kms of use, I don't use helmet bags or covers so not too bad all things considered. You'll probably replace a tinted visor by this time as well, but they are much cheaper.
* Shoei-specific: The shield cannot be legally used in some jurisdictions at night if you use the fog liner as the fog liner reduces the light transmitted enough to not be allowed at night.
Most tunnels around us are either lit up enough that I leave the visor down or gradually reduce the lighting as you enter. There are a few where I do lift it as they are darker tunnels.
Pros:
* I wear glasses and its very convenient when I'm riding close to the darker hours, no need to pull over and change from prescription sunglasses to prescription glasses
* Dark enough most of the time, very very bright days I wear prescription sunglasses under the shield
* The Shoei Transitions includes a fog insert.
* No need to swap visors at night (vs tinted visors)
Cons:
* On very bright days when riding from very bright to very dark areas the speed of changes can be a pain. To be honest, I encounter this infrequently enough that just flipping up my shield has not been a problem. YMMV depending on where you ride.
* Eventually the shield will be scratched, you'll notice this in the bright sun as it seems the transition tint get scratched off. I started to notice this after 40,000 kms of use, I don't use helmet bags or covers so not too bad all things considered. You'll probably replace a tinted visor by this time as well, but they are much cheaper.
* Shoei-specific: The shield cannot be legally used in some jurisdictions at night if you use the fog liner as the fog liner reduces the light transmitted enough to not be allowed at night.
Most tunnels around us are either lit up enough that I leave the visor down or gradually reduce the lighting as you enter. There are a few where I do lift it as they are darker tunnels.
