LS2 MX701 Explorer Adventure Helmet: modern, great value & versatile.

LS2 are a funny bunch. Historically, they’re mostly known for pushing out a large number of lower priced helmets. But nowadays, their helmets are really upping the ante and they’re creating some well designed, high spec lids that are – in theory at least – giving the big boys a run for their money.

And leaving me, for one, a little confused about who they are and what they offer.

And that’s from someone who’s daily helmet is a carbon LS2 Arrow (which I’m finding to be a seriously fantastic helmet btw!)

The LS2 MX701 Explorer is a great case in point. It comes in two flavours – an HPFC shelled version (that’s fibreglass to you and me) and a carbon fibre version. They both look great and they’re both covered in all the goodies you’ll be looking for in an adventure helmet.

So, it does leave me wondering if there’s much point in paying any more for a helmet from one of the big brands when you can get so much value for money buying an LS2.

So, let’s take a look over the Explorer. If you’re in the market for a new dual-sport/adventure helmet, then here’s what the LS2 Explorer offers – as ever including the views and thoughts of actual owners – and check out our suggested alternatives at the bottom for some fully reviewed and fantastic alternatives.

• Dual sport adventure helmet
• Fibreglass and Carbon versions
• EQRS
• 3 shell sizes
• Long oval fitment
• Micrometric fastener
• Pinlock-ready visor
• Integral sun visor
• Optically correct visor
• Sizes XS-XXL
• Expect to pay
  • Fibreglass: £200 (225€)
  • Carbon: £300-£320 (340€-360€)

Best places to buy an LS2 Explorer?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Explorer helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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

LS2 say the Explorer has been created from the ground up to be the best adventure helmet around. And while it’s probably not, it’s a great value, modern looking lid that certainly delivers a lot of features the the money.

If you’re doing a bit of adventuring, you might find it’s not the coolest helmet (though it’s OK for less demanding on-road work).

And if you do intend to do most of your miles on the road, you can rip off the peak to help with the aero if you like (slapping it back on if you hit the dirt).

That visor’s nice and wide and comes with a Pinlock in the box to help keep vision clear. It’s also optically correct and backed up with a drop down sun visor which all works well.

Every adventure helmet should have an EQRS liner these days – like the Explorer – and it needs to be comfortable and light. Check the comfort once you buy it as there can be niggles (see comfort section below), but it’s a pretty light helmet whether you buy the carbon fibre or fibreglass version so you should be OK there.

Yes, there’s a question mark about how great the protection will be when push comes to shove – though it is ECE 22.05 tested. But like many LS2 helmets, there’s certainly no question mark over the value the Explorer offers. It’s rare to find a carbon fibre helmet at such a low price point – and especially one that ticks all the adventure helmet boxes.

Most owners love the Explorer for good value for money and for its modern design. Many (not all) find the build quality excellent too – plus it has all the features most of us are looking for in an ADV helmet.

Overall then, if you’re in the market for a new dual-sport helmet and like getting value for your money, the LS2 Explorer might be worth a try. It’s probably not the best adventure helmet out there, but it’s a good helmet. See the bottom of the page for some alternatives – or check out all our Adventure helmet reviews.

Shell & Safety

 (more about helmet safety)

Both the fibreglass and carbon versions of the Explorer are made in 3 shell sizes to optimise fit and looks – and safety.

The carbon version is slightly lighter – it’s been weighed to around 1.5Kg in size M – whereas the fibreglass version will be around 100g heavier. That’s not a lot of difference but in terms of safety, every gramme of weight saving helps as it’ll reduce the amount of interia generated by the weight of the helmet during an impact.

It’ll also mean it’s that little bit more comfortable and easy to live with day to day.

Other safety features include an emergency quick release liner (see EQRS), Pinlock Max Vision insert included to keep your visor fog-free, metal micrometric fastner which are really easy to use and good solid fasteners, and a visor with very good peripheral vision.

There’s also an integral drop down sun visor for when the sun’s in danger of obscuring your vision.

They’re all great safety features to have… but what about the helmet shell itself?

Well, all Explorers are ECE 22.05 certified (DOT if you buy one in the US) so should give a decent amount of impact protection, but beyond that it’s hard to say.

It does have a multi-density EPS to help it absorb different levels of energy – which is good to see. But looking back at SHARP helmet test data, LS2 helmets have scored just over 3 stars for safety over the years (out of a maximum 5) though that’s mostly for their cheaper polycarbonate helmets.

There haven’t been any carbon LS2 helmets tested so far, but there have been two fibreglass helmets tested to date and both have scored 4 stars. Whether that’s indicative of how well the LS2 explorer scores if it was to be tested remains to be seen.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

Despite having a ton of vent holes in the shell and that large peak up top, it seems that LS2’s done an excellent job sound deadening the Explorer.

Yes, we found a few owners who said it was a loud helmet (as you always do with something as subjective as helmet noise), but most owners reckon it’s a really quiet helmet – probably one of the quietest adventure helmets out there.

So, if you need an ADV helmet but want a quiet ride, the LS2 Explorer’s definitely worth checking out (and maybe check out our quietest helmets page too).

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

The Explorer has a wide range of vents that should give it excellent ventilation. It’s what LS2 calls their dynamic flow-through ventilation which basically means a load of vents, all open/closeable and with a bit of a sucking action going on around the exhaust vents at the back of the helmet (from the aero) to help increase airflow.

The Explorer has a nice, large motocross-stylee chin bar vent, a pair of crown vents, pair of side vents and a smattering of large and small rear exhausts. And all are closeable for when things get cold or wet.

Those top and side vents take air through the helmet and circulate it around the head through channels in the polystyrene liner – pushing it out of the rear exhausts aftewards.

The system’s design checks all the boxes but there’s mixed reviews on how well it actually performs. Some folks riding in very hot places reckon it’s great – others say it could do with more cooling around the head. Overall, it’s probably around average for ventilation – so that means if your road riding it’ll probably be mostly OK, but if you’re getting a workout doing a bit of proper adventuring, then you might find it’sa bit on the warm side.

Visor

(more about visors)

The visor system on the Explorer ticks all the boxes too.

It’s a quick release visor (visors on dual sports helmets aren’t always quick change) and it’s nice and wide meaning better all round vision. LS2 say it’s made to be optically correct too and, like all polycarb visors, it’ll give excellent UV protection – somewhere over 95% at least.

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A couple of useful links…

– All our Adventure Helmet reviews –
– Visit our Smart Filters to find the right lid –

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One piece of great news is that, for a very competitively priced helmet, it also comes with a Pinlock Max Vision anti-fog insert in the box which should mean you never have to suffer from a badly fogging visor. Hurrah.

Finally, the visor has a lock on it. Locks can be a little fiddly to unlock and the visor lock on the Explorer is a little on the small size. However, it stands proud of the shell and we didn’t find anyone complaining about it, so it seems like this one’s OK.

In fact we didn’t really find any negative comments about the visor system – just positives. The Pinlock works well in all but the most extreme conditions and that wide field of view is universally praised. OK it could offer a better downwards view of the clocks but that’s an issue with most ADV helmets and their chunky chin bars.

Sun Visor and Peak

(more about sun visors)

There’s also a polycarb internal sun visor on the LS2 Explorer. It’s operated with a slider on the bottom edge of the shell – that’s the position favoured by most riders as it’s really easy to find and operate.

Having the slider there can limit the available space for a 3rd party intercom, though in the case of the Explorer, it’s set back far enough to not cause too many problems (*but see bluetooth section below).

The sun visor’s well liked with the only occasional negative comments being that it could drop a little lower and it’s a bit of a bugger to refit if you ever pull it out.

Like many adventure helmets, the peak can be removed to convert the helmet into a more road-focused lid. It’s also up/down adjustable by loosening the screw at the top of the helmet – which can help with aero and shielding from the sun a little (a few owners commented there’s more adjustment on the peak on the Explorer than most other adventure helmets).

Many of the most recent adventure helmets have a vented peak to help with its aero characteristics and it’s good to see LS2 following suit. Most owners reckon the peak’s aero is good though there are some who complain of vibration and noise so it seems like it’s very bike and rider dependent.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

The main thing to note about the LS2 Explorer is that it’s designed for riders with longer oval heads. So, if you’ve got a rounder or medium oval head, you may find that it presses on the sides a little.

That’s just something worth bearing in mind if you buy one (and make sure you buy from a retailer who’ll swap it out with no quibbles if it doesn’t fit right).

In fact, quite a few Explorer owners reckon that they found pressure points inside their helmets – so it’s definitely one to wear inside the house for a good while if you think it might be a bit tight – BEFORE you commit to ride in it (after which you won’t be able to return it).

Also, several owners said it tends to size a bit on the small side – so if you’re between sizes, it sounds like you should definitely go for the larger size.

The liner is hypoallergenic and fully removable and washable.

It’s also EQRS or emergency quick release, meaning there’s a pair of tabs on the bottom that are designed to be pulled and quickly release the cheek pads to help emergency services more easily remove your helmet.

Hopefully, you’ll never need it but – especially in an adventure helmet – it’s worth having there just in case.

The liner isn’t anything particularly fancy, but the word is it’s of decent quality, comfortable and wicks sweat away OK.

Both the fibreglass and carbon versions are available in fitment sizes XS-XXL.

Looks & Graphics

The LS2 Explorer very much looks the part when it comes to a modern dual-sport helmet. There’s a wide range of graphics available too – and several plains if you’re more of a purist.

If the carbon fibre version’s grabbed your interest (and why not at this price!) then you can of course find a plan ‘carbon black’ version that shows off the carbon fibre weave. But there’s also a couple of carbons that offer a lick of colour in the Frontier, Extend and Focus carbon graphic helmets.

In fibreglass, there’s just two plains – a matt black and a gloss white, along with the Camo-X and Alter graphics (in 3 colourways).

As always, to find the latest graphics and deals, please click the links below that’ll drop you right onto their LS2 Explorer helmet pages.

Best places to buy an LS2 Explorer helmet?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Explorer helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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 Explorer Video

Here’s a 4m look around the Explorer from some guy at LS2 US.

Other stuff – fasteners, bluetooth, warranty

The Explorer comes with a metal micrometric fastener. I’m a great fan of how easy micrometrics are to use, and if they’re regularly adjusted, they’re as safe as any fastener out there.

As for a bluetooth communicator – it’s designed to fit the LS2 Linkin Ride Pal, so that’s probably the one to go for if you’re looking for a more integrated solution. It also means there is space for speakers in there too if you’re wanting to fit your own headset.

Word is they’re not the deepest speaker pockets but if you have slim speakers you should be OK. We’ve heard from owners of Cardo Packtalk Bolds and Sena SMH5s who said theirs fitted fine.

The main issue with fitting your own 3rd party bluetooth to the Explorer is that the sides aren’t flat so it can be tricky to fit your controller with a sticky mount. And the sun visor slider can interfere with fitting a clamp mount too – so it can take a bit of trial and error to get it fitting right. Still, I guess that’s often the case with fitting 3rd party bluetooth kits to helmets.

Not all LS2 helmets come with a 5 year warranty, but the good news is that, in the UK at least, the Explorer does – as usual, covering manufacturing defects only.

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 LS2 Explorer?

Click the link to find all the dual sport/adventure helmets we’ve covered so far. Adventure bikes are really popular these days, which means helmet makers have been keen to get adventure helmets out there, so there’s a lot of choice.

LS2’s own Pioneer Evo is highly rated and cheap too. It’s got EQRS and a sun visor and it’s half the price of the Explorer if you don’t mind wearing a polycarb lid.

For around the same price as the Explorer, you can buy Caberg’s excellent flip-front adventure helmet, the Tourmax. It’s SHARP 5 star rated too, though it’s a bit on the lardy side (aren’t we all) and a bit noisy (like most modulars).

Towards the top of the pile is the fibreglass adventure helmet from Arai, the Tour X4. It’s a well liked helmet that has three configs, turning it from a road to an adv to a dirt helmet. It hasn’t been SHARP tested in the UK but it’s Snell certified for safety in the US.

Same goes for Shoei’s Hornet ADV – and that’s Ride magazine recommended too. It’s a fibreglass helmet that’s comfortable, well built and with a well designed peak.

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.

Best places to buy an LS2 Explorer?

Please click below to visit the LS2 Explorer helmets pages at our recommended stores (click link to find out more about each shop). 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).

Star Ratings

MCN LS2 Explorer: Quality 3/5, Value 3/5