Site:  http://www.argentlab.com

Product Purchased:  Bell BR-1 Racing Helmet Flat Black

Purchase Price (inc. Shipping):  $371.92

Comments:
I was looking for a helmet that had a SA2005 rating and decided on the Bell BR-1.  I chose this helmet because I’m familiar with Bell and how they fit on my head.  There were also a couple of other features that I was looking for in the helmet that I liked.  I wanted good ventilation and also a helmet that had a good open-wheel racer feel to it.  So I was also looking for a helmet with a front chin spoiler.  Although most of my racing will be in a car where aerodynamics is meaningless, I still plan to use the helmet for karting.  Again, with the speeds that I’d be driving in a kart, the aero package that the helmet would provide would not really be utilized.  However the style is something I enjoy, being a fan of Formula 1.  I also decided on a Flat Black.  I’m not sure if this is the smartest thing, but the color is fun and it seems to be the “in” thing at the moment.  I wasn’t looking for something flashy, although white and gloss black are not exactly flashy either.

Given that I knew what I was looking for, I had spent a lot of time on the internet to find the best price.  One of the trends that I found is that it was very difficult to find a new Bell helmet at a discounted price.  Instead what most companies would do is change the shipping charges to a lower fee (or free) and give additional items (that I wouldn’t necessarily need).  Even eBay was not that much of a help.  So after about three weeks of looking through the internet, I came across www.argentlab.com and a competitor’s website with prices on new Bell helmets that were well below everyone else’s prices.  As a matter of fact, I even looked at more expensive helmets on their sites because they would fall into my budget.  That’s how well priced they are.  There was a small “hiccup” with these two websites… they didn’t seem to have any kind of history.  It was difficult to see how long they were in business and see how they had an impact on the racing community.  So with some reserves I went ahead and placed the order with www.argentlab.com, going against my own personal policies.  My concerns were; what if there’s a problem with the helmet or how’s their customer service or are there other hidden fees that I’m not seeing?  Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to worry about any of those.  I was in constant communication with Robert Boudreaux with any concerns that I had.   He was very prompt in getting me what I needed and responded to every email.

I got my Bell BR-1 Racing helmet as promised and in excellent condition.

Overall Rating of Argent Lab:  10 / 10
Overall Rating of Bell BR-1:  TBD (Overall condition is 10/10)