A review of the Scorpion EXO-1200 Air crash helmet

scorpion-exo-1200-air-updated-featured

A mid-priced full face composite crash helmet with sun visor.

Introduction

The Scorpion Exo 1200 Air is a composite fibre street helmet designed for the road/touring market (think more sit up riding style then head-down sports bike riding). It has an integral sun visor, double-d ring fastener and, for what is a well built helmet, has a very attractive price tag.

If you’re new to buying helmets (or need a refresh) you’ll find links to more information in each section that’ll describe a feature and/or why it’s important.

Overall/Summary

The Scorpion EXO 1200 Air is a decent performer. Only let down by noise levels (though that can be sorted by using ear plugs) it’s comfortable, well ventilated and the fit can be finely tuned by using Scorpion’s Airfit system to tighten up the cheek pads. There’s a question mark over safety as it only scored three out of four stars in the SHARP lab, but it’s well built and offers good value for money at the price.

  • Composite fibre full face helmet
  • Internal sun visor
  • SHARP 3 star helmet
  • Double D ring fastener
  • Scorpion’s Airfit pump system
  • 5 year warranty
  • Weight 1.6Kg 
  • Expect to pay about £220-£240

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 1200 Air?

The 1200 Air has been discontinued for a while, but the last time we checked it was still available from Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 1200 Air page. And if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Safety

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet freeway
Scorpion EXO 1200 Air Freeway. Note helmet comes with clear visor

The Scorpion Exo 1200 Air has what Scorpion call their TCT or Thermodynamical Composite Technology shell – which Scorpion reckon is a game-changer in terms of impact absorption and weight. It’s been approved for sale by being both DOT and ECE approved, and it was tested by SHARP in April 2016 and scored a 3 star safety rating (out of five stars).

All Scorpions tested to date score either 3 or 4 stars with SHARP but this three star rating for one of their more expensive helmets is a bit disappointing.

Other safety features that are a tick in the box include the number of shell sizes it’s produced in (3), the double-d ring fastener and the fact it has a drop down sun visor which can be really useful if you’re caught out by low sun and getting dazzled. Click the links above to find out more about each feature.

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet freeway rear
Rear view of the EXO 1200 Air Freeway

Helmet Noise

Folks who own a 1200 Air overall reckon it’s very noisy. As always, it’s usually dependent on how noisy your previous helmet was. But having said that, we’ve rarely come across a helmet where so many owners say it’s really noisy.

So if you’re looking for a helmet to ride around in without ear plugs, it might be worth looking elsewhere. Part of the problem seems to be the vents. While they do let a good amount of air in, they also seem to catch the wind quite a bit and create noise.

Having said all that, ride with ear plugs in and you should be fine.

To find helmets that owners say are quiet, click our quietest helmets section.

Size

Scorpion produce the 1200 Air in three shell sizes – which is about right for a helmet of this type and price point. When you’re looking to buy one, sizing appears to be about right, though one or two owners reported that, if anything, they’re a bit on the small size. So, if you’re between sizes, we’d say opt for a slightly larger version first.

Ventilation

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet solid white
Solid gloss white version

While the Scorpion Exo 1200 Air has the usual array of chin vent and twin forehead vents, owners say they work pretty well – not the best we’ve found but they’re adequate for most climates and conditions.

As usual, vents alone won’t keep your visors fog free in cold conditions (see visor section below) but if you ride in heat, then most owners reckon they pull in a decent amount of air to keep you cool in most conditions.

The rear of the helmet has an exhaust vent with spoiler that’s been designed to help pull the heated exhaust air out from the helmet too. Although the switches on the top vents are small, we couldn’t find anyone who complained of them being fiddly to operate – even in gloves – so all should be fine there.

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet fulmen
Drop down sun visor clearly visible on the EXO Air Fulmen

Visor

The Exo 1200 Air comes with a clear main visor in the box that’s Pinlock Max Vision ready. In the UK/EU, the Exo 1200 Air comes with a Pinlock Max Vision insert included in the box too.

The main visor has its opening tab on the left which the occasional owner didn’t like (makes it trickier to open the visor when stationery with the clutch pulled in) and has a visor locking mechanism that lets you lock the visor in fully-closed or cracked open position.

It also has what Scorpion calls its Speedshift toolless visor removal system which allows quick changing/cleaning of the main visor – which works well.

The drop down sun visor operates from a lever to the left hand side of the main visor pivot. As with most sun visors, it has a tendency to fog up in cold/wet weather too and if you ride mostly in really sunny areas, then you might find the sun visor not dark enough. However, many riders say they love it and find it really useful – enough to leave their shades at home. One word of warning – and worth checking when you take delivery – is that several owners reported a weird film coating their sun visors that made it cloudy to look through it and, after trying to get rid of it, caused them to scratch the visor.

It might well be that was just a batch of dodgy visors, but it’s probably worth checking yours as soon as you get it.

Comfort & Sizing

The internals of the Exo 1200 Air are well thought out. They’re fully removeable/washable and made of Scorpion’s Kwickwick 3 liner. That’s a hypoallergenic liner that’s designed to wick sweat away from your head as effectively as possible.

Most owners say it feels really plush and well made – and it’s a really comfortable crash helmet too. Obviously, that’s providing you’ve got a helmet that fits right in the first place (check the link on what to look for).

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet quarterback
Scorpion EXO 12OO Air in Quarterback colours

One welcome innovation with the 1200 Air is the emergency removal system where emergency services can remove the cheek pads by pulling down on the two tabs underneath the helmet, allowing them to remove both pads quickly to allow easier removal of the head from the helmet.

And while you’ll (hopefully) never need to benefit from that innovation, another that’s more useful in a day to day sense is Scorpion’s inflatable cheek pads – their Airfit system. There’s a few Scorpion helmets with these inflatable pads now, and they’re there to allow you to ensure the helmet fits nice and tightly. Once the helmet’s on your head, squeeze the inflating bulb once or twice and that should tighten the helmet up nicely, ensuring the fit’s nice and tight and the helmet won’t rotate on your head.

Several owners use it regularly and find it really useful for fine-tuning the fit.

Looks & Graphics

Lots of owners like the aggressive looks of the Exo 1200 Air. At the time of writing, Scorpion offer the Exo 1200 Air in 14 different designs with a total of 30 different colour schemes! That’s a whole lot of choice and you’re not going to find a retailer that stocks all of them. We’ve chosen what we consider the best looking designs and dropped them around the page. To check out the latest designs, it’s worth clicking on our links to our recommended retailers.

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 1200 Air?

The 1200 Air has been discontinued for a while, but the last time we checked it was still available from Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 1200 Air page. And if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Other stuff – fasteners, weight, build quality, chin curtain

Scorpion Exo 1200 Air crash helmet matt black rear
Rear view of the matt black solid version of the 1200 Air

The Exo 1200 Air comes with a double-d fastener. They’re pretty good although most helmets tend to come with micrometric fasteners these days (and get really good feedback). As for weight, at 1.6Kg it’s pretty heavy for a composite helmet, but also pretty heavy if you look across all full face helmets (irrespective of materials) where the average weight is 1.48Kg.

In the box, you’ll also find a removable chin curtain, breath deflector and high quality helmet bag (the amazing quality of the helmet bag was mentioned by lots of owners!)

Finally, at this middling price point, it’s worth noting that lots of owners say the build quality is excellent – much higher than they expected – with both a high quality finish and paintwork.

Crash Helmet Buying Guides & Top 10s

For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various Motorcycle Helmet Buying Guides - or have a look at our Top 10 best helmet lists where we've got the top 10 best rated helmets overall along with Top 10 Best Budget/Top 10 Safest/Top 10 Best Full Face/Top 10 Best Modular/Flip-up/ Top 10 Best Sportsbike/Track helmets.

Alternatives to the Scorpion Exo 1200 Air

If you’re after a full face helmet with a sun visor that’s at a mid price point, there’s lots of choice.

First off, there’s X-Lite’s excellent X-702 GT, SHARP 5 star helmet that’s lighter than the EXO 1200 and around the same price point. You might want to check out Shark’s SHARP 4 star rated Skwal, that’s about average weight and has funky built-in LEDs. It’s also cheaper than the Scorpion. Or finally there’s HJCs R-PHA ST that’s a bit cheaper than the Scorpion and a good all round performer, though it hasn’t yet been SHARP safety tested.

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 1200 Air?

The 1200 Air has been discontinued for a while, but the last time we checked it was still available from Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 1200 Air page. And if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).


Definitely want a Scorpion?

Here you'll find all our Scorpion crash helmet reviews and previews including full face, flip-up and open face helmets.

Star Ratings

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Safety
Comfort
Noise
Features
Value
Previous articleHJC R-PHA ST motorcycle helmet review
Next articleA review of the Shoei Hornet ADV dual-sports adventure crash helmet
review-scorpion-exo-1200-air-crash-helmetA great, aggressive-looking helmet that owners say is really comfy (you can fine tune the fit with their Airpump system). There's a bit of a fail on the noise levels and it only scored 3 stars when tested by SHARP, but it's a well built helmet with good ventilation at an attractive price point.

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