Review of the Scorpion EXO ADX1 AT950 modular adventure helmet.

The Scorpion Exo ADX-1 (same as the AT950 if you’re in the US) is Scorpion’s take on making a hyper-flexible adventure/dual sports helmet.

Which means it’s designed to pretty much suit your riding whatever type of bike you’re on and wherever you’re going.

On a road bike? Pull off the sun peak, shove on the side pods (if you want) and you look like you’re wearing a regular full face lid with a bit of a streetfighter look about it.

Going off-road? Pull off the visor, push on the peak and slap on the goggles. Off you go.

Oh, and did we mention it’s a modular helmet too? With integral drop down sun visor?

And it’s a bit of a bargain too. Nudge down the page a bit and you’ll see you can have all this  for really not very much money at all. Interested..?

• Modular dual-sports helmet
• Polycarbonate Shell
• Integral sun visor
• Removable sun peak
• Pinlock visor and insert included
• Tall, wide visor
• Micrometric fastener
• Sizes XS-XXXL
• 5 year warranty
• Prices around £180-£240

Best places to buy a Scorpion ADX-1?

Please click below to visit the Scorpion ADX-1 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)

It’s quite tricky to say how much protection the Scorpion ADX-1 will give.

Yup, it’s ECE certified in Europe (and the AT950 is DOT in the US) which is great – but then every helmet on sale is too because it’s mandatory.

Looking at recent SHARP independent test data for Scorpion helmets might give us a bit of a clearer picture.

Taking Scorpion helmets tested in the last few years only, they’re a very mixed bag of results.

The ADX1 is a polycarb helmet – and of the last four polycarbonate Scorpion helmets tested, they’ve scored one four star, two threes and a two (out of five).

In the last three years, only two flip-front helmets have been tested with one having its chin bar staying locked and closed 97% of the time, which is actually a well above average score (!), and the other – the Scorpion Exo 3000Air – scoring 90%. Which is less good.

Personally, I doubt I’d settle for a modular with a score of less than 100%, but it depends on how many other boxes a helmet ticks I guess. If I really want it, I’d possibly overlook it… a little.

Of course, it’s not possible to say from this past test data how well the Scorpion ADX-1 would do.

But, if pushed, we’d expect a middling 3 star SHARP rating and, hopefully, a 90%+ chin bar score. Hopefully they’ll prove us (pleasantly!) wrong if SHARP gets around to testing it.

Onto other safety features: there’s a nice wide/tall visor for great peripheral vision, a simple to use (and safe) micrometric fastener, plus that visor comes with a Pinlock antifog in the box (Europe only) to keep your vision clear.

And of course there’s a drop down sun visor to help visibility when the sun’s in your eyes.

The helmet’s only made in two shell sizes which isn’t totally ideal, but it does feature EPS on the inside of the chin guard which is pretty rare but a good feature for safety.

Helmet Noise

(more about helmet noise)

If you’re used to riding in modular helmets, you’ll know they’re noisier than most full face helmets.

That’s usually because there’s plenty of space around the chin bar mechanism for air to get in as well as the more complex helmet shapes of modular helmets which can create wind noise.

Surprisingly, the ADX-1 with all its peaks, grooves and external sliders turns out to be a pretty quiet modular. At least, that’s what lots of owners reckon.

However, don’t buy one expecting it to be mega quiet because there’s so many factors involved in perceiving a helmet to be quiet (read here).

But if you stick in a decent pair of ear plugs, hopefully you’ll find it a reasonably quiet helmet too.

Ventilation

(more about helmet ventilation)

Despite the ADX-1 only having a single chin vent and single crown vent, ADX owners reckon the ventilation is very good. Not amazing – especially if you live somewhere mega hot or you’re doing lots of strenuous off-roading – but fine for most of us who’ll be mostly road riding with a little sojourn off road from time to time.

That single chin vent has a large three-way slider. Fully up is closed; one down vents the back of the visor, and fully down directs air to the face.

The top slider is open or closed and that’ll take air through the helmet shell and into the generous airways cut into the inner polystyrene lining.

As I said, most owners reckon the venting’s great. They also reckon the chin curtain that comes in the box is great at stopping a draft coming up from below – or you can keep it off if you want the extra venting.

And of course, if you’re still too hot when riding, you’ve always got the option of pushing the visor up and riding with the sun visor down. Or sticking goggles in.

Don’t be tempted to ride with the chin bar up though. It’s not P/J dual homologated in Europe and Scorpion don’t recommend it either.

Visor

(more about visors)

The visor system on the ADX-1 is a great piece of work.

It’s wide for excellent peripheral vision and it’s deep for when you’re stood on the pegs and need a good view down.

It works on a ratchet and has a ‘cracked open’ position for riding and getting more air at the same time – which most riders like.

A couple of owners have said that you tend to ride with the visor either closed, cracked or fully open because with the visor anywhere in between, the bottom of the visor gets in your line of sight. But then that goes for quite a few helmets…

Word is that the visor is optically very true and, in the Europe at least, it’s Pinlock ready and there’s a Pinlock anti-fog insert included in the box. That’s a great addition and, for riding in Norther Europe especially, it’s a must to keep things clear.

Outside of Europe, chances are you’ve got Scorpion’s Everclear antifog treatment on the visor as well as both sides of the sun visor (you’ll find Everclear on both sides of the sun visor in Europe too).

The visor isn’t quick-release because it’s shares its pivot with the peak – which is no biggie really because you’ve got a drop down sun visor in there so no need to keep swapping visors out if it gets sunny.

Oh, and note, despite all the pictures showing a dark tinted visor, buy one and it’ll come with a clear visor.

Sun Visor

(more about sun visors)

That sun visor is actuated by a small slider behind the left hand visor pivot. A quick short-travel slide and down it drops.

Don’t expect it to be massively tinted because by law they’re not allowed to cut out too much light. But they’re enough to stop you getting dazzled and head-butting something. In fact lots of ADX-1 riders said how useful they find it.

Another thing to note though – if you’ve a generously proportioned nose (like me!) you might find the sun visor drops onto it as it’s quite close to the face. A couple of owners moaned about that.

One good thing about the sun visor is that it’s double-coated (front and back) with Everclear, which is an antifog technology, so that should help with demisting. It also gives you a double helping of UV protection – polycarbonate visors give 95%+ UV protection anyway (can be much more depending on type of polycarb) but doubling that with the sun visor can’t hurt, right?

Goggles and Peak

The ADX-1 is designed to take a pair of goggles. Whip off the visor – you’ll have to take off the peak first – and put on some goggles. Or you can put them on with the main visor still in place though you can’t close the visor if you do – unlike some adventure helmets.

The rear shape of the shell incorporates a moulding that’s designed to accommodate your goggle strap so it should stay nicely in place too. All good on the goggles.

That sun peak is fixed in place so it’s not adjustable. It can be quickly removed with just a few turns on the screws on either side, though you will need a screwdriver (or key/coin will do) to undo it.

If you do whip it off to convert the helmet into a street helmet, there are a couple of Arai-style side pods in the box to cover up the visor’s ratchet mechanism.

Loads of owners said they find the peak really useful for adding extra protection against the sun. And its aero qualities are pretty good, though a few said it can catch the wind and/or vibrate a bit at times, although it’s nothing too bad and very much speed/bike/fairing dependent.

Chin Guard

(more about chin guards)

The main concern with a modular helmet’s chin guard is whether it’ll stay put and protect you in an accident or not. Some maker’s modulars have a history of doing exactly not that.

The only real data we’ve got to go on is SHARP test data where they record the percentage of times a helmet’s chin guard stays locked during their testing; so that can give us a guide.

Scorpion has an decent reputation for making safe chin guards. Of their 3 most recently tested modulars, the old Scorpion 900 Air scored 83%, but the more recently tested Scorpion Exo 3000 Air scored 97% and the Exo 920 90% – though this helmet only scored 2 stars overall.

The chin guard on the ADX-1 has an EPS lining, which is rare to find and great for safety/protection – and hopefully its locking mechanism will prove a good one.

The Scorpion ADX1 hasn’t been dual homologated so it’s not been designed to be used while the chin bar is raised. Plus Scorpion advises against it so definitely best not to ride with the guard up.

Comfort and Sizing

(more about comfort and sizing)

Inside the Scorpion ADX1 you’ll find their KwikWick2 comfort liner.

That’s a fully removable and washable interior that’s antimicrobial as well as designed to wick sweat away from the head. It’s also nice and soft – aaah.

And word is it seems to do the job nicely. Sorta…

The ADX-1 suits a medium oval head shape. That’s the shape of most of our heads in the West – though you might want to click this link to find more suitable helmets if your head’s a longer oval shape.

However, many owners found the sizing a bit small, so if you’re usually a size large, you might want to try an XL with the ADX.

And if you do end up getting the wrong size, don’t return it straight away because Scorpion does offer different size cheek pads to allow you to tailor the fit – and that might do the trick.

Because there were quite a few folks saying they initially found their ADX’s gave them pressure points, it’s definitely worth giving it a thorough try in the house before you venture out.

Remember, you’ve gotta do that without removing the stickers/tags and before you decide to keep or return it otherwise retailers won’t accept it as a return.

Just as a note, all our recommended retailers accept your returns/exchanges without a quibble (just sayin!) but still, you’ve gotta keep on those tags.

Looks & Graphics

Scorpion has managed to pull off a neat trick with the ADX-1. Not only does it look like… well pretty much every other dual sports helmet. But pull off the peak and it does a decent impression of an aggressive full face with a nod towards a streetfighter helmet.

Most of them are available in suitably dark and moody graphics too – plain gloss and matt blacks supplemented by the classy Duals and the urban Battleflage if you fancy looking like someone out of Halo.

There’s also black and white versions of the horizon, a couple of Neocons and Anima’s with their Hi Viz stripes.

For the latest designs that’ve been rolled out since we wrote this review, please click the links below to our recommended stores. They’ll all look after you because we only recommend retailers with great online reviews and good, customer-friendly trading terms. Read here for more details.

Best places to buy a Scorpion ADX-1 helmet?

Please click below to visit the Scorpion ADX-1 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).

Scorpion ADX-1 Video

Here’s a mega 19m ride-along vlog review from some dude called Dean on his Yamaha XVS (thanks Dean!).

Other stuff – audio, weight, glasses, build quality, warranty

The Scorpion ADX-1 has been designed to work well with bluetooth communicators. There’s some large speaker pockets in there and plenty of space to hold the bluetooth unit on the side. Because it’s a modular, you’ll probably need a boom mic of course, but Scala G9 and Packtalk owners said their sets fitted without a problem.

The ADX is a polycarbonate adventure helmet which means it’s going to be heavier than normal plus it’s got all the extra bits and pieces you need to make a modular dual sport helmet like that peak and chin guard mechanism.

Having said that, it weighs around 1.8Kg (4lbs) which is actually not too bad for a polycarb adventure helmet. In fact several owners said it feels pretty light on the move.

Handily, there’s a glasses groove inside the ADX – what Scorpion calls KwikFit. And a couple of owners said they can even put their ADXs on without removing their glasses, no problem.

Onto build quality. OK, the ADX1 is a lower priced helmet so you’ve gotta take that into consideration. But owners say the build quality is really good with fit and finish being of high quality and things like air seals working really well.

There were problems with the helmet shell colours fading on some helmets, but happily those we found who reported that problem (not too many) also said Scorpion replaced the helmets quickly under warranty so you can’t say fairer than that.

That warranty is actually a class-leading 5 year warranty, and with Scorpion honouring such a long warranty, you should be able to buy with confidence.

Overall/Summary

The Scorpion ADX-1 is a properly versatile helmet. OK, most owners are going to use it on the road rather than true adventuring off road. But that’s fine because it’ll work just as well as a cool looking street helmet as it will splashing up green lanes.

If you’re after the best, proven, protection out there, then you might want to look elsewhere such as the 5 star rated Caberg Tourmax or the Snell certified Arai Tour X4 mentioned below. That’s simply because the ADX1 hasn’t been independently tested over and above ECE testing – which isn’t Scorpion’s fault.

But if you’re after a flexible helmet that offers great value for money, is all day comfortable, comes with a Pinlock visor (and insert) and has most of the bells and whistles you could possibly want from an adventure helmet, then the Scorpion ADX-1 is well worth a look.

Just make sure you can return/swap it in case the internal shape doesn’t fit (see comfort section above).

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 ADX-1?

If you’re after a proper ‘do everything’ helmet you might be surprised to find out there’s a few other helmets that do a similar job to the ADX1.

There’s one of our perma-favourites, the Caberg Tourmax. That’s a modular dual-sport and it’s been tested by SHARP and awarded a maximum 5 star rating – though its chin bar scored 87%. It costs about the same as the Scorpion, has a sun visor and Pinlock too.

You should probably check out the Schuberth E1 too because that’s a modular adventure lid as well – though this one’s fibreglass and a ton more expensive. It’s pretty quiet and has an adjustable peak which is useful.

Back down towards lower budgets, there’s the Bell MX9 Adventure. It’s polycarbonate, really comfortable, comes with a 5 year warranty and you can add goggles and close the visor on this one. It’s not a modular though.

Finally, another more expensive option – this time from Arai. The Arai Tour X4 isn’t a modular either but it is a well rated and versatile adventure helmet. Snell certified in the US, it’s another helmet you can remove the (adjustable) peak from to transform it into a road helmet. Plus you’ll get that legendary Arai build quality.

Best places to buy a Scorpion ADX-1?

Please click below to visit the Scorpion ADX-1 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 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.

Star Ratings