Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air helmet review

scorpion-exo-2000-evo-air-featured-updated-deals

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Top of the range sportsbike helmet from Scorpion – the EXO-2000 Evo Air

The EXO 2000 Evo Air is Scorpion’s Moto-GP derived sports bike helmet.

It’s a full face helmet with a shell made from Scorpion’s TCT composite material – that includes layers of fibreglass, aramid and organic poly resin (whatever that is – sounds like a fancy word for plastic!) and aims to take on the top-of-the range helmets from the likes of AGV, Arai and Shoei. That’s a big ask – especially when Scorpion are undercutting the rest with a hugely competitive price point.

Snell 2010 tested/certified
Not SHARP tested
Composite fibre shelled helmet
3 Shell sizes
Emergency removal cheek pad system
Great ventilation & build quality
5 year warranty
Includes Pinlock Max Vision and/or smoked visor*
Sizes XS-XXL
Expect to pay £245-£299

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 2000?

It’s been replaced, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. 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).

Scorpion-EXO-2000-Evo-Air-carb-crash-helmet-front-view — 2000 Evo Air Carb with mirrored visor (extra)

Safety

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is a development of both the EXO-2000 and the 2000 Air before it. The 2000 Evo Air is the first time we’ve seen Scorpion’s TCT composite fibre shell though, so it’s difficult to know exactly how well it’ll perform in an accident – especially as SHARP haven’t tested it yet.

However, the EXO 2000 scored 3 stars back in 2014 and Scorpions have scored an average of 3.5 stars out of 5 for safety across all SHARP-tested helmets, and analysing the data, we’d expect the EXO-2000 Evo Air to score a similar rating (which we’ve shown in our star ratings at the bottom). Of course, if SHARP do test it, we’ll update this report as soon as they do.

It has been tested by Snell in the USA however and was awarded their M2010 rating which is a good sign.

There are of course other elements, apart from the helmet shell materials, that add to safety of course. The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is manufactured in 3 shell sizes and has dual density EPS shock absorbing lining, all of which is good news. It features Scorpion’s AirFit system, allowing you to ensure the helmet fits nice and tightly at all times (good helmet fit is one of the most important features of an effective helmet in an accident) and the visor is lockable meaning, all being well, it’ll stay closed and locked in an accident.

Finally, it features a double-d chin strap locking mechanism, which are old-style but very effective at keeping your helmet tightly locked and on your head during an accident. The great thing about a double-d strap is that you can tighten it up exactly right every time, keeping the helmet nice and secure on every trip.

Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air crash helmet fortis — Rear view of the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air Fortis

Helmet Noise

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is a racing/sportsbike helmet and, as we’ve found out before, because helmet noise is not so much of a priority for racers – or designing a racing helmet – they can be pretty noisy.

And true to form, the Scorpion only manages about average for quietness.

It’s fair to say that a few owners so say it’s a quiet helmet, but more say it’s noisy – and overall, the opinion of owners and pro reviewers that we’ve seen point to the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air being about average for noise suppression. As always, it’s very much dependent on the bike you ride and what helmet you’ve had before.

Ventilation

Ventilation is resoundingly a massive strong point for the EXO-2000 Evo Air.

Scorpion reckon it has six inlet vents on the front of the helmet and ten exhausts on the rear. I reckon they’re counting some twice; but even so, EXO-2000 users say the vents gulp up loads of air and keep you feeling cool and comfortable when you need it.

There’s a 2 position chin vent – position 1 pushes air up onto the visor, position 2 brings it round the chin guard.

Then there’s a forehead vent and a vent either side at the top of the helmet – all are closeable and all pull air through the channels in the polystyrene, around the scalp and out of the back of the helmet – through one of an array of always-open exhaust vents.

Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air track crash helmet — Rear view of the Track black/white – showing 5 of the exhaust ports

The two main vents – the chin and forehead – are both easy to find and open/close in gloves, though the other two top vents are less easy. But overall, the ventilation system is bang on and pulls in heaps of air into the helmet – especially when you’re in a sportsbike tuck position where the vents are more in the airflow. Bang on. If good ventilation is your priority, then the EXO-2000 Evo Air is worth a serious look.

Visor

The main visor on the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air features what Scorpion calls its Ellip-Tec system. The main features of this system is a quick-release visor and a combo of rubber gasket around the eyeport and visor mechanism that pulls the visor into towards it to form a nice tight seal against air and wind.

The quick release mechanism is very good – like many helmets including HJC, you have to open the visor, push a small lever near the pivot and the visor pulls out. To reinstall, just click the visor back in to the pivot – really quick and easy.

It’s got a good action too, with a nice, positive five position ratchet mechanism and reports are that the Ellip-Tech sealing system works well too.

scorpion exo r2000 ravin side view — EXO-2000 Evo Air hi vis Ravin

There’s also a small lever beneath the visor pivot on the left. In the back position, this locks the visor closed. Push it forwards, and it keeps the visor in a ‘cracked open’ position and stops it from closing. That’s a nice feature and is easy to use.

Being a sportsbike-focused helmet, it’s useful to have a good wide visor aperture and a number of owners said the field of vision is good and noticeably wider than their previous helmets.

*Note. In the UK/EU the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air usually comes with a smoked Pinlock MaxVision antifog insert free in the box, whereas in the US it comes with a replacement smoked visor. But check with the retailer before you buy as this can vary slightly from retailer to retailer (eg at the time of writing FC-Moto includes both a Pinlock and smoked replacement visor).

Comfort & Sizing

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is available in XS-XXL sizes. Quite a few users reckon it sizes on the small side though, so if you’re between sizes you should probably buy a size larger – and you may even find you need to go a size larger regardless.

As to comfort, the lining features Scorpion’s KwikWick II material which is antibacterial and wicks sweat away from the head. Owners reckon it’s a comfortable lining and seems to do its job well, with a couple of owners saying they’ve worn the helmet all day and found it to be really comfortable.

Scorpion-EXO-2000-Evo-Air-crash-helmet-bautista_neon_red — Evo Air Bautista (who helped in the development)

There’s a few other features worth noting about the internals. It is of course removable and washable – only the cheapest helmets aren’t these days – and has a glasses groove down each side so your glasses’ stems can sit in there without pressing into your head.

It’s also got emergency removal tabs at the bottom – the idea being it helps the emergency services remove the helmet more easily by pulling on the tabs and the cheek pads pulling out of the bottom of the helmet. Nice touch – as long as the emergency services know to look for them!

There’s also the AirFit system as mentioned above. There’s a couple of small air bladders behind each cheek pad – you can inflate them by pressing the air bulb bottom centre inside the chin guard, which has the effect of pushing the cheek pads out into the cheeks and keeping the helmet fit nice and firm.

It’s a useful feature, especially for folks with narrower chins. But it’s also helpful for keeping the helmet tightly fixed in place, helping reducing any movement caused by buffeting and should increase safety; a nice snug-fitting helmet is one of the most important factors in ensuring a helmet can do its job during an accident.

Looks & Graphics

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air has a modern, slightly aggressive and sporty look which is, at the time of writing, supplemented by 8 different designs including the Fortis, Track and Bautista, as well as the usual solid matt/gloss blacks and a white versions. We’ve tried to include as many as we can around the page but check out our recommended retailer links that’ll drop you straight onto their Scorpion helmet pages where you can check out the latest graphics and prices. To find out more about why you should try our recommended retailers and for a quick glance at their delivery costs, check here.

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 2000?

It’s been replaced, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. 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).

Video

Here’s Scorpion’s promo video of the EXO-2000 Evo Air.

Other stuff – fasteners, buffeting, build quality, chin curtain.

As we mentioned before, the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air comes with a double-d ring fastener. What we didn’t mention is that it’s a titanium double-d ring fastener! We’re not sure why it’s made out of titanium but it’s the first time we’ve seen it on a motorcycle helmet and we like it (who doesn’t like titanium stuff?!)

A few owners have said that the EXO-2000 Evo Air feels very stable and slippery and doesn’t buffet around half as badly as their previous helmets. Making a helmet that’s slippery as possible and that’s doesn’t pull on the rider when you’re looking around was one of Scorpion’s aims when designing the helmet so it sounds like they’ve done a good job.

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air comes with a removable chin curtain and neck roll fitted, both of which are there to reduce noise and creating a tighter fit around the neck.

Finally, many owners – several who own helmets from the likes of Arai and Shoei – commented that the Scorpion’s got great build quality and finish; especially at this price.

Scorpion-EXO-2000-Evo-Air-crash-helmet-black solid — Matt black version of the 2000 Evo Air

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-2000 Evo Air

Most of the sportsbike helmet competition tends to be more expensive than the Scorpion – which is one of the Scorp’s main selling points of course. If you’re willing to spend a bit more and need an out-and-out sports helmet, then there’s lots to choose from.

There’s the SHARP 5 star rated AGV Corsa – that’s AGVs 2nd most exclusive sports helmet that’s got great ventilation and an optically-correct visor. For something a little less mainstream, how about Schuberth’s carbon-compostite SR1, a track-focused SHARP 4 star lid. Or there’s the Shoei X-Spirit III – you’ll see a smattering of those across pretty well every motorcycle grid at the moment so they must work well (and of course, at the time of writing, there’s deals to be had on the outgoing X-Spirit II). Finally, if we’re talking about track helmets, we have to include an Arai. If you’ve the money to cover it, take a look at the Arai RX-7V, their range-topping race-bred helmet.

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.

Overall/Summary

The Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is a great helmet that owners seem to love. It’s got great build quality, comfort and outstanding ventilation all at a really competitive price – especially for a sportsbike, racetrack-developed helmet. It’s unfortunate that it hasn’t been SHARP tested, so we don’t really know how well it’ll perform in relation to its competition (though it has been Snell certified in the US which is good). But if you need a new helmet, especially if you ride a sportsbike and don’t want to spend big bucks, then the Scorpion EXO-2000 Evo Air is well worth looking at. From what we can see, you’ll get a great helmet with some really useful features and get lots of helmet for your money.

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 2000?

It’s been replaced, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. 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).

Star Ratings

The Scorpion Exo-510 Air full face crash helmet

Page Contents

Full Review of Scorpion’s full face helmet with sun visor and Pinlock

Polycarbonate shell
SHARP 4 star safety rated
Drop down sun visor
Pinlock Max Vision anti fog included
5 year warranty
Three shell sizes
EQRS
Scorpion’s innovative air pump system
Sizes XXS-XXXL
Prices around £170-£200

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 510 Air?

The 510’s an older helmet now, but that just means there’s great deals to be found. The last time we checked, it was still available at FC-Moto and Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 510 Air pages. 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).

The Scorpion Exo 510 Air looks to pack quite a bit of punch for the money (though check out our alternatives at the bottom of the page).

It’s Scorpion’s attempt at an all-rounder – a helmet that’ll work for most riders, whether you’re touring or commuting. It’s an evolution from their well regarded Exo-500 helmet, which means it’s a thermoplastic-shelled full face helmet that comes in at a very reasonable price – especially considering the spec.

scorpion exo 510 air crash helmet matt black side view — Side view of the Matt black version

But for that low price (just sneaking into our budget helmets category) you’d expect a few corners to be cut, wouldn’t you? Well read on for a bit of a surprise…

Safety

Even though it’s a polycarb helmet, don’t let that put you off – some of the safes t lids these days are polycarbonate. And this one comes in three shell sizes – always a good sign that a manufacturer’s intent on making a helmet that fits as well as possible and looks in the correct proportion for your body size.

scorpion exo 510 air sharp helmet test results — Courtesy of sharp.dft.gov.uk Scorpion Exo 510 Air 8.5 m/s Impact test results.

Scorpion helmets have scored an average of 3.5 stars out of 5 when tested by SHARP for safety, so we expected the 510 Air to score around about that mark too. The 510’s predecessor, the 500, was also a polycarbonate helmet and scored four stars out of five which was very good.

We were pleasantly surprised that when SHARP tested the 510 Air at the end of 2021, it scored equally well with an excellent four stars out of five.

Meaning that though the Exo 510 Air is a lower price helmet made from lower tech materials, it still gives very decent levels of protection on the road.

Helmet Noise

scorpion exo t510 Cipher green motorcycle helmet front view — 510 Air in Cipher graphics

According to Scorpion, the Exo-510 Air has been wind tunnel designed. Well, that may be the case, but it seems they didn’t think to put a microphone in the helmet when it was in the wind tunnel, because most folks seem to think it’s pretty noisy.

As always, there’s a variety of opinions, usually dependent on how noisy peoples’ previous helmets were or type of motorbike they ride. But overall, the comments we found (and we look very hard!) ranged from between a bit noisy to very noisy.

Weighing up the range of comments, we’re gonna plump for saying the 510 Air is seen as below average for noise levels – so if you’re after a quiet helmet, you better check out our quietest helmets section instead.

Ventilation

Ventilation looks pretty generous on the Exo-510 Air. It has the usual single chin vent in the chin bar but that’s supplemented with the three top vents, which should pull in plenty of air.

scorpion-exo-510-air-stage-black-red-motorcycle-helmet-side-view — Scorpion Exo 510 Air in black/red Stage graphics

And sure enough, word is that the 510 Air vents plenty of air into the helmet. As you’d expect with three vents, the scalp ventilation is widely seen as particularly good, though the chin/visor ventilation isn’t bad at all either.

Of course, you also need the sliders and switches that cover the vents to be easy to use – especially in gloves. There’s no point having all those vents but not being able to open or close them when you’re riding along.

But the Exo-510 Air seems to do well here too as a few owners rated the switches highly, saying they’re easy to find and operate in gloves.

So if you go for an Exo-510 Air, you should be pretty well sorted for decent ventilation all round.

Visor

Which is not to say your visor won’t still fog up, because it will if the weather’s cold or humid. Let’s face it, you’ve got a sheet of polycarbonate scant few millimetres from your mouth and nose so in those sorts of conditions – and if you’re not moving fast enough to generate a ton of ventilation – then it’s going to fog up.

scorpion exo 510 Air sublim crash helmet — EXO 510 Air in Sublim graphics

Looking at the visors on the Exo 510 Air, it comes with a built-in drop down sun visor that’s anti-fog treated, and the main visor is both quick-release and comes ready to take the (included) Pinlock Max Vision anti fog insert.

That’s a great addition for those of us who are fed up with suffering from fogging visors and it’s a £30 freebie the box.

Sure, Pinlocks can give a slight bit of double vision on occasion, but the lack of fogging on cold days is a decent payoff. And the Max Vision version means it’ll cover almost the entire surface of the visor so no Pinlock edges to get in your line of sight. Happy days.

The visor on the Exo 510 features Scorpion’s Ellip-Tec system. That means it’s got a quick-release visor and is spring-loaded to pull the visor more tightly shut against the weather-proof rubber gasket.

It all works well according to owners – though it does mean there’s no conventional ‘cracked open’ position for defogging. Instead you’ve got to use the visor lock mechanism at the bottom left of the visor.

One way locks the visor in place to stop it popping open if you don’t want it to – the other way cracks the visor open a bit (although one owner said it doesn’t work very well. Only one, mind).

scorpion exo t510 visor close up — Close up of the sun visor adjuster, lever and main visor lock

Sun Visor

The Scorpion Exo 510 Air comes with a build-in drop down sun visor too. If you’ve not had a helmet with one before, they’re great and highly recommended.

It’s operated by a level to the rear of the left hand visor pivot which, even though it’s relatively uncommon positioning, is probably the easiest-to-use place for the sun visor lever.

Another plus point for the sun visor on the 510 Air is that quite a few owners commented that it’s just about dark enough. That doesn’t sound a glowing endorsement, but most sun visors are fairly lightly tinted and quite a few riders – especially those who ride in brighter and sunnier places – tend to find them too light to be a true replacement for shades. But on the 510 Air, that’s not the case.

There’s another feature with the sun visor on the 510 Air that’s unusual too.

In front of the sun visor lever, there’s a small screw. This can be rotated into three positions to adjust how far the sun visor actually drops down.

That’s a cracking idea because we’re all built differently and this means you can customise the sun visor drop to suit your face shape and preference.

All in all that’s 10/10 to Scorpion for the sun visor on the Exo 510 Air.

scorpion-exo-510-air-sync-black-red-motorcycle-helmet-side-view — Scorpion 510 Air in Sync design (also in blue, pink and yellow)

Comfort and Sizing

The Scorpion Exo-510 Air is designed for folks with slightly longer, narrower heads – commonly called intermediate ovals.

But a few owners have said it’s wider in the cheek area too – so if you need a bit more space there, then you might be onto a winner with the 510 Air.

Having said that, inside the Exo-510 Air, you’ll find Scorpion’s AirFit system, which is designed to tighten the fitment up a bit.

Essentially, there’s an air inflating pump in the chin guard. Squeeze it a few times and you’ll feel the cheek pads inflate, pressing the cheek pads inwards slightly to tighten the fit. And to loosen things up again, there’s a valve you can press to release the air.

Does it work?

Well, some folks find it really useful and use it on more or less every ride. Others, who either find the fit of their helmet just right without it or who don’t want the hassle; they just leave it alone.

Inside the lining of the helmet, Scorpion have used padding that’s anti-bacterial as well as designed to wick sweat away – what they call KwikWick 2 material. It’s also removable/washable too.

scorpion exo t510 solid white motorcycle helmet rear view — Rear view showing small spoiler and exhaust vent

There’s also a glasses groove in there to stop the stems of glasses – or shades – pressing into the side of your head.

And we’ve not finished yet, because despite being (just about) a budget helmet, the Exo-510 Air also has EQRS – that’s the quick removal system that allows you to pull a couple of red tags at the bottom of the helmet to quickly pull the cheek pads out of the bottom of the helmet to help with removing the helmet in an emergency.

We agree with the guy in the first video (below); that’s the first time we’ve seen EQRS on a low-price motorcycle helmet too. So great work Scorpion!

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 510 Air?

The 510’s an older helmet now, but that just means there’s great deals to be found. The last time we checked, it was still available at FC-Moto and Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 510 Air pages. 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).

Scorpion Exo-510 Air Video

A 13m video looking around the 510 Air from Champion helmets in the Netherlands.

Other stuff: fastener, warranty, speakers, build quality, weight

Other stuff worth noting is that the Exo 510 Air comes with a micrometric fastener and has Scorpion’s excellent 5 year warranty – that should cover you for about the lifespan of the helmet.

Inside, there’s a decent amount of room (and cut outs) for speakers and owners report that the build quality of the helmet is good.

Finally, it weighs about 1.6Kg (3.5lbs) which is just about average weight for a polycarbonate helmet.

Overall/Summary

scorpion exo 510 air Xena crash helmet rear view — Rear view of the 510 Air Xena

On the face of it, the Scorpion Exo-510 looks like a cracking buy.

With its well thought out visor system, included Pinlock anti-fog, EQRS and excellent ventilation, it’s a helmet that should cover everything from your daily commute to your touring holiday.

And now it’s been SHARP 4 star safety rated, we’re happy to say that it’s a fantastic and great value for money helmet that has been shown to give good protection too.

Owners rate theirs highly – so if you don’t necessarily need a big brand lid to accompany your big brand bike, then the Scorpion Exo 510 Air might well be just the best value for money helmet on the market today.

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.

Alternatives to the Scorpion Exo-510 Air?

If you’re looking for a full faced crash helmet with a sun visor for not very much money, then there’s some great options around.

There’s HJC’s FG-ST, that’s a SHARP 5 star rated fibreglass helmet with Pinlock antifog and available for about the same as the Exo-510 Air (maybe a smidge more).

Or there’s the Shark Skwal – a 4 star SHARP rated polycarbonate helmet with a Pinlock included and an interesting strip of LEDs along the rear for extra visibility too. Costs about the same as the Scorpion, if not a little less.

Finally, you might want to check out AGVs K3 SV. That’s a SHARP 4 star rated helmet with sun visor and Pinlock anti-fog. It’s a bit pricier than the Scorpion but owners love em and it’s got that AGV name and quality included in the price!

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 510 Air?

The 510’s an older helmet now, but that just means there’s great deals to be found. The last time we checked, it was still available at FC-Moto and Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion 510 Air pages. 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).

Star Ratings

Icon Airflite: funky all rounder helmet with innovative visor system.

Page Contents

Icon Airflite motorbike crash helmet review.

Icon like to do things differently.

Take the Icon Airflite. It’s a polycarbonate all-rounder helmet that’s designed to work for pretty well any purpose going (except maybe the track). Which often means… well… a bit dull, right?

But not so with Icon. Not only is the Airflite available in lots of funky, borderline outrageous, graphics. But they’ve added a faintly bonkers visor setup to it that’s almost twice as deep as your average visor and clips onto the bottom of the chin guard.

I guess in the fully-up position it kinda acts like a sun peak/roost guard too (maybe that’s the point?).

Like I said, Icon like to do things a bit different.

Personally, I like different. But is it different for different’s sake or different and better?

So, here’s a look over the Icon Airflite and see what it offers for your money.

Polycarbonate all-rounder helmet
Rear view of the Airflite Rubatone
Drop down sun visor
SHARP 3 star safety rated
Large, anti-fog main visor
Double-D ring fastener
Quick change visor
1.7Kg (3.75lbs) – slightly heavier than avg
Sizes XS-XXXL
Expect to pay £200-£250

Looking to buy an Icon Airflite?

Please click below to visit the Icon Airflite helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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

(more about helmet safety)

The Airflite’s got an injection moulded polycarbonate shell and there’s a good old double-d ring fastener to keep it secure on your head.

It’s been both ECE approved and DOT certified (for the US market), meaning you can be confident it’ll give you some decent protection if you ever (God forbid) hit the deck. And to make sure you get the right amount of EPS lining to helmet size, Icon produce it in 3 shell sizes. That’s good.

Icon Airflite 8.5m/s sharp impact test courtesy of sharp.dft.gov.uk

To help keep you upright, there’s a wide visor for added peripheral vision and a drop down sun visor to keep you from getting dazzled.

That massive main visor isn’t Pinlock-ready (boo), but it does come with Icon’s own anti-fog treatment which I found surprisingly effective (more in visor section below).

We always look at SHARP safety test results too where possible. Icon helmets are fairly new to SHARP testing. In fact, before the Airflite was tested, they’ve only had three helmets tested so far with an average score of 3 stars.

So it’s probably no surprise that the Airflite scored 3 stars too. Looking at the 8.5m/s test, while it still scored slightly above average for side and front impact testing, it still dropped a few marks there.

Overall then, it’s about average for impact protection.

Airflite Fayder black/white

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

There’s a decent amount of padding inside the Airflite but there’s also lots of ventilation channels and some decent sized vent holes too, all of which can let noise into a helmet.

I tried an Airflite and while I always ride wearing some of our recommended ear plugs, I found it to be very similar to something like the HJC IS 17 which is pretty good for noise suppression.

Overall though, there are a wide range of opinions out there – some owners saying it’s a nice quiet helmet while others say it’s noisy, especially at speed.

So it’s not really possible to say how noisy you’ll find the Airflite as it’s very subjective and depends on how fast you ride as well as your specific motorbike among other factors. Overall then, we’ll score it above average for helmet noise.

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

There’s a big, fat, central vent in the chin guard which directs air around the mouth and up onto the back of the visor.

It’s designed to mimic motocross helmets that have a large central vent with a cleanable filter in there but in the case of the Airflite, the main visor actually drops down to cover the chin guard vent, with the holes in the visor letting air through even when it’s fully closed.

You can’t see it in the pictures, but you actually close the vent using a slider on the inside of the guard which, despite being inside the helmet and meaning you’ve gotta navigate the non-removable chin curtain to get to it, it actually isn’t too difficult to access while riding.

Unusually for a helmet with a sun visor that retracts right where forehead vents go, Icon has managed to put a couple of forehead vents into the helmet and route the channels past the sun visor.

Those forehead vents are covered by large sliders that are very glove-friendly. And they’re fairly straight forward to use – though not as easy as single vents, until you get the hang of using your finger and thumb to open them both simultaneously.

Gloss white Airflite showing large chin vent and sun visor slider behind visor pivot

These vents direct air through the helmet shell and into channels the run front-to-back across the crown of the head, drawing air out of the helmet through two, always-open, rear exhausts.

From my first test rides and looking at comments around the web, ventilation is overwhelmingly seen as a strong point.

Even when it’s mega hot in the US, many riders say there’s enough air flow to keep your head really cool.

Couple excellent venting with the (surprisingly effective) factory anti-fog coating and it takes a lot to steam up the visor too.

Visor

(more about visors)

The visor on the Icon Airflite is probably the most unusual part of the helmet.

It extends down really deep and has a grille set into it that semi-covers the chin vent when the visor’s closed. The bottom of the visor then locks into place on the bottom of the chin guard.

It’s an unusual setup that looks cool and works well too. It’s easy to close and lock the visor in place and it’s easy to push the bottom of the visor with your thumb to unlock it and open the visor back up.

It’s also a very quick release visor too. You prise off the side pods using a couple of fingers at the top and pull till they feel like they’re gonna break. And once they pull off, all you have to do is open the visor until it springs off its mounts. That’s it. Great bit of design and makes for a really easy way to pull off the visor for cleaning.

Good Fortune graphics

Or for swapping out for the replacement smoked visor that comes free in the box.

The visor also has Icon’s own anti-fog treatment on it. We’re not usually a fan of factory anti-fog treatments and regularly extol the virtues of Pinlocks instead.

So we were really surprised at how effective the Icon fog-free FliteShield visor was at stopping fogging. In fact it seemed about as effective as a Pinlock on our test journeys, though admittedly it wasn’t particularly cold or humid when we tried it. But in the absence of a Pinlock, Icon’s treatment seems very good.

One of the best features of the Airflite according to owner feedback is the nice large view it gives of the road. The viewport is nice and wide giving great visibility all round – and that’s great for safety as well as for enjoying the ride.

Sun Visor

(more about sun visors)

The sun visor on the Airflite is operated by a slider right behind the left hand visor pivot and we found it drops down nice and low and was pretty easy to use. It’s a bit stiff to get the sun visor moving at first – part of the mechanism to stop the sun visor dropping down when you don’t want it to – but once you get the hang of it, it works a treat.

Like most sun visors, it’s not anti-fog so if it’s cold, don’t expect it to stay mist-free when you drop it down. But when we used it riding into the sun and things had warmed up a little, it was about average tint meaning it was dark enough to cut out most of the sun and let us ride along without distraction.

So all good with the sun visor we reckon.

Icon Airflite Quick Silver

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

The Icon Airflite is made in 3 helmet shell sizes and in fitment sizes XS-XXXL.

Inside, there’s a removable/washable liner using Icon’s regular Hydradry material that’s moisture wicking and breathable.

I found it a tight squeeze to get the Airflite on (a couple of other owners complain about this too), but once there it was bang on in terms of fitment and comfort – giving my head a gentle squeeze without any pressure points.

It’s designed to fit people with medium oval head shapes – so if your head’s oval rather than a rounder shape, it should be good for you.

Several owners said their Airflite’s felt very tight at first, with some suggesting if you’re between sizes, to go for a larger size. If it’s just a little tight when you get it though, it should break in pretty quickly.

And if you do buy one but find the fitment not quite right or needs some customising, thicker and thinner cheek pads are available from Icon to tailor the internal fitment.

One notable feature if you ride in a suit with a back protector is that there’s a cutout in the rear of the Airflite that’ll accommodate a hump so it shouldn’t push your helmet forward.

Looks & Graphics

Icon ALWAYS paint their helmets in funky graphics and the Icon Airflite is no exception.

You can see the Airflite Fayder in the video below (also available in black/orange) and you’ll find the Krom Airflite further down this page in grey – again, there’s an orange version available too.

There’s also the delightfully bonkers Chinese Dragon inspired Airflite Good Fortune as well as a bunch of plainer but equally edgy graphics such as the Rubatone and Quicksilver. Oh, and of course there’s plain gloss white and black versions.

Click through to our recommended retailers to see the latest deals on all these designs as well as any others that’ve been released since we wrote the article.

Best places to buy an Icon Airflite?

Please click below to visit the Icon Airflite helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Icon Airflite video

A ten minute tour of the Icon Airflite Fayder.

Other stuff – fasteners, audio, weight, chin curtain, warranty

The Airflite comes with a double-d ring fastener (easy to use old-style fasteners).

It has speaker pockets inside and enough room in the chin guard for a microphone. While they’re not the most generous speaker pockets in the world, we’ve heard from people happily fitting their Sena and Cardo Freecom units in there. Reports are that sticky mounts work best with the bottom rim of the Airflite not being the easiest to mount a clamp mount on.

It weighs in about 1.7Kg which is a bit heavier than your average polycarbonate helmet, though not too heavy to cause any discomfort.

Airflite Krom – also in orange/black

It comes with a removable chin curtain and non-removable breath guard fitted to the helmet.

Icon Airflites come with a standard 1 year warranty.

Overall/Summary

If you like the aggressive motocross-inspired looks and want a decent all rounder, then the Icon Airflite should fit the bill.

It feels well built, has a quality quick-release visor system with a factory anti-fog coating that actually seems to work.

It scored 3/5 stars by SHARP for safety so is slightly above average when it comes to impact protection.

It’s designed to work with medium oval heads and the removable/washable lining with spaces for comms unit speakers are all good quality. Couple that with an effective drop down sun visor and ventilation system and Icon seems to be onto a winner.

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.

Good Alternatives to the Icon Airflite?

There’s some great full face helmets out there to suit a range of wallets.

The HJC FG-ST is a SHARP 5 star safety rated all rounder fibreglass full face with a drop down sun visor and Max Vision Pinlock anti-fog in the box. It’s around the same price as the Icon Airflite too.

Cheaper than the Icon is the Shark Ridill. That scored 4 stars for safety when tested by SHARP and its got a sun visor and Pinlock visor too. It’s also got a glasses groove for if you wear glasses/shades and comes with a 5 year warranty!

Or for a smidge more than the Icon, there’s the X-Lite X-702 GT. But for that extra, you get a SHARP 5 star safety rated composite fibre lid that’s rated as quiet and comfortable by owners.

Looking to buy an Icon Airflite?

Please click below to visit the Icon Airflite helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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 full face helmets?

We've got lots of other ways you can find your ideal full face helmet. You can check out our Top 10 full-face crash helmets list to see our best rated helmets or head over to our Smartish Filters pages and zoom in on helmets with your 'must have' features. You can browse through all our full face crash helmet reviews as well as our safest motorcycle helmets page where you'll only find helmets that are SHARP four or five star rated - so you'll know you're wearing the best protection out there. Finally, check out our helmet gallery to find a lid that takes your fancy.

Bell SRT full face and modular motorcycle crash helmet

Page Contents

Bell SRT helmet: a fibreglass all rounder with sportsbike-ready visor

Bell helmets are a little unusual. Unlike every helmet maker we can think of, from time to time they’ve made a full face helmet, and then they’ve decided to make a modular version of exactly the same helmet.

Which is not to say they’re doing anything wrong. In fact, it makes total sense I guess: it saves development cost and gives us punters the option of buying a helmet in a couple of different configurations.

They’ve done it with the Revolver helmet in the US to make the Revolver Evo. And they’ve now done it with the SRT in Europe to make the SRT Modular.

Thing is, Bell are starting to phase out the SRT full face, while the SRT modular is the new kid on the block. So we’ll focus on the flip-front version here – but you can read about the differences between the SRT full face and modular below too.

Bell-SRT-modular-helmet-Blackout-side-view-opened — SRT Blackout modular with chin guard fully raised

All-rounder fibreglass helmet
Modular and full face versions
Drop down sun visor (modular only)
ECE and DOT certified
Wide/tall visor
Sizes XS-XXL (XXXL USA)
Speaker pockets
Glasses groove
5 year warranty
Expect to pay
- £170 full face
- £220-£300 modular

Best places to buy a Bell SRT?

Please click below to visit the Bell SRT helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Differences between the SRT Full Face and Modular?

The SRT full face is quite a bit more of a budget helmet than the modular – or at least it’s available at a much lower price point.

Bell-SRT-full-face-crash-helmet-gloss-white-side — This one’s the SRT full face helmet

But there’s lots more.

The full face only has a partially removable interior lining. And it’s made in three shell sizes, not two. And it doesn’t have a drop down sun visor like the modular.

The full face SRT is Snell certified too, which should give you a bit of peace of mind that it’ll give you decent protection; but as we mentioned, it looks like it’s being phased out very soon. That means there are a load of good deals out there at the moment (click the links above to find the best ones at some of the most reputable dealers) but obviously it means soon you’ll just have the option of one – the SRT modular.

Safety

(more about helmet safety)

It’s often tricky to work out how much protection a particular helmet will give.

The Bell SRT has a fibreglass shell. Fibreglass usually makes for lighter, stronger helmet shells – and they’re more likely to be found on slightly more costly helmets; or at least helmets that are pricier than most polycarbonate helmets.

And from our research, they tend to be slightly safer than polycarbonate helmets – but less safe than composite or carbon helmets.

The SRT modular hasn’t been safety tested by an independent testing organisation yet (the old SRT full face was Snell certified). So there’s not much information we can turn to that’ll give us a definite answer, except for the fact it’s both ECE and DOT certified.

But if we look at how well Bell helmets have performed over the years, that might give us a pointer for how safe the SRT might be.

Bell-SRT-modular-helmet-hart-luck-skull-front-view — Front view of the modular SRT. Note all SRTs are delivered with clear visors

Bell’s last three SHARP tested helmets; the RS-1, Bullitt and Star, were all fibreglass (or the fibreglass versions were tested) and they scored between 3-5 stars out of a maximum five.

They were all full face helmets though and there’s only been one flip-up Bell helmet tested so far and that’s the ancient Bell M10. SHARP is the only testing organisation that publishes how often a chin guard comes unlocked for flip-up helmets during testing (obviously, if it comes unlocked in an accident, that’s A VERY BAD THING!) and the old M10 scored 90%, which is actually a pretty good score compared to lots of other modulars.

Other safety features?

That large panovision visor (width and height) gives more vision all-round (see visor section below for more info). It’s made in two shell sizes which ain’t many at this price point (read why here). And of course a drop down sun visor is well worth having to stop you squinting in the sun – especially when the sun’s low.

And of course, Bell are our No.2 safest helmet brand (2018).

All of which is a very long-winded way of saying we’d expect the SRT flip-front to give a decent level of protection in an accident.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

All we’d say here is that modulars are notoriously noisy.

We’ll have to wait for our full review before we’ll know more about the SRT modular, but suffice to say if you’re looking for a really quiet helmet, either buy a modular and wear the most effective ear plugs you can, or buy a full face (especially one of these quietest helmets).

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

There’s a couple of vents in the chin guard to pass air to the chin area and up onto the back of the visor.

Bell-SRT-modular-motorbike-helmet-predator-yellow-rear-view — Hi viz yellow version of the SRT Predator

Way up top, there’s also a single central vent that’ll pass air through onto your crown. Helmets with sun visors have to push the top vent quite a way back because the sun visor sits just where you want to have ventilation channels when it’s retracted.

There’s a couple of exhaust vents at the back of the helmet, but because the crown vent is so far back, we’d be surprised if the ventilation was anything more than adequate on the SRT.

But we’ll have to wait until it’s been out a while before we’ll know what owners and riders reckon to the ventilation.

Visor

(more about visors)

There’s quite a lot going on with the visor on the SRT modular.

First up, it shares a visor with a few other helmets in the range – notably the Bell Stars. It’s what Bell calls a panovision visor, meaning that it’s wide and tall to give you good all-round vision.

Bell-SRT-modular-crash-helmet-solid-gloss-white-front — Gloss white SRT showing sun visor slider on lower edge

It goes without saying that’s important from a safety perspective – peripheral vision so you can spot stuff coming up alongside/behind that bit easier, and tall frontal vision for when you’re getting a move on with your head down, closer to the tank.

A big visor also makes for a helmet that’s easier to live with and for a more fun riding experience.

The panovision visor on the SRT is also class one optically correct, so you shouldn’t get any distortion. And it also features Bell’s quick-release visor system that owners rate as very good and means you can swap over your visor in the blink of an eye – okay a few blinks – but it is quick and easy to use.

What’s not so great is the lack of anti-fog on the SRT, and the fact there’s no Pinlock in the box – which is a real omission because we need quality anti-fog when riding in Northern Europe!

There is a panovision pinlock-ready visor available for the rest of the Bell Stars that should be compatible with the SRT, but the last time we looked that was over £100 (yep, you read that right!) so probably won’t be a viable option for most folks on a tighter budget.

As always, if you want a helmet that’s either Pinlock-ready or comes with a Pinlock in the box (the best solution we know of to stop your visor steaming up) check out our Pinlock Helmets section.

Bell-SRT-modular-crash-helmet-predator-black-white-side-view — Here’s the SRT Predator in black/grey/white

Sun Visor

(more about sun visors)

Unlike the full face version of the SRT, there’s a drop down sun visor integral to the SRT modular. We find that’s a must for daily riding and touring so that’s a definite thumbs up for the SRT flip-front.

It’s operated from a slider on the bottom left hand edge of the helmet (see white helmet photo above). We find that’s the best place to locate a slider as it’s easiest to find and use there. The only issue is you might find it limits your use of a bluetooth as it’s pretty well exactly where you’d want to stick on a communicator – something worth bearing in mind if you ride with a comms unit attached.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

The SRT modular is made in two helmet shell sizes but available in internal fitment sizes XS-XXL (up to XXXL in the US).

Inside, the lining is fully removable and washable and it’s antibacterial treated and moisture wicking.

There’s also grooves to accommodate glasses stems and speaker pockets in there for bluetooth speakers meaning it’s bluetooth communicator-ready.

Looks & Graphics

There’s three graphical options available at the time of writing. If you’re after a solid plain colour, there’s a gloss white, gloss black and matt black available. They’ve also launched the Predator graphics, available in Blackout (classy grey version) as well as copper, yellow hi viz and black white. There’s also a single Hart Luck design.

Please click below to visit our recommended retailers where you’ll find the latest available designs and deals.

Best places to buy a Bell SRT helmet?

Please click below to visit the SRT helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Overall/Summary

If you’re looking for a modular helmet from a maker who knows how to build quality helmets and that’s been in the business for aeons (OK since 1954 – but that’s pretty much the same thing), then the Bell SRT modular is well worth checking out.

OK there are some great modulars available for much less money and which offer more features (and we’ve included a couple of those in our Alternatives section below), but the Bell SRT looks a class act. And with the flexibility to work as your daily commuter lid as well as on your sportsbike; and with all the main features you’ll want on a modular (except a Pinlock) it looks like a decent buy.

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.

Good Alternatives to the Bell SRT?

Of course, you’ll want to check out lots of helmets before you take the plunge – and there’s some great all-rounder modular helmets out there (you can check out our top 10 modulars here or view all our modular helmet reviews here).

Bell-SRT-modular-helmet-hart-luck-skull-side-view — Bell SRT modular in Hart Luck graphics

First up, there’s the SHARP 4 star safety rated HJC IS Max II. It’s been around for years but that’s because it’s great value, has a sun visor, is comfortable and well ventilated and it has a Pinlock-ready visor (but it’s not in the box).

If you want a flip-up helmet that comes with a Pinlock in the box, how about the 4 star rated Shark Evo-One II? Owners say it’s easy to live with too and has great ventilation – but it’s a smidge pricier than the Bell.

At about half the price though, is the 4 star safety rated AGV Compact. Sun visor, Pinlock anti fog, comfortable: it’s got it all (though like most modulars, it’s pretty noisy).

Best places to buy a Bell SRT?

Please click below to visit the Bell SRT helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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 Bell?

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

Caberg Duke II Modular Crash Helmet Review

The Caberg Duke II is the follow up to the popular SHARP 5 star rated modular/flip up crash helmet, the Duke I.

On the face of things, it’s not hard to see why it’s popular because it ticks all the right boxes – it’s pretty light, looks cool, it’s independently tested to be about as safe as they come (SHARP 5 star rating) and it has a host of useful features like a integral sun visor lockable chin guard.

That’s all fine and dandy, but if it doesn’t do the basics right, then it’s going to be a pain to live (and ride) with right?

- SHARP 5 star safety rated
- Modular/flip up
- Approved for use open or closed
- ECE 22.05 approved
- Pinlock anti-fog included
- Drop down sun visor
- Micrometric fastener
- 1.55Kg (light for a modular)
- Typical price range: £140-£200 depending on graphics

Best places to buy a Caberg Duke II?

Please click below to visit the Caberg Duke II helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Page Contents

Safety

(more about helmet safety)

caberg-duke-2-modular-motorcycle-helmet-in-Legend-red-white-rear-view — Rear view of the Duke II Legend in red

The Duke’s shell is made of a thermoplastic – ABS to be precise. Old timers like me tend to sneer at plastic helmets as being inferior to fibreglass or kevlar – but it’s all pretty baseless. Thermoplastics make for low cost, lightweight, durable and, ultimately, safe helmets – you don’t score 5 stars in a SHARP test by making a flimsy helmet shell.

The old Duke I scored 5 stars for safety by SHARP, and so too has the Duke II – which is not surprising really because they’re very similar helmets.

Inside the helmet, there’s the usual dual-density polystyrene to absorb impacts and beneath that a fully removable/washable lining. All present and correct there.

A couple of owners have also commented that the shell size seems to be externally slightly smaller than previous crash helmets they’ve owned, meaning looking back and life-savers are that much easier. This is probably a comment from people with larger helmet sizes because the Duke is only available in one shell size meaning for wearers of larger helmets, it’ll feel smaller – see later.

Folks also reckon the the visor aperture is slightly narrower than most – not enough to cause any problems though, but you might find it noticeable.

But what’s great about the Caberg Duke II is that SHARP 5 safety rating. However, that’s not the entire picture – read the chin bar section below for more.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

The Duke has been wind-tunnel designed and owners reckon that’s made a helmet with a slippery shape that many owners reckon has noticeably less buffeting that other helmets. And of course, good aero will also help with reducing wind noise too.

caberg-duke-2-modular-motorcycle-helmet-in-Legend-black-fluo-yellow-front-view — Another Duke 2 Legend – this time black and Fluo Yellow

In fact, several owners commented that they don’t ride with ear plugs in with the Duke because it’s so quiet – which is astonishing for any helmet never mind a flip-up.

However, despite a few positive comments like this, overall it’s fair to say the Duke is about average for noise suppression. It’s quiet for a modular, but they’re usually noisy compared to full face helmets.

The Caberg Duke II is available in the usual plain colours as well as a couple of hi-vis options such as the plain hi-viz yellow or the Legend black/fluo. Other options are variants on the dual racing-stripes (was it Gulf that started that design originally?) which is called the Duke II Legend (in red or black versions).

For the latest graphics and deals, please click links through to our recommended retailers below.

Ventilation & Visor

Onto ventilation – and again the Duke scores well.

It has effective chin and forehead vents that pull air in up over the face and through channels in the polystyrene liner to give a decent amount of ventilation.

The top vent has a big slider to open/close it and it’s easy to use even with your winter gloves on. They’re not enough to stop the main visor steaming up on its own (they never are) but despite being one of the lower-priced helmets, the Duke comes with a Pinlock anti-fog insert in the box, which is outstanding value and, as we always mention, Pinlocks really do work in all but the most extreme circumstances (like if you’re sat in zero degree temperatures, at the lights in the rain – but that’s about it!)

caberg-duke-2-modular-motorcycle-helmet-in-metal-white-side-view — Drop down sun visor and Pinlock visor on the Duke Metal

Sun Visor

The Duke comes with a sun visor too – there’s a slider on the top of the lid to open/close it and it can be stopped at any point in between (not all helmets with sun visors can, which is a nuisance for some riders).

The only down side here is that locating the sun visor slider on the top of the helmet is a bit inconvenient and it’s easy to start fiddling with the top vents when you’re trying to find it.

Even though internal visors are tucked away in the helmet shell, they can steam up in the cold/damp; I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t. So, if you do lots of cold weather riding, some anti-fog spray might be useful. However, the sun visor is optically very good so all in all it’s one of the best.

Chin Bar

The flip up chin bar is easy to use, with a large central button to press before the chin bar raises.

The Duke has been dual-homologated for use on the road in either the full-face position or with the chin bar up – not all are so beware. Having said that, I’ve never heard of anyone being stopped by the plod for illegally using their modular helmet, and I reckon plenty of police are probably unaware of this and breaking the law themselves!

To ride with the chin guard up, there’s a little P/J slider (P & J refers to the ECE homologation code for closed or open) that you must use to release the chin bar and then lock it in the open position. A lock’s a good touch to stop the chin guard dropping down, although I’m not sure I’d want to have an ‘off’ with the chin guard up as it could easily catch and rotate the helmet. That’s something you definitely don’t want to happen during an accident!

I mentioned in the safety section that there’s more to it than that SHARP 5 star rating. That’s because when SHARP does their testing, they take note of how often the chin bar remains fully locked and closed.

In the case of the Caberg Duke II, it managed it 90% of the time out of 32 impact tests (up from 87% with the old Duke I).

Believe it or not, that’s actually a very good score for a flip-up helmet; though we’ve removed half a star from our overall star rating below because it still compromises safety in an accident.

caberg-duke-2-modular-motorcycle-helmet-in-Legend-black-white-side-view — Legend in gloss black with the chin bar up and locked. Note P/J locking slider near visor pivot

Any Downsides?

Well one or two folks think it feels a bit cheap and the shell only comes in one size. That means if you’re an XS you’ll get the same outer shell size as the XL – which might make it look massive on you.

A few people reported that there’s not much room for their chin (it seems to be only the occasional modular helmet that has this sort of problem) so if yours is particularly large or pointy, you might want to try before you buy – or buy from our recommended retailers who don’t quibble if you want a refund.

Best places to buy a Caberg Duke II?

Please click below to visit the Caberg Duke II helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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 – Fastener and Communications

It has a nice and easy micrometric fastener which we like very much and it’s also Caberg Just Speak Communicator-ready.

caberg-duke-2-modular-motorcycle-helmet-in-matt-gun-metal-side-view — Mean looking matt gunmetal Duke

Overall/Summary

Just like the old Duke, it’s pretty hard to fault the Caberg Duke II – and very few owners do.

We knew before we started that the Duke II looked great on paper and were wondering if it covers off all the basics to make it a good real-world helmet that’s easy to live with.

And we’re happy to report that according to owners, it sure does. It’s comfortable, light weight and reasonably quiet (for a modular!) and has a host of nice touches that make the Duke 2 a superb all rounder.

And it comes with that excellent SHARP 5 star safety rating, all at an extremely competitive price too.

Very well done Caberg – at the time of writing, the Caberg Duke is one of our top-rated flip-up helmets.

Alternatives to the Caberg Duke II?

Modular/Flip-up helmets are increasingly popular at the moment so there’s masses of great alternatives out there.

There’s the Shoei Neotech which has similar features and is all day comfortable – though it’s much more expensive and only scored 4 on the SHARP safety test (though the chin guard stayed closed a creditable 93% of the time when being tested). There’s some deals to be had though because it’s been replaced by the Neotech II.

There’s also the excellent AGV Compact which is a SHARP 4 star safety rated modular that owners say is both comfortable and well ventilated.

Or how about the HJC IS Max II; that’s another SHARP 4 star rated modular helmet for around the same money as the Duke, with an internal sun visor and that’s comfortable and well ventilated.

Best places to buy a Caberg Duke II?

Please click below to visit the Caberg Duke II helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

caberg-duke-2-hi-vizion-modular-motorcycle-helmet-guard-up-view — This one’s the Duke 2 Hi Vizion with chin bar in its locked-up position

Definitely want a Caberg?

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

LS2s budget adventure dual sport helmet: the LS2 Pioneer

Page Contents

Review of the LS2 Pioneer & Pioneer Evo: LS2s adventure/dual sport motorcycle crash helmet.

The Pioneer is LS2’s entry-level adventure helmet. LS2 say it’s made from a Kinetic Polymer Alloy (that’s a fancy name for plastic, right LS2?) – but that’s no problem as thermoplastic lids are among the best performing motorcycle helmets.

And the Pioneer ticks quite a few boxes on the features list too. Not only is it designed to work on and off road, but there’s a drop down sun visor as well as a sun peak/roost guard; and it’s got EQRS too.

The Pioneer has been a decent seller but there were one or two issues with it. So LS2 had a bash at sorting those and relaunched the Pioneer as the Pioneer Evo.

So read on, dear friend, to find out the pros and cons of the Pioneer (and find links to some juicy dual-sport alternatives at the bottom of the article too).

Polycarbonate shelled adventure helmet
ECE and DOT certified
Class A optically correct visor
Drop down sun visor
EQRS
Micrometric fastener
1.45Kg (3.2lbs)
3 Shell sizes
Sizes XS-XXXL
MCN R5K readers No.1 peaked helmet 2021
Expect to pay £99-£119

Best places to buy an LS2 Pioneer Evo?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Pioneer Evo helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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

(more about helmet safety)

The LS2 Pioneer is both ECE 22.05 and DOT certified. That means it should offer a decent level of protection if you have a spill.

ls2-pioneer-titanium-adventure-motorcycle-helmet-rear-view- — No it’s not matt black – it’s titanium!

Beyond that, its been fitted with EQRS which is the emergency quick removal system that allows paramedics to quickly remove the helmet’s cheek pads to more easily take the helmet off an injured rider. If you’re gonna be taking your Pioneer off-road, having a spill is obviously much more likely – so we’d say EQRS is a must.

The Pioneer’s also been fitted with a micrometric fastener – which are safe and really easy to use. And there’s a nice large, optically correct visor in there to give good, clear all round vision.

On the off-road front, there’s a flexible roost-guard/sun peak that’ll come in very useful for keeping your vision clear in the sun or when you’re stuck behind another rider who’s kicking up dirt!

It is made in three helmet shell sizes too; that’s a decent number for what’s an entry level helmet. That’s good for safety because it means you’re getting the right amount of EPS shock absorbing lining for any given shell size. It also means you’re not carrying around more helmet shell material/weight than you need to – because any extra weight adds more inertial weight to your head and neck during an accident, and that’s not good.

ls2-pioneer-element-off-road-adventure-bike-helmet- — Side view of the LS2 Pioneer in Element graphics

Of course, we always check out whether a helmet’s been tested by independent testing labs too.

The LS2 Pioneer hasn’t been tested by either SHARP or Snell, which is a shame. But we can tell you that LS2 polycarbonate helmets have scored an average of about 3.1 stars out of a maximum 5 stars when SHARP has tested them in the past.

They’ve only tested one KPA shelled LS2 so far (the Valiant) and that scored four stars – which is encouraging.

Obviously, looking back to past scores isn’t going to be a 100% accurate indicator of how well the Pioneer might score if SHARP tested it today, but we would reckon it’d probably score reasonably well. It’s fairly unlikely it’ll be up there with our best performing helmets for safety, but since their last three thermoplastc helmets have scored anywhere between two and four stars, we’d kinda expect the Pioneer to score somewhere similar.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

The old Pioneer was a bit of a noise box. In fact it was probably the biggest fault with it and undoubtedly one of the main reasons that LS2 decided to fiddle with the helmet a bit and come up with the Evo version.

Several Pioneer riders reckoned that because there are so many vents – including side vents near the ears – that it lets in a lot of noise as well as air.

Of course, just like with most helmets, if you always push in some decent ear plugs, pretty well any helmet will be manageable. But the old Pioneer’s not ideal in this respect.

The good news is that if you go for the Pioneer Evo, most owners reckon it’s a nice quiet helmet, so well done LS2 for listening to your customers!

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

Matt black Pioneer. Triangular thing on the side is the anchor for the chin strap.

LS2 obviously wanted the Pioneer to vent massively well because they’ve added a ton of vent holes. But here’s a big point to note – only the chin vent can be closed off; all the others are always open. So if you live somewhere wet (like I do) that might well be a deal breaker for you.

On the front/lower of the helmet there’s that single chin vent which is opened/closed by a slider on the inside of the chin guard. Unlike quite a few off-road helmets, the chin vent doesn’t have a removable filter so you can clean it – it’s fixed in place.

There’s also a couple of other vents to either side of the chin guard in those air scoops – which have the added bonus of making the helmet looking pretty cool too!

Above the visor are a pair of brow vents – all taking air into channels in the internal lining and towards the scalp then out through a bunch of exhaust vents to the rear. And there’s even a couple of vents at each side of the visor to help keep both visors clear.

Overall though, if you like riding offroad and tend to get sweaty – or you like a helmet that keeps you cool – then the Pioneer lets lots of air in and does a great job of keeping you well ventilated.

Visor & Goggles

(more about visors)

ls2-pioneer-solid-white-dirt-bike-adventure-helmet-side-view- — Plain white version of the Pioneer

There’s a nice large clear visor up front and, as is pretty common with LS2s, it’s a class A optically correct visor, meaning you shouldn’t have to worry about distortion (not that we’ve ever really found it a problem with non-optically correct visors!).

The old V1 Pioneer didn’t have the option for any sort of anti-fog insert like a Pinlock – instead, LS2 bunged on their own antifog coating which was OK but didn’t give the same levels of anti-mist performance as a Pinlock.

Again, LS2 appear to have listened to our moans and groans and have now given the Pioneer Evo a Pinlock-ready visor. OK, so the insert isn’t included in the box when you buy it, but if you really need a decent antifog solution on your Pioneer, then at least you can shell out the £30ish extra and get a Max Vision in there which should solve all your fogging woes. Job done.

It has a nice large central opening tab to open/close the visor and the visor itself works on friction so there’s no ratchet here.

And if you ever like to pull off the visor (surprisingly easy to do) and push on some goggles, reports are that goggles work well with the Pioneer because there’s plenty of space to go at – just about fitting a pair of Oakley Airbrakes in there with a nice groove in the rear moulding to keep the strap in place.

Sun Visor & Peak

(more about sun visors)

The LS2 Pioneer has both a drop down internal sun visor as well as an external roost guard/peak.

That peak can be slightly adjusted by loosening off the plastic screws allowing it to slide backwards, raising or lowering the peak a little. It’s been made from a flexible plastic so it will break off in an accident and won’t dig in and spin the helmet, which is a good feature for safety.

It looks the part and works well too according to a couple of owners who say it’s got good aero characteristics, with little buffeting or drag – even at motorway speeds.

The drop down sun visor is operated by a slider on the left hand side of the helmet. That’s one of the better locations for a sun visor slider as it’s easy to reach and find when you’re on the move.

Owners reckon it’s easy to operate too, though if you’re not a fan of sun visors that leave a stripe of light at the bottom, you might be disappointed with the Pioneer Evo in this respect.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

Inside the Pioneer is a breathable and hypoallergenic comfort lining that’s removable and washable.

It also has EQRS – a system that’s there to allow paramedics to more easily remove your helmet by quickly pulling the cheek pads out of the bottom of the helmet. EQRS is a great feature to have on any helmet – but especially on an adventure helmet that might well be taken off-road.

The Pioneer’s also been designed to more comfortably accommodate glasses by using a more ‘giving’ foam in each side of the lining to stop the stems of glasses being pushed into the side of your head.

But note, where the old Pioneer was designed as a medium oval helmet – so had more space the sides internally – the Pioneer Evo’s now a longer oval helmet so more suitable for people with longer, narrower heads.

Some good news is that the Pioneer Evo is now available up to sizes XXXL, so if you’ve a bigger longer head, it’s happy days for you too.

Quite a few owners reckon that it’s a very comfortable helmet, but several also said that the comfort liner can squeeze your cheeks quite a bit. Some helmet brands are a bit more prone to this (looking at you HJC!) although it’s not necessarily a problem as long as it’s not uncomfortable and the helmet fits securely.

A few owners also said the helmet tends to size a bit on the small size so if you’re between sizes, you might well be best going for a size up.

Because of both these potential issues, we recommend checking out where you buy from so you can return it once you’ve tried it without incurring costs (our recommended retailers will do this with some even paying the return postage).

Looks & Graphics

There’s a really wide range of graphic options available and we’ve dropped images of the white and black versions on the page, along with the classy titanium and Pioneer Element.

And as always helmet makers keep on bringing out new graphics, so to see the latest designs and deals, please click through to our recommended retailers using the links below.

Best places to buy an LS2 Pioneer Evo helmet?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Pioneer Evo helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

LS2 Pioneer Evo Video

Here’s a 13m vid looking around the Pioneer Evo including some road testing.

Other stuff – audio, weight, warranty

LS2 haven’t really thought about bluetooth communicators because there aren’t any speaker pockets on the Pioneer. People have tried – including people cutting into the EPS which definitely isn’t recommended – but it doesn’t really work.

So if fitting a bluetooth headset is a must for you – I’d say move away from the Pioneers and check out communications-ready helmets or helmets with integrated headsets instead!

The Pioneer weighs in around 1.45Kg (that’s 3.2lbs) which is not bad at all, because the average polycarb helmet is around 1.57Kg, meaning LS2 has managed to shave quite a bit of weight off the Pioneer.

At the time of writing, most LS2 helmets come with a 2 year guarantee.

ls2-pioneer-solid-white-dirt-bike-adventure-helmet-rear-view- — Rear view of the gloss white LS2 Pioneer

Overall/Summary

The LS2 Pioneer Evo is a great buy. It’s got a good spec, including quick release micrometric strap, EQRS, Pinlock ready visor, tons of vents (although that can be good and bad because most are always open) and drop down sun visor.

Not only is it well specced and looks the part for a dual-sport helmet, but it’s amazing value too. OK it’s a plastic shelled helmet – so it’s going to be at the cheaper end of the market – and there’s a small question mark about how protective some plastic LS2s are.

But it is ECE 22.05 certified like every other helmet so should be decent in that respect.

But if you’re after an excellent value for money lid, one that’ll suit everything from commuting to touring with a spot of offroading, then the LS2 Pioneer Evo is well worth a look.

Best places to buy an LS2 Pioneer Evo?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Pioneer Evo helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Good Alternatives to the LS2 Pioneer?

The Caberg Tourmax is well worth looking at because it’s a SHARP 5 star safety rated modular adventure helmet. And while it’s a bit on the weighty side, it’s well priced and rated highly for comfort and ventilation.

There’s also the well-rated Shoei Hornet ADV family of adventure helmets. They’re ECE, DOT and Snell safety rated, fibreglass shelled and come with EQRS. Though being a Shoei, it does cost a fair chunk more than the LS2.

Bell MX-9s are only a tad more expensive than the Pioneer – plus they come with a 5 year warranty. And you get to choose from either motocross or adventure bike versions with the Bell.

Other Adventure/Dual-Sports helmets?

There are lots of other Adventure/Dual Sports crash helmets out there, so please check out our Adventure motorcycle helmets page to see all our other reviews and previews. Or, if you're looking for the safest tested helmets on the market, you might want to take a look at our safest motorcycle helmets pages where you'll only find helmets that are SHARP four or five star rated - so you'll know you're wearing the best protection out there.

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.

Star Ratings

Scorpion Exo 710 Air motorcycle crash helmet review

Page Contents

The Scorpion Exo-710 Air review: a great value, sporty fibreglass full face helmet.

The Scorpion Exo-710 Air is a fibreglass-shelled full face helmet, designed with a nod towards the sportier side of riding.

That’s because there’s a nice large visor on there that’s suitable for the more ‘lean-forward’ type of riding position that you’ll find on a sportsbike and because it’s been aerodynamically sculpted to reduce buffeting and wind resistance. It’s not an out-and-out full-on track helmet, but if you ride with your head tucked down from time to time and upright the rest, it might well be a good fit for you.

The 710 Air is available at a very attractive price point too, which puts this well-featured fibreglass helmet within the reach of most folks, whether using it for a daily commute all the way to a touring holiday.

Here’s what the Scorpion Exo-710 Air offers and what owners think of theirs.

Fibreglass full face helmet
SHARP 3 star rated
Snell tested/certified
DOT and ECE certified
Air adjustable cheek pads
Pinlock Max Vision included
Double-D ring fastener
1.35Kg (3lbs) – that’s light
3 shell sizes
5 Year warranty
Expect to pay £120-£200

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 710 Air?

The 710 Air’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. Please click below to drop onto their 710 Air helmet pages, 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

(more about helmet safety)

The Scorpion Exo-710 is both ECE 22-05 tested/certified in Europe and DOT certified in the US (actually, it’s called the R710 in the states but it’s almost the same lid).

But above that, it’s been SHARP tested in the UK – where it scored 3/5 stars – and Snell M2015 tested/approved in the US.

scorpion-exo-r710-motorcycle-crash-helmet-hypersilver-rear-view — Rear view of the R710 (US version) of the hypersilver

Looking at those stats, we’d expect the 710 to give you decent protection in an impact – though arguably not as good as one of these safest helmets (to qualify for our safest helmets section, a helmet has to be SHARP 4 or 5 rated).

As always, it’s worth being aware that getting a helmet that fits just right is your number one priority when buying a helmet – so make sure it fits spot on before worrying about a high Snell or SHARP rating.

Which is where the 710 Air’s airpump system should come in. See more info on the comfort/fit section, but it means you can pump up the cheek pads so you can tailor the fit a bit and hopefully get your Air 710 to fit you just right.

OK, so that’s the box-ticking done. But what other safety features are there on the Exo 710 Air?

It’s manufactured in 3 helmet shell sizes – that’s good for safety, fitting and looks.

The 710 also comes with a Pinlock Max Vision anti-fog insert in the box: that will keep your vision clear when it’s cold and rainy, so that’s gotta be good for safety as well.

It’s got a good old reliable double-d ring fastener to keep it tight on your head too. Oh, and it’s ACU gold stickered (UK only) meaning you can take it on the track in the UK.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

scorpion-exo-710-air-gloss-white-side-view — Plain white Scorpion 710 Air – note visor lock next to the visor.

Most of us like a helmet that suppresses noise well, but they’re few and far between.

From all the comments we’ve found about the Scorpion Exo 710 Air, it’s about average for noise with about half saying it’s noisy and half saying it’s quiet (and lots of comments in between).

Check the title link above to find out more information about why this might be, or click through for links to our quietest helmets.

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

There’s quite a few vents in the shell of the 710 Air. Up top, there’s three vents – one in the centre above the visor (2 position slider) and a couple of crown vents (again, a 2 position slider) – all relatively easy to find and operate in gloves once you’ve had a bit of practice.

scorpion-exo-r710-motorcycle-crash-helmet-matt-black-front-view — Matt black R710 – note all helmets are supplied with clear visors

These top vents feed air through the shell and through some generous air channels cut into the polystyrene lining, which will take air to circulate around your scalp. All that warmer, moist air will then vent the rear where there’s a single central exhaust vent under the small rear spoiler and a couple of side exhausts too.

The whole thing seems to vent very well because we didn’t come across a bad word said by any owners about the ventilation. Lots of people said they can feel a ton of ventilation coming through and that the Scorpion 710 Air keeps their heads cool even on a long day of riding in the summer sun.

Down below, the central chin vent has a 3 position slider; the fully-open position vents to both chin and visor, intermediate directs air towards the visor only, and there’s a fully closed position.

These bottom vents are less effective, though used in conjunction with the supplied Pinlock Antifog, they keep the visor fog free under most normal circumstances.

Visor

(more about visors)

The Scorpion Exo-710 Air has Scorpion’s Ellip-Tec visor system. That’s a system that’s designed to pull the visor towards the rubber gasket when closed, making for a tighter seal that more effectively keeps rain, noise and wind out.

scorpion-exo-r710-motorcycle-crash-helmet-transect-black-red-side-view — This one’s an R710 in Transect black/red

It’s also designed to make the quick-change visor quicker and easier still – Scorpion reckons it takes about 10 seconds to swap out the visor. That’s quick and something I doubted – though one owner reckoned it takes him about 5 seconds so maybe it’s not that optimistic!

Either way, expect it to take a little learning and practice before you get the hang of it and manage to hit those super fast times!

The Ellip-Tec system works by using springs in the visor pivot to pull the visor away from the sealing gasket. Then as you raise the visor to the fully-open position, it pulls it back in again by a few mm towards the helmet. Clever.

In Europe, the 710 Air comes with a Pinlock Max Vision-ready visor and Pinlock Max Vision antifog insert in the box. Unfortunately, the US version (called the R-710 over there) has neither of these; though it is EverClear anti-fog coated and comes with an optically correct visor, which the European 710 Air doesn’t have.

It’s also worth noting that while there’s no sun visor on the Exo 710 Air, all clear visors made from polycarbonate have excellent anti-UV properties (broadly around 99%) – so while you might be squinting into the sunlight, you’re still actually getting a ton of UV protection.

Finally on the visor system, the Exo 710 Air has a small lever bottom-left of the visor that’s there to either lock the visor closed or allow you to crack it open slightly. A few owners said they find this feature really useful.

Note: all Scorpion Exo 710 Airs are sold with a clear visor – even though their promo shots show most with dark visors.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

Inside the Scorpion Exo 710 Air is a comfort lining made from a moisture-wicking, antimicrobial material that Scorpion calls its KwickWick2 liner. It’s also fully removable and washable.

Note, the interior is one of the key differences between the European 710 Air and the US R710.

scorpion-exo-710-air-crash-helmet-spirit-black-side-view — Mandatory moody side view of a demi-gloss 710 Air Spirit

On the 710 Air, there’s an airpump system – called AirFit – that you’ll find in several Scorpion helmets. Press a small pump located in the chin guard to inflate small air bladders in the cheek pads to squeeze them in a little and tighten the fit. There’s also a release valve next to it to deflate them again.

There’s mixed reviews as to how useful the AirFit system is. I guess it comes down to personal preference – the occasional person says they love it but I get the impression most folks don’t bother with it beyond an initial play.

The R710 available in the US is more like the old 710 in Europe in that it doesn’t have this AirFit system. It does however have EQRS – designed to help emergency services quickly remove the cheek pads (and therefore the helmet) after an accident. Again, the European 710 Air doesn’t come with EQRS (though the old 710 did).

Inside both helmets, the shape/fitment of the Exo 710 Air is medium oval, which means it should fit most heads (unless you’re an overtly rounder headed person where you might find it a bit tight on the sides).

Owners overwhelmingly like how comfy the Scorpion 710 Air is. OK, you’ve got to make sure it’s a nice, snug fit in the first place (follow our helmet fitting guide) but if the shape’s right and you buy the right size, other riders reckon it’s somewhere between good and very comfortable.

scorpion-exo-710-air-motorcycle-helmet-air-line-side-view — 710 Air in Airline graphics

That comfort level’s gotta be helped by its lightweight fibreglass shell. It weighs in around 1.35Kg (3lbs) which is well under the 1.49 average weight for a fibreglass full face helmet. And sure enough, several owners say it feels really light weight when they’re riding.

Finally on comfort, three people we came across said they found the helmet sizes a bit small – meaning they needed a size up on their usual helmet size. So if you measure your head and find yourself on the cusp between sizes, it might be worth going for the larger size – or ordering both, provided you buy with a shop that’ll refund without fuss (such as our recommended retailers).

Though remember – don’t try it on the road or remove any tags/stickers before you try and return it. There isn’t an online retailer in the land that’ll refund a helmet that’s not been returned in the same condition you took it out of the box – and that includes all tags, stickers and visor-vinyls.

Looks & Graphics

As usual, we’ve put a wide range of graphics up and down the page. Note: there’s both European Scorpion Exo 701 Airs and US R710s pictured on this page. You can tell which is which by the captions – or failing that the 710 Air has a Pinlock visor so you’ll be able to see the round Pinlock Pins on the visor.

For the full selection of graphics and the latest deals – please click through to our recommended retailers using the links below. Thanks!

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 710 Air?

The 710 Air’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. Please click below to drop onto their 710 Air helmet pages, 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).

Scorpion Exo-710 Air Video

Here’s an 8m look around the 710 Air (called R710 in the US).

Other stuff – fasteners, audio, weight, glasses, chin curtain, warranty

The 710 Air comes with a double-d ring fastener.

It has decent sized speaker pockets to fit bluetooth communicator speakers and a large flat external area to fit most 3rd party communicators.

Inside the helmet there’s a pair of glasses grooves to help you slot the stems of your glasses in without them pressing into the side of your head.

The Exo-710 Air comes with both a detachable breath guard and chin curtain installed.

And finally, it comes with a full five year warranty.

Overall/Summary

scorpion-exo-r710-motorcycle-crash-helmet-golden-state-top-view — Top down view of the R710 Golden State

The Scorpion Exo-710 Air is well liked by owners and it’s not hard to see why. For not very much cash, you get a light weight, fibreglass full face helmet that’s versatile enough to work on sportsbikes and more upright motorbikes too.

It’s got great ventilation and an innovative quick release visor system that comes with a Pinlock Max Vision antifog insert that’ll almost guarantee it won’t steam up, whatever the weather. And it’s got a good quality interior that includes Scorpion’s AirFit airpump system, designed to help you tailor the fit even more.

It drops a couple of safety points because it ‘only’ scored 3/5 in the SHARP helmet safety test (though it is DOT, ECE and Snell certified too).

So if you’re looking for a great, light weight all rounder that’ll cover you for pretty well all types of riding but will give you change out of a couple of hundred quid, then the Scorpion Exo-710 Air is well worth trying out.

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.

Good Alternatives to the Scorpion Exo-710 Air

If you’re after a great value full face helmet, then here’s some fantastic lids to check out.

Shoei’s RYD is an excellent SHARP 5 star safety rated full face that’s got EQRS and has great ventilation. It’s a good chunk more expensive than the Scorpion though.

scorpion-exo-710-air-motorcycle-helmet-furio-blue-white-side-view — This one’s the 710 Air in Furio design.

The HJC FG-ST isn’t though – that can be had for around the same money as the 710 Air; plus it’s SHARP 5 star safety rated, comes with a Pinlock in the box, has a fibreglass shell and has a drop down sun visor too. Proper excellent value for money that one!

Or for a more unusual option, there’s the LS2 FF323 Arrow. That’s a smidge more than the Scorp, but for the money, you’ll get a full on track-developed sportsbike helmet, that’s ECE, DOT and SHARP 4 star rated, has an optically-correct visor with a Pinlock Max vision, and it’s just as light as the 710-Air too.

Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo 710 Air?

The 710 Air’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available at FC-Moto. Please click below to drop onto their 710 Air helmet pages, 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 full face helmets?

We've got lots of other ways you can find your ideal full face helmet. You can check out our Top 10 full-face crash helmets list to see our best rated helmets or head over to our Smartish Filters pages and zoom in on helmets with your 'must have' features. You can browse through all our full face crash helmet reviews as well as our safest motorcycle helmets page where you'll only find helmets that are SHARP four or five star rated - so you'll know you're wearing the best protection out there. Finally, check out our helmet gallery to find a lid that takes your fancy.

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

X-Lite X-1004 Composite/Carbon Fibre modular helmet

Page Contents

X-Lite’s X-1004 composite fibre flip-up/modular helmet review

The X-Lite X-1004 is the replacement of the old X-1003. It’s a composite fibre-shelled modular/flip-front helmet with an integral sun visor that’s dual-homologated, meaning it’s legal to ride around with the chin guard up or down, like a full face helmet.

The old X-1003 was a great helmet – a SHARP 4 star safety rated helmet at a reasonable cost that packed in a host of useful features. On the surface, this new X-1004 seems to offer the same range of features but its price has rocketed. It’s new to the market so we’ll have to wait a while before we can find out if it’s worth the extra cash – although if you’re wanting a new modular helmet, you can check out our tried-and-tested recommended alternatives list at the bottom of the page.

But for now, here’s what the X-lite X-1004 has to offer.

Flip-up helmet
Both composite fibre and carbon fibre versions
Dual homologated
SHARP 4 star safety rated (out of 5)
Glasses groove
Integral sun visor
Micrometric fastener
Sizes XXS- XXL
5 year warranty
Expect to pay £399 (composite) £449 (carbon fibre)
The X-Lite X-1004 Nordhelle is available in yellow (pictured) pink, white and black versions

Best places to buy an X-Lite X-1004?

Please click below to visit the X-Lite X-1004 helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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

X-Lite helmets have an excellent reputation for safety.

Of the eleven helmets tested by the independent helmet testing dudes at SHARP, so far they’ve never scored below four stars (out of five) which is an amazing score!

Which means of course, the X-Lite X-1004’s predecessors, the X-1002 and X-1003, both scored four stars at SHARP.

And guess what? The X-1004’s now been tested at SHARP and scored a surprising 4 stars too. Which is obviously no surprise but still a great score.

The X-Lite X-1004 is also ECE 22-05 certified (as are all helmets on sale in the Eu) and it’s been dual-homologated, meaning it can be legally worn while riding as both a full-face and with the chin guard up (in Europe). Not all modular helmets can be legally used like this, though it has to be said you’d be very unlucky indeed if you ever got nicked for it!

Of course, most of us are going to be using our flip-up helmets with the chin guard down while we’re riding, so we expect the chin guard to give us decent protection. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Thankfully, SHARP reports on how often chin guards stay locked and closed during their impact testing. So far, both the X-1002 and X-1003 ‘system’ helmets (as they call flip-up helmets) have been tested, with the 1002 scoring 100% and the 1003 scoring 97%, meaning that’s the percentage of test impacts the chin guards stayed closed and locked.

Obviously, the X1004 chin guard has been tested too and that remedied the tiny slip-up they saw on the 1003 and scored 100% again.

X-Lite are obviously doing A LOT right when it comes to helmet safety!

x-lite-x-1004-flip-front-motorcycle-crash-helmet-front-view-matt-black — Matt Black X-1004 showing double crown vent and single chin vent – plus double-button chin guard mechanism (in red)

The shell of the X-1004 is made of composite fibre but there’s also a carbon fibre version (see pics below). However, looking the the price difference of the carbon and composite versions and the wording on the X-lite website (high carbon content), I suspect the carbon fibre version is just the composite fibre version of the helmet with a carbon fibre final wrap to give that lovely carbon fibre look. Could be wrong but it very much looks that way.

Either way, the carbon version looks fantastic. Of course, if it is just a carbon fibre wrap over a composite shell, it’ll weigh about the same as the normal composite version. But at least you’re getting that cool carbon-fibre look for only £50 more than the regular composite helmet. Win-win!

The X-Lite X-1004 is made in three helmet shell sizes. That’s good: the more shell sizes used, the better for safety we reckon (read here why) and the helmet will look better as it’ll be more in proportion to your body size.

It also comes with a Pinlock-ready visor – though without a Pinlock insert in the box. So we’d suggest forking out the £30(ish) for a Pinlock if you buy an X-1004 as they’re a real must for safety and will save you fiddling around trying to clear your visor and taking your eyes off the road when you’re riding along.

Same goes with the drop down sun visor – it’ll save you being dazzled and allow you to concentrate on the important job of spotting hazards. A sun visor’s a must in my book these days.

Finally, the X-1004 comes with a micrometric 2 fastener. Micrometrics are really easy to use and very safe; and the micrometric 2 has an extra safety feature to prevent the (unlikely) accidental opening of the buckle.

All of which means it very much looks like X-lite have covered all the bases with the safety of the X-1004.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

If you’re after a really quiet helmet, then you’re best stepping away from a modular because they’re generally much noisier than a full face.

And you should probably start running away from the X-1004 because most owners reckon it’s a really noisy helmet, full stop.

Actually, that’s not entirely true because a couple of owners we found said it’s pretty quiet – just that everyone else disagreed!

To be more specific, it seems a ton of noise comes in through those excellent top vents. Close them and things quieten down, open them and it gets all wind-blasty again.

Also, quite a few folks reckoned the visor whistles. I doubt everyone has the problem but we found about half a dozen who did: when the visor’s up (or nearly up) it whistles. Move your head a bit and it stops – so it sounds like it’s definitely the visor to blame.

In fact one reviewer we came across actually swapped visors with his old X-1003 and found it made the 1003 whistle and the 1004 was now quiet!

It might be that X-Lite push out a new version with these faults fixed soon. But until they do – either stick in some decent ear plugs (which you should probably already do) or use our smart filters to find a modular with exactly the features you’re looking for.

x-lite-x-1004-ultra-carbon-dyad-modular-motorcycle-crash-helmet-side-view — Carbon version with chin guard down…

Ventilation

The X-Lite X-1004 has an interesting double crown vent system – what X-Lite call their Touring Ventilation System.

Air is directed through these two vents and through the usual channels in the expanded polystyrene lining and then around the scalp. This time X-Lite has used netting inside the comfort liner of the helmet to allow air to get to the head before being expelled from the helmet via the rear exhaust vent incorporated in the spoiler to the rear.

Does it work? According to owners it works really well – you can feel lots of air entering the top of the helmet. The only drawback is that lots of noise gets in too (see Helmet Noise section).

There’s also ventilation in the chin vent, operated by a small slider below the vent, which takes air directly onto the back of the visor to help keep the visor fog-free.

x-lite-x-1004-ultra-carbon-dyad-modular-crash-helmet-flip-up-view — Carbon X-1004 with chin guard fully open

It’s pretty much the same system used on the outgoing X-1003 and owners reckoned it worked well there. However this time, a few X-1004 owners said vent doesn’t quite close so there’s always air getting in, which they find a bit of a pain.

So a mixed bag for ventilation on the X-1004 – some good, some not so good.

Visor & Sun Visor

There’s both a wide, clear main visor as well as an internal drop-down sun visor with the X-1004.

That main visor is Pinlock-ready but, disappointingly for a reasonably expensive helmet, there’s no Pinlock anti-fog insert included in the box.

If you do decide to buy a Pinlock for your X-1004 (and we reckon you very much should) then X-lite has an interesting Pinlock system that’s designed to allow you to fit the Pinlock without removing the visor and adjust it once in place to ensure you get the best seal.

If you’re a fan of visors that work on a ratchet (rather than friction) and like your visor opening tab in the bottom, middle of the visor, then you’re in luck with the X-Lite X-1004.

One drawback noted by a few owners though – the field of view is pretty narrow on the X-1004. So, if you like a nice wide visor on your helmet; one that gives masses of peripheral vision, then maybe check out our helmets with wide visors page instead.

There’s also the issue of visor whistling reported by some owners (see Helmet Noise section) so that’s one to be aware of if you’re thinking about buying an X1004.

x-lite-x-1004-hi-viz-motorcycle-crash-helmet-side-view — Hi-Viz version of the X-Lite X-1004 highlights the sun visor slider (behind the visor pivot) and attachment point for N-Com bluetooth (lower edge of helmet)

As usual with X-Lite modulars, the sun visor works by a small slider to the rear of the left hand visor pivot. The sun visor is UV400 too meaning it gives maximum levels of UV protection.

No problems reported with the sun visor so far (except maybe the slider is a bit flimsy).

All in all, a bit of a mixed bag again for the visor system on the X-1004; with a lack of a free Pinlock insert in the box and possibility of an annoying whistling at speed ruining an otherwise decent system.

Chin Guard

In common with other Nolan Group helmet brands, the chin guard on the X-Lite X-1004 has a two-button opening mechanism. It’s there for security reasons – so you can’t inadvertently open the chin guard but have to press/slide both buttons to open it.

It’s a pretty good system which can still be operated with one hand and may well be one of the reasons that Nolan Group flip-up helmets (that’s Nolan, X-Lite and Grex) score particularly well in SHARP safety tests for their chin guards staying locked and closed during impacts.

The X-Lite X-1003 actually let the side down a little by ‘only’ scoring 97% on keeping the chin guard locked during testing. But the X-1004 reverts back to normal by scoring a maximum 100%, which is obviously a fantastic score and means that you can rely on the chin guard in an accident.

So far, we’ve found little to differentiate the X1004 from the outgoing 1003. However, X-Lite has made some changes to the chin guard by making it a bit roomier by moving the chin guard outwards a little. That should be good for giving extra space for a microphone if you fit a bluetooth set and better for safety as well .

So too should the fact that the X-Lite X-1004 is dual homologated. That means it’s been type-approved to be legally worn (and give protection) with the chin guard up or down. Surprisingly, not all modulars are – see our Dual Homologated pages to find all the flip-front helmets that are legal in the EU to be worn with the chin guard up as well as down.

Action of the chin guard is said to be nice and smooth and, once you get a hang of the two-button operation, nice and easy to use.

Comfort & Sizing

The X-Lite X-1004 has what X-Lite call their Unitherm2 inner lining which features cheek pads made from single blocks of foam (which X-Lite reckon gives an even and constant pressure which doesn’t compress over time) as well as chin straps that are integrated into the lining to give improved cushioning.

There’s also glasses grooves in the side of the linings to help make putting your glasses on/off easier, as well as stopping the stems pushing into the side of your head. According to X-Lite, this system is reversible – not entirely sure why you’d want to make it reversible, but there you go.

There’s also a removable neck roll that can be whipped off by undoing the zip at the rear – to with aid ventilation, comfort and cooling when it’s a bit warmer.

x-lite-x-1004-elegance-n-come-metal-white-motorcycle-crash-helmet-side-view — Plain colour versions are called the Elegance N-com. This one’s the Metal White X-1004 Elegance N-com

And of course, there’s that larger chin area to give more space at the front of the helmet – great if you’ve a big chin – or big microphone for that matter!

Oh, and it comes in a particularly wide range of sizes – from a weeny XXS all the way up to a gargantuan XXXL – one of only a few helmets that go up/down to these more extreme sizes.

So, how does all that work in practice?

Owners seem to think it’s a really comfortable helmet with insides that feel premium.

And even though it weighs in at a porky 1.54kg (3.8lbs), a few said it feels light. It’s actually a bit heavier than the average modular helmet, and a chunk heavier than the average composite fibre helmet (about 1.46kg) though if you get a carbon fibre version it’ll knock about 100g off that again.

Still, the main thing is how it feels on the bike, and if folks say it feels light, then happy days.

Looks & Graphics

At the time of writing, there’s two different graphic options. There’s the plain versions (black/grey/silver/white/hi viz) called the X-Lite X-1004 Elegance N-Com (the N-Com part just means it’s compatible with Nolan’s N-com bluetooth sets) and the X-1004 Nordhelle range of designs.

Like most manufacturers, they’re always knocking out new graphics and designs so if you’re interested, it’s probably worth clicking the links to our recommended retailers below to see the latest designs and deals available on the X-1004.

Best places to buy an X-Lite X-1004?

Please click below to visit the X-Lite X-1004 helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

X-Lite X-1004 Video

Here’s a 14 min video from Revzilla.

Other stuff – bluetooth, warranty

The X-Lite X-1004, like all helmets with N-Com in their name, is designed to integrate with Nolan’s N-Com bluetooth kit.

All X-Lite helmets come with a 5 year warranty too.

x-lite-x-1004-lava-grey-modular-motorcycle-crash-helmet-side-view — Lava Grey X-Lite X-1004 Elegance N-Com.

Overall/Summary

The X-Lite X-1004 looks like it’ll be a worthy – if flawed – successor to the highly rated X-1003.

That was a useful helmet and scored well for safety as well as offering lots of the kind of features we look for in a modular – bluetooth integration, Pinlock-ready, sun visor etc. etc.

Looking at the X-1004, you can see it’s got more or less the same range of features. But while the two helmets look very similar, there are a few subtle design changes to the helmet shell and chin guard, as well as an updated interior.

And most of these are great – that chin guard is safe as houses according to the SHARP test and is nice and easy to use according to some owners.

Overall, the helmet’s been rated as 4 stars (out of 5) by SHARP for safety, so it should perform well in an accident too.

But there’s some niggles that have forced one or two people to give up on their X-1004s. If you buy one and find the visor whistles or it’s simply too noisy (though you shouldn’t buy one if you’re looking for a really quiet helmet or you don’t like wearing ear plugs – go for a full face instead) then make sure you buy from somewhere that’ll refund with no quibbles – like our helmet retailers. Though note, nowhere will refund a helmet that’s been worn or has the tags removed.

And with that higher price tag and lack of Pinlock anti-fog in the box, it’s questionable whether the X-1004 offers decent value for money. In many respects, it’s a great helmet. Just that it’s also flawed.

The question is, would you want to pay a premium helmet price with the possibility of having to put up with a few foibles? I don’t think I would.

Good Alternatives to the X-Lite X-1004?

If you’re after a tried and tested alternative to the X-1004, we’ve reviewed and uncovered some great helmets for you. And in this section, we only include helmets that have a proven pedigree and safety rating.

First up, there’s the AGV Compact – a SHARP 4 star rated dual-homologated modular with sun visor that’s comfortable and well ventilated. It’s half the price of the X-Lite too – though owners say it’s a bit noisy.

For round about the same price as the X-1004 there’s the fibreglass Shoei Neotech; that’s SHARP 4 star rated too and has a ton of useful features, including wide visor, great ventilation and integral sun visor.

And there’s the Shark Evoline 3 – that’s another dual homologated helmet with the chin guard rotating right round to the back of the head to give a real open face helmet experience. It’s got a maximum SHARP five star safety rating too – and it’s cheaper than the X-Lite.

Best places to buy an X-Lite X-1004?

Please click below to visit the X-Lite X-1004 helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, 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 an X-Lite?

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

Other ways to find the Best Modular Helmet

If you're after a new modular/flip-up helmet, they've never been more popular and there's a ton of choice out there. You can find our latest top 10 modular helmets list here or check out all our modular helmet reviews here. You can also visit our Safest Modular Helmets page or our smart filters page where you can click the flip-up/modular check box then choose a few other features to find the best flip-up helmet for you.

Review of the Biltwell Gringo and Gringo-S Motorcycle Crash Helmet

Page Contents

Biltwell Gringo and Gringo-S Review: two Full Face Retro Helmets

Like the Bell Bullet and the Nexx XG100, the Biltwell Gringos are full face retro helmets, designed to conjure up those halcyon days when panheads ruled and in-line fours were new on the streets, and when protection boiled down to how thick the denim was on your jeans.

These days, we demand a bit more from our gear and lids, but we kinda like that retro vibe – often to go with our new breed of retro bikes. Which is where helmets like the Gringo (no visor) and Gringo S (hinged visor) come in.

But when they cost about as much as you’d have paid for your bike in the 70’s, are they worth the money?

Full Face thermoplastic retro helmet
Gringo (snap on visor) and Gringo S (regular visor)
DOT certified only (so not road legal in Eu)
Double-D ring strap
2 shell sizes
Comfortable but noisy
Neutral head shape
Sizes XS-XXL
Expect to pay £140-£175

biltwell-gringo-s-bourbon-metallic-with-visor-motorcycle-helmet-side-view — Gringo S in Bourbon metallic

Looking to buy a Biltwell Helmet?

There are few places in Europe where you can buy US Biltwell helmets. So we recommend you buy from one of our US recommended retailers. It'll cost a bit more in shipping of course (so check out our recommended retailer links to find out more).

Revzilla are based in Philadelphia and are highly rated for outstanding service and a decent range of Biltwell helmets. Or try SoloMoto in Nevada who have a great rating on Reseller Ratings. Please click either link to see their full range and latest deals

Safety

(more about helmet safety)

The shells of both Biltwell Gringos are made from ABS which is a similar thermoplastic material that you’ll find in lots of helmets.

They’ve been DOT certified for use on the roads in the US, but haven’t been ECE certified for legal road use in the EU. And neither helmet has been independently Snell or SHARP tested, so beyond their having been built to pass DOT tests, there’s no word on the protection a Gringo will offer in an accident.

However, there’s an expanded polystyrene shock absorbing liner (EPS liner) in there and it’s got a decent double-d ring fastener to keep it stuck firmly to your head.

And the S version also has a permanent visor which has gotta be a good thing for safety. In fact quite a few owners of the regular Gringo (without the visor) find that there’s just too much wind-blast without the visor – that’s whether riding with our without sunglasses.

biltwell-gringo-s-white-tri-stripe-crash-helmet-front-view — White Tri-stripe Biltwell Gringo S

So, to max out safety with the Gringo, we’d recommend buying the S version – or buying one of the clip-on visors available to the standard Gringo.

Having said that, and while the Gringo is no novelty helmet, a few owners said it doesn’t give them a feeling of security and safety like most modern full face helmets; some owners sighting the chin bar that’s just made of the same thermoplastic material as the shell and can flex quite a bit.

Note: DOT testing doesn’t cover the chin guard either (though Snell certified helmets will have passed a chin bar impact test).

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

Noise doesn’t really seem to be an issue for owners of a Gringo.

That seems to be a) because most people seem to be trading-up from an open face helmet so their Gringo seems quiet in comparison or b) no-one is really expecting much noise-attenuation performance from their Gringo, so buy one expecting it to be noisier than ‘modern’ ff helmets.

Again, folks are buying a Gringo for simplicity and looks and ‘so what if it’s a bit noisy’. Which is totally fine. But if we’re looking objectively at helmet noise, then the Gringo seems to be a pretty noisy helmet compared to most other full faces.

But if you’re thinking about buying a Gringo – hey, what does that matter?!? Buy some decent ear plugs and rock a Gringo anyway!

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

biltwell-gringo-gloss-black-retro-helmet-side-view — Flat black Gringo (snap-on visor)

As you’ve probably noticed from the pictures, there’s only two ventilation holes in the Gringo; and that’s the one big hole in the front where the visor goes and that other big hole where your head goes. Apart from that, there’s zero vents.

Which might not be a problem if you’re wearing a Gringo around town for the occasional ride or if you keep it without a visor and letting in a ton of air.

And the great thing is that most people who buy the Gringo do it because they’re looking to get back to basics and they can forgive the Gringo minor misgivings like poor ventilation.

In fact despite the lack of vents, very few Gringo owners seem to report getting too hot in their helmets. If you’re buying one expecting great levels of venting like modern day full face helmets, then you might be disappointed. But then most owners don’t buy a Gringo for its ventilation; because they’re after retro-cool rather than cool-venting.

And besides, keep the visor open or wear goggles or shades and you’ll get enough air into your Gringo – for short/medium trips anyhow. And if you do buy one but find it too hot, a couple of owners said they removed the cheek pads which helped air flow massively without making it too uncomfortable (plus helped with fitting earbuds).

Visor

(more about visors)

The Gringo comes in 2 flavours – the Gringo S with a basic hinged face visor and the Gringo (no S) with the snaps to take a snap-on visor.

biltwell-gringo-white-with-visor-motorcycle-helmet-front-view — White Gringo with smoked bubble visor

Taking the visor-less Gringo first, there’s a few different visors available if you decide you want to try one. The standard 2D visor is called the Blast Face visor, but there’s also the Biltwell Bubble anti-fog visor. And of course there’s a bunch of goggles and riding glasses that will fit inside the Gringo.

Having said that, be careful if you’re planning on using goggles or sun glasses as word is that many goggles don’t fit as the opening’s too small. Also wear sealed biker shades rather than standard sun glasses as a few riders reckoned the Gringo tends to funnel air behind the glasses and make your eyes water.

If all that’s a problem, then you might be best going for the Gringo S with built-in visor and with either rubber gasket or shiny chrome gasket. Owners reckon it’s a better bet for longer distance riding too. Plus the visor can be snapped closed to make sure it stays closed when it needs to be.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

biltwell-gringo-s-gloss-agave-grey-helmet-rear-view — Totally plan rear on Gringo S Agave

Owners love how comfortable their Gringo’s are.

It’s a slightly rounder helmet fitment (rather than the more common oval shape) meaning it’s pretty neutral, designed to fit most heads – but if you’re unsure, make sure you either try one on first or buy from a retailer with a no-quibble returns policy (like our recommended retailers).

Oh, and make sure you follow our fitment guide.

Inside the Gringo is a quality quilted interior made from a brushed Lycra. It’s removable for washing too.

Sizing of the Gringo is about right, so just measure your head and order the right size.

Looks & Graphics

Most people buy a Biltwell Gringo because they look spot-on for that retro look. Which is why Biltwell have made so many old-school and muted colour schemes that’ll match your old-school Triumph or HD.

If you can’t find the finish you’re after on this page, then click through to our recommended retailers using the links below to find the latest colours and deals.

Best places to buy a Biltwell crash helmet?

There aren't many places in Europe to buy a US Biltwell helmet, so here's a couple of US retailers we recommend.

Revzilla are based in Philadelphia and offers outstanding service (at the time of writing 9.8/10 on Reseller Ratings and 4.9/5 on Google customer reviews), 30 day refunds and decent shipping rates.

We also recommend SoloMoto in Nevada. At the time of writing, they score 9.5/10 on Reseller Ratings.

They are both recommended retailers (click here for more information on why we recommend them as well as info on shipping costs) and if you buy from either, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you - a massive THANKS! (it's how we finance the site).

Click to visit Revzilla — Click to visit Biltwell helmets at Revzilla

Click to visit Biltwell helmets page at SoloMoto

Biltwell Gringo Videos

First up, a 3m video on the Gringo S (the one with the visor), followed by a 3m video of the visor-less Gringo.

Other stuff – weight, glasses, aero, warranty

biltwell-gringo-s-gloss-vintage-white-crash-helmet-side-view — Vintage white Gringo S

Because the Gringo is so minimalist, it’s l ight weight too. It’s built in two shell sizes so there will be a slight weight variance between the two, but owners say it feels really light. It weighs in at just 1.3kg (under 3lbs) which is well below the average weight for a full face lid.

Guys who wear their Gringos with glasses seem to find it a bit of a pain. You can’t get the helmet on with your glasses in place and if you want to have a visor down, you’ll probably need to buy a bubble visor as there’s not much space behind the regular flat visors.

Buffeting and aero isn’t really an issue – as long as you use the Gringo as intended; i.e. go cruising in it rather than looking to break speed records. It’s got a nice smooth exterior but can lift at speed and obviously if you’re not wearing a visor, there’s a stack of visor aperture to catch the wind.

Finally, your new Biltwell Gringo will come with a 2 year warranty.

Overall/Summary

Like we always do, we’ve scored the Biltwell Gringo on a number of factors that most motorcyclists judge a helmet on.

biltwell-gringo-tracker-limited-edition-helmet-side-view — Limited edition Gringo Tracker

But with the Gringo and other retro helmets, that’s arguably a bit pointless.

I mean, let’s face it, you’re thinking about buying one because it looks cool and reminds you of the old days (whether you were actually there or not!).

And it probably suits your ride. OK, you want it to give you more protection than your open face helmet and you like the idea of being able to snap on a visor when you need it.

But it’s never going to give as good protection as one of our best safety-rated regular helmets. It’s not going to perform as well on a long ride either – modern helmets have more sophisticated ventilation systems and materials inside to keep you comfortable and cool. But then you knew that anyway.

Provided you know the limitations of a retro helmet like the Gringo, and you’re planning on using it for local rides and cruising, then we’re sure you’ll be very happy together. Though you might wanna check out one of the other retro helmet alternatives below first (which are both ECE certified so legal to use on the road in Europe).

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.

Good Alternatives to the Biltwell Gringo?

There’s a couple of great alternative retro helmets knocking around – but they’re both more expensive than the Gringo.

First up is the Bell Bullet. Word is it’s better made than the Gringo and it’s both ECE and DOT certified as well as SHARP safety tested where it gained 3 stars (out of 5) – so it’s a serious helmet that just happens to look retro. It’s comfortable too, offers wide vision, but it’s quite a bit more expensive than the Gringo.

Secondly, there’s the composite-fibre Nexx XG100. That’s actually slightly lighter than the already-light Gringo, is highly rated for ventilation and comfort and is both DOT & ECE certified.

Looking to buy a Biltwell Helmet?

There are few places in Europe where you can buy US Biltwell helmets. So we recommend you buy from one of our US recommended retailers. It'll cost a bit more in shipping of course (so check out our recommended retailer links to find out more).

Revzilla are based in Philadelphia and are highly rated for outstanding service and a decent range of Biltwell helmets. Or try SoloMoto in Nevada who have a great rating on Reseller Ratings. Please click either link to see their full range and latest deals

Star Ratings

Speed and Strength SS1600 full face motorcycle helmet review

Page Contents

SS1600: a mean-looking full face thermoplastic helmet from Speed and Strength

With its menacing good looks and attractive price point, it’s probably fair to say that most folks are buying themselves a Speed and Strength SS1600 because it looks just so damn cool.

But any helmet’s gotta work on the road too. And with multi-point ventilation, drop down sun visor and quick-release visor, there’s plenty of evidence that that’s exactly what Speed and Strength intend with the SS1600 too.

So here’s the low-down on what the SS1600 helmet offers and how well it’s been received by owners.

Thermoplastic full face helmet
DOT and ECE certified
Suitable for rounder head shapes
Drop down sun visor
Great visor and comfort
1.55Kg (3.4lbs) – slightly heavier than average
Double-D ring fastener
Expect to pay $160-$200

Looking to buy a Speed and Strength helmet?

Unfortunately, there aren't any UK suppliers of Speed and Strength helmets. But you can grab one from one of our recommended US suppliers - Revzilla - who ship to the UK and Europe and offer outstanding service - though expect delivery rates of $40+. Please see here for more info on Revzilla (including shipping fees) or click this link to go straight to their Speed and Strength helmets page and see the latest designs and deals.

speed-and-strength-ss1600-american-beauty-womens-crash-helmet-rear-view — SS1600 American Beauty

Safety

(more about helmet safety)

The SS1600 is both DOT Certified and ECE tested/certified (so it’s legal in Europe too).

Unfortunately, it’s not been either Snell or SHARP safety tested so we’ve no independent way to verify how well it’ll perform in an accident. However, with those two certifications, you can be happy it’ll exceed those minimum level of protection.

It’s also got a tried-and-tested double d-ring fastener to keep the helmet securely fastened to your head.

The visor system should also help contribute to keeping you safe – with its optically-correct clear visor (they all come with clear visors, despite all the photos showing tinted visors) and a useful drop down sun visor to stop you getting caught out in bright sunlight.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

Helmet noise isn’t one of the SS1600’s strong points. It’s a reasonably basic helmet and it seems like SS hasn’t really made a massive effort to keep wind and road noise to a minimum.

Which means most owners reckon it’s a noisy helmet. Which, depending on your riding, may or may not be a deal breaker for you. And, of course, stick in some decent ear plugs and your SS1600 will be just about as quiet as most helmets on the road!

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

speed-and-strength-ss1600-straight-savage-black-helmet-front-view — S&S SS1600 Straight Savage

The Speed and Strength SS1600 has the usual config of central chin vent and double forehead vent. Those forehead vents let air into the helmet but you need rear exhausts to let it out again, and there’s four exhausts on the rear of the SS1600.

So far, so regular. And even more regular is that all the input vents can be closed off using sliders with the chin vent sliders being a bit easier to find in gloves than the titchy forehead vent sliders.

Word is that the chin guard vents are much more effective than the forehead vents. They let a load of air onto the back of the visor and around the face – although apparently quite a bit of this is helped by air getting into the helmet from the bottom.

Although don’t expect the face ventilation to stop the visor fogging in cold/rainy weather because word is that it won’t. Even though the visor is sold as anti-fog, several owners said their main visor fogged up quite quickly (and so too does the sun visor).

TBH we find that manufacturer-coated anti-fog treatments rarely work very well, so SS aren’t alone. And if it’s a problem for you, we usually recommend buying a 3rd party anti-fog insert, such as a Pinlock. The bad news is that the visor on the SS1600 isn’t Pinlock-ready so can’t take one. Boo.

Moving on… while the chin vents do the job OK, there’s mixed opinions on the forehead vents with some folks saying it’s fine but others saying they can’t really feel any ventilation getting in. With the size of the holes in the helmet liner being so small, we’d say that if you live somewhere hot and great helmet ventilation’s important to you, then you probably should check out one of these helmets instead, just to make sure.

Visor

(more about visors)

Note that if you buy an SS1600 helmet, it’s supplied with a clear visor, not tinted like in all the photos.

That visor on the SS1600 is quick-release, works on a ratchet, has a visor locking slider and has an opening tab on the left. All good.

That quick release mechanism is also good – simply open up the visor pull down a lever and out pops the visor.

There has been one or two complaints about leaking visors, but they are few and far between, and overwhelmingly owners seem to be happy with the visor system on the SS1600.

Sun Visor

(more about sun visors)

speed-and-strength-ss1600-critical-mass-pink-crash-helmet-side-view — Critical Mass design

They’re also stoked about the drop down sun visor that comes with the SS1600 too.

As usual, there’s one or two comments that it could be a tad darker – but that seems to go for all sun visors as it’s a legal thing to stop them obscuring too much vision. Kinda makes sense.

Also as usual, it can fog up when it’s cold as there’s no anti-fog coating on the sun visor.

The sun visor on the SS1600 is operated by a slider to the left side of the helmet, behind the visor pivot and owners say it’s quick and easy to operate.

All in all, the sun visor seems to work well on the SS1600 with heaps of owners saying they love theirs.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

Two things to note here.

First off, the Speed and Strength SS1600 helmet is designed for rounder heads. Most helmets are designed to suit the most common head shapes which, in North America, is a medium oval (so slightly longer front to back than side to side). However, the SS1600 is designed to fit rounder heads better. So if that’s you, then all’s cool.

speed-and-strength-ss1600-so9lid-matt-black-motorcycle-helmet-side-view — Sun visor down on solid matt black SS1600

Secondly, they size a bit small. Meaning if you’re usually a large helmet size, you might well be an XL in the SS1600. So make sure you buy only from a retailer who offers free, no quibble returns (like all our recommended retailers do) just in case you order the wrong size.

Other than that, the quality and comfort of the SS1600 is fine by all accounts. The internals are fully removable and washable and made of a material that SS calls Cool-core which is designed to be moisture wicking and anti-microbial.

Looks & Graphics

The SS1600 is an aggressive looking helmet and there’s a stack of aggressive and urban designs to complement it.

There’s the expected solid matt and gloss black versions of course, but all the rest of the funky bunch of designs come in a range of colour options so feel free to click through to the links to our recommended retailers below to check out a wider range (and the latest deals). We’ve included examples of the SS1600 Critical Mass, Straight Savage, Sure Shot, American Beauty and Cruise Missile graphics on the page but for even more, please click the link.

Best place to buy a Speed and Strength crash helmet?

To grab a Speed and Strength lid (and be mega-unique in the process!) you'll have to buy from one of our US recommended retailers because there isn't a UK supplier. Revzilla is based in Philadelphia and offers outstanding service (at the time of writing 9.81/10 on Reseller Ratings) though expect shipping to be $40+.

Please click below to drop onto their S&S helmets 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). Click here for more info on our recommended retailers.

S&S SS1600 Video

Here’s a 10m video on the SS1600 from Sportbike Track Gear.

Other stuff – weight, chin curtain, warranty

Weight shouldn’t be an issue with the SS1600. It’s a smidge over the average weight of a typical full face helmet at 1.55kg (3.4lbs) but owners don’t seem to find that a problem.

The SS1600 comes with a removable breath guard and chin curtain, designed to keep some road noise and wind out from the bottom of the helmet. Both seem to do the job well.

Finally, the SS1600 comes with a (pretty poor) one year’s warranty. Note, many makers now offer a full 5 year warranty on their helmets so that’s not great. Click the link if you wanna see helmets that have a 5 year warranty instead.

Overall/Summary

speed-and-strength-ss1600-sure-shot-green-crash-helmet-rear-view — Sure Shot SS1600 showing rear vents

It’s probably fair to say that most folks who buy the Speed and Strength SS1600 do so because it looks so damn cool and because it’s not too expensive (and probably both). But when they get their hands on it, most owners seem to like it as a solid, usable helmet too.

Provided you’ve a rounder head shape (and take note of our fitment comments above for sizing) then the SS1600 seems to be a great all rounder helmet that most owners love. OK it’s pretty noisy, but owners really rate that drop down sun visor and find it a really comfortable helmet, once they get the fitment right.

It’s pretty no-frills in today’s market, but with those super aggressive looks and a good low price point, then for most urban bandits and highway cruisers, the SS1600 is a really great buy.

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.

Good Alternatives to the SS1600?

So, you’re in the market for a lower priced helmet with sun visor? Here’s a few of our recommended helmets to try out…

First up is the Shark Skwal. That’s around the same price as the SS1600 but has a decent SHARP 5 star safety rating. It’s got a sun visor too and should come with a Pinlock antifog insert as well which should sort out any fogging. It’s also got the bonus of having a few funky LED light strips too.

You should also probably check out the SHARP 5 star safety rated HJC IS-17. It’s very similar in overall spec and price to the SS1600 but has consistently been one of our highest rated helmets over the years.

If you’d consider a flip-front helmet, then take a look at the AGV Compact, that’s rated highly for safety, has a sun visor and is rated as comfortable and well-ventilated by owners.

Other full face helmets?

We've got lots of other ways you can find your ideal full face helmet. You can check out our Top 10 full-face crash helmets list to see our best rated helmets or head over to our Smartish Filters pages and zoom in on helmets with your 'must have' features. You can browse through all our full face crash helmet reviews as well as our safest motorcycle helmets page where you'll only find helmets that are SHARP four or five star rated - so you'll know you're wearing the best protection out there. Finally, check out our helmet gallery to find a lid that takes your fancy.