Hi Samir,
It’ll be fine. I myself, as well as many of my customers, have bought the Arai helmets direct from Japan for the Asian market and they fit nearly identical. I own an Asian market one and an American market one and they ARE slightly different in fit, but it’s almost not noticeable.
It’s all the exact same helmet, as all Arais are made in Japan anyway, but it’s just a slightly different interior padding shape to accommodate the different head shapes for the different markets. When I worked at Trek/Bontrager, we did the same thing for our bike helmets. It’s amazing how many different head shape profiles they have on file…
The interior cheek pads on all Arai GP/SK model helmets are removable, allowing you to buy different cheek pads to get a more customized fit if you feel it’s necessary.
There aren’t really structural or cosmetic changes from the 2010s to 2015s. Most companies chose to just update to the new SAH standard on SA rated helmets to properly accommodate HANS posts according to the Snell standards. You should be replacing helmets every 3-5 years depending on how much you use it. UV, sweat, and wear and tear means that the lining and EPS foam (interior padding) breaks down over time. Not to mention the interior gets pretty funky after a few seasons of sweating into it. The shells are all fiberglass/carbon/kevlar so they aren’t the weak link, it’s the interiors and such. As a painter, I try to replace every 2 years or so, but that’s just because I just want to keep painting helmets for myself!
Buying the 2010 is a great deal at the moment because the rating is still good for 10 years after the printed date, so until 2020, which you should be replacing by then anyway. Mine that I just finished this year for myself is a 2010.
