Forcite MK1S Review: The Mercedes-Benz of Motorcycle Helmets

Forcite is an Australian brand that may be new to you. The company just debuted in the US with its MK1S motorcycle helmet. The MK1S is made from super-lightweight carbon fiber, which means that even with all its embedded tech — like a camera that shoots in 1080p hi-def and at 60 fps and Harmon-Kardon speakers — the lid checks in at just 3.3–3.7 pounds, depending on the size. A moto helmet with a comms system and a GoPro would typically be much heavier and generate more fatigue.

And weight aside, the Forcite MK1S has some serious tech. It provides turn-by-turn navigation with the Here navigation system used by carmakers like Mercedes and BMW. The MK1S has phone pairing that lets you use Google and Apple assistants. There’s also a bar-mounted remote control for making calls, initiating navigation or starting/stopping video recording so you don’t have to whip out your phone to use the Forcite app to control the system mid-ride.

The niftiest aspect of the MK1S may be the navigation aids. When you turn left, for instance, there’s a navigation voice prompt and a light bar mounted at the bottom edge of the visor that flashes green. And since Here uses a backbone similar to Waze, the helmet can warn you about upcoming speed cameras or road hazards with a blue light at the center of the bar. Forcite folks explained that although you might think you want a video-game-style information display, the simpler in-helmet display system is safer and resolves a lot of packaging and power-supply issues.

Okay, but how’s it all fly? After using the Forcite MK1S helmet on a few test rides, we have some thoughts you should plow through before clicking “buy.”

Michael Frank

Forcite MK1S Helmet

• $1,099.00 at forcitehelmets.com

The Forcite MK1S: What We Think

The Forcite could be a compelling helmet option for riders who want a lot of tech onboard but don’t want the added weight or complexity of charging and pairing additional devices that typically come with that.

There are a lot of things to like about the Forcite MK1S. It’s comfortable. It delivers excellent audio quality and turn-by-turn navigation. And it also ventilates well. But the Forcite MK1S lacks a feature to emulate Cardo and Sena rider-to-rider communications tech. And limited camera quality and battery life could be significant drawbacks.

Michael Frank

The MK1S is absurdly comfortable, and the audio sounds great

We found the MK1S to be exceptionally comfy, with 3-D foam cheek pads, a chin curtain and a neck roll that together form a darn near perfect seal around the rim of your skull, the better to cosset your bean in a blanket of comfort. Some Bluetooth and mesh systems that don’t come built-in from the factory can create pressure points against your ears, but that’s not an issue with the Forcite. The audio clarity is great. Even if you wear earplugs while you ride to combat ambient noise pollution, you can still get clear dispatches from the Forcite. If you ride with music (maybe not a good idea?), the speakers rock.

Michael Frank

It breathes well, too. But that adds noise

There are ventilation ports all over this lid, six in total, and when combined with the included Pinlock visor, all that flow is excellent both for defogging and for keeping your head cooler. The brow intakes especially improve comfort. The trouble is that with these open, you do get a fair bit of wind noise penetration. At highway speeds, that’s noticeable, and we have tested other helmets with more flush visors that quell sound more effectively.

Michael Frank

Navigation is easy, but the Forcite can’t replicate a mesh network

The Forcite system worked supremely fluidly for navigation. I purposely tried to mix the system up only to have it keep rerouting me to my destination. And making phone calls on the Forcite was no sweat. But unlike a Bluetooth helmet, you can’t use a mesh network to create a private comms channel with your friends for a day of cruising or dirt shredding.

But maybe, who cares? For commuters, no doubt the light-based prompts become intuitive almost instantly, so if you’re seeking a system that’s just about calls and navigation, the Forcite could be your go-to.

Michael Frank

The Forcite MK1S camera is not as full-featured as a GoPro

The chin-forward shooting angle you get with the Forcite is unimpeachable. It’s just too bad the video footage isn’t sharper and 4k. You, unfortunately, cannot change much about the capture. It’s either 1080 at 30fps or at 60fps. And the field of view is relatively narrow. Plus, there’s none of the astonishing stabilization a GoPro offers. The Forcite’s camera is smooth on pavement, but you’re not getting the honey-oozing fluidity you’re used to from the king of action cameras. And once you’ve shot this stuff, the back-end retrieval with Forcite’s setup can’t measure up with the seamless transfer of DJI or GoPro phone apps.

To pull the capture from your phone to Forcite’s app requires a corded connection, and even then, the in-app editing only allows trimming the length of the clip. That’s it. So you’d have to export the file or files to another device to edit. That’s not a deal breaker, but forget instant social media sharing since Forcite isn’t there yet. Some of that is odd, too, since the app pairing operation is seamless, though it is easier on Android than on iOS. Why can’t you transfer a relatively low-res 1080 clip over Bluetooth? Why haven’t they figured out Wifi instead?

And as we said, the footage is only fine; it’s primarily useful in an in-case dash-cam-style scenario to document a crash or other mishap.

All that said, if you’ve shot with helmet cams, you know they’re also work. Setup, charging, positioning, and even wearing a camera on your lid are all pain points. With the Forcite, you always have the tool with you. And since that’s sometimes why we don’t bother shooting, this is the life hack for that reality.

Michael Frank

Michael Frank

The Forcite MK1S’s battery life could be longer

Battery life may be the biggest reason not to love the Forcite. We averaged less than two hours per charge, which wasn’t all using navigation or shooting video. We sure hope you don’t commute two hours each way, but having to recharge the lid after every ride could be a deal breaker for you.

Sure, the camera, light system and speakers all probably drain a lot of power, but frequent charging demands are often why we wind up with dead batteries for all kinds of tech in our lives. And since Forcite has competition, at least on the comms side of the helmet landscape, this is an issue for them to fix — pronto.

Forcite MK1S: Alternatives

Because I highlight the limited battery life of the Forcite, note that our two alternatives don’t suffer that issue; both lasted longer than I did on any day of testing, boasting (over a few days) between 8-10 hours of juice.

The cost of the Schuberth C5 and the purchase of its Sena-based comms system gets to about the same price as the Forcite, but you’re definitely getting a quieter helmet if you go this route. It also has a built-in sun visor, and like the Forcite, multi-density foams lead to exceptional comfort. There’s no built-in video camera, but the modular C5 is well-vented and one of our favorite helmets, especially if you ride in a more upright position.

The alternative to the C5 is AGV’s Tourmodular. Again, it’s quieter than the Forcite (if not quite as tomblike as the Schuberth) and has an internal sun visor. The AGV plays nice with Cardo mesh systems instead of Sena. Still, the idea is the same: Cardo makes the comms for AGV just as Sena makes a unit for the Schuberth, and the advantage is more streamlined packaging, with nothing glued onto the helmet’s exterior and buttons all flush with the lid itself. FYI: We especially like the AGV for off-road riding, with its extra tall field of view (the better to see your front tire as you scrub over obstacles).

Michael Frank

Forcite MK1S Helmet

• $1,099.00 at forcitehelmets.com

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