Scorpion Exo 410 Air Review

Scorpion Exo 410 Air – the perfect budget crash helmet?

The new Scorpion Exo 410 Air is a keenly-priced polycarbonate helmet that’s all about good performance without many bells and whistles. It aims to do the basics well without the fluff of fancy composite materials or drop down sun visors that many of its competitors seem intent on cramming in to their latest releases. But if it’s doing without the fancy stuff, it’s got to excel in the basics to make it worth buying.

Overall/Summary

The Exo 410 Air largely delivers on its promise. It scores a hefty 4/5 stars in the SHARP safety test and backs that up with decent build quality, some quality internals that make it a good fit and comfortable place to shove your head – as well as some of the best ventilation around.

It’s let down only slightly by the lack of noise suppression, which may be the result of such effective vents letting in more than just air. Overall, well worth a look and as long as you ensure it fits well, the Scorpion Exo-410 Air should be a reliable and safe buy. Comes with a 3 year guarantee too.

  • SHARP 4 star safety rating (out of 5)
  • 1.55Kg (about average weight)
  • Polycarbonate shell
  • Great ventilation
  • Comfortable – with air pump system
  • Not so great for noise suppression
  • Quick-release, optically-correct visor
  • Prices typically range from £100-£130

Note: the Scorpion EXO-410 Air has now been discontinued and is no longer available. Please visit our Scorpion Helmet Review Pages to find an alternative, or maybe check out our Top 10 Helmets lists.

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Scorpion Exo 410 Air Slicer in red

Safety and construction

The Scorpion Exo 410 Air is a polycarbonate-shelled full face helmet. It scored a creditable 4 stars (out of 5) in the SHARP crash helmet safety test, which is a very solid performance and should mean the helmet will protect you in all but the most extreme circumstances.

The Exo 410 Air is manufactured in two shell sizes – with sizes XS-M being covered by the smaller shell size and sizes L-XXL using the larger shell.  The fewer shell sizes used, the more chance you have  of the helmet looking either too large or small on your head (especially if you’re at one extreme of the fitment range).

There’s also an argument the more shell sizes produced, the more likely you are to have a helmet that has the optimal amount of shock-absorbing expanded polystyrene to crash helmet shell size – and that should make for a safer helmet. Given the Exo 410 Air is only made in two shell sizes (many helmets are made in three or even four shell sizes) this could potentially compromise safety.

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Rad Bleu colour scheme

One big tick in the Exo 410’s safety box is that there’s also EPS (expanded polystyrene) shock absorbing lining on the inside of the chin bar – which is pretty rare and something that more helmet manufacturers should consider. In an accident, chin bars can flex and having something to absorb the shock there is important too so good attention to detail there Scorpion!

There’s also Scorpion’s built-in inflatable cheek pads which should keep the helmet fitting snugger and reduce the likelihood of helmet rotation during an accident. See below for more information.

Sizing

The Scorpion Exo 410 Air is available in sizes XS to XXL and by all accounts, sizing is very accurate. Like the rest of the Scorpion Air range, it also has Scorpions own inflatable cheek guards that you can inflate to improve fitting if you find it’s a bit loose. It can be effective in tightening up the fitting and stopping any helmet wobble – though not many owners report being regular users.

Helmet Noise

As you’ll see below, one of the Exo 410 Air’s best features is it’s ventilation. However that comes at a cost. It’s a moderately noisy helmet – arguably because it has such great ventilation means that its noise insulating properties are compromised. It’s OK to use if you use ear plugs – which most of us do. But it is a little noisier than average.

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Rear view of the Air Altus showing exhaust vents

Ventilation

This is one of the Scorpion Exo 410s strong points. It has a chin vent and double forehead vents and owners reckon both are very easy to use. They’re also unanimous in saying all vents let in a vast amount of air, particularly from the forehead vents, taking air over the head and out of the rear exhaust vents. These are probably aided by the wind-tunnel developed aerodynamics which pushes air towards the intakes and helps pull the air out of the rear.

To see other helmets with excellent ventilation, see our helmets with great ventilation section.

Visor

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Scorpion Exo 410 Air quick release mechanism

The visor that’s shipped with the Exo 410 is optically correct and is secured by Scorpions’ own quick release visor system – called the Ellip Tech system. It’s very similar to Shoeis quick release system in that you pull a tab down to release the visor at each side. Scorpion say it takes about 10 seconds to release the visor – which seems about right. Owners like it and say it’s a step up from Scorpions’ last system which suffered from teething problems.

The ratchet on the visor is positive to use with the only niggle being that the ‘cracked open’ setting is too large – it keeps the visor open about an inch whereas most of us like it to be about a centimetre to keep the wind out and the inside of the visor fog free.

On that note, the visor comes with Scorpion’s EverClear no-fog visor which owners think works pretty well except in the most demanding circumstances where it’s really cold/wet or where you’re stationery with no air flow.

Comfort

Inside view showing micrometric strap
Inside view showing micrometric strap

The Exo 410 Air’s interior is removable and washable and made from a sweat-wicking material. Users say it’s very comfortable and there’s no reports of any problems with the interiors – as long as the fitment’s correct in the first place. The interior has also been designed specifically with glasses wearers in mind so should accommodate most glasses’ stems without digging into the side of the head.

What’s particularly novel about the 410 Air is that there’s a small rubber pump built into the inside of the chin guard. Pressing this bulb inflates panels in the cheek pads which allows you to adjust the fitment of the cheek pads to make sure the helmet’s secure and doesn’t move around on your head. This makes the helmet fit just as snugly as you like, and it’ll also help with safety as a good fitting helmet will reduce the possibility of the helmet rotating during an accident.

Looks & Graphics

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Exo 410 Air Orchid design

You’ll find the current range of helmet graphics on this page (those available at the time of reviewing) but please click the links below to see the latest graphics available at our recommended partner retailers.

Like most helmets, the Exo 410 Air is available in gloss white/black and matt black. But they also produce a range of sporty graphics as well as a couple of way out designs for folks wanting to project a more, well, mental image! The Hell Hound (see below) is covered in snarling cartoon dogs and the Underworld is covered in subtle skull graphics – if 50 skulls painted on a helmet can be described as subtle! There’s also the Orchid (right) which is probably aimed at the ladies and the Rad which looks like it’s covered in snake skin – albeit electric pink, blue or green snake skin.

Sporty graphics are the Sprinter, Slicer and Altus. We’ve done our best to cover the page in a sample of each for you to check out.

Video

Here’s a video showing how the ‘Air’ part of the Exo 410 Air works (no sound).

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Moody matt black Scorpion Exo Air 410

Other stuff – fasteners, communicators, glasses, buffeting

The Scorpion Exo 410 Air comes with a micrometric fastener as standard (easy to fasten and even quicker to release) – though may be a problem if you’re planning to go onto the track where you’ll need a double d ring fastener. Having said that, some retailers are selling the Ex0 410 Air with an ACU gold sticker on the back so might be worth checking with the retailer before buying if that’s important to you.

The few owners who have fitted communicators to the Exo 410 say there’s plenty of room to fit it with generous spaces for speakers.

A final point is that, probably because of its wind tunnel testing and design, the Exo 410 is particularly good for buffeting when on the move. Several owners reckon that its noticeably easier to look over the shoulder or do life-savers in the Exo with little wind-resistance or wobbling because of air flow. That’s great to see in a helmet with such a low price point as it’s usually associated with pricer helmets like Schuberth.

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.

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Crazy 410 Air Hell Hound paint. Click to enlarge.

Alternatives

The MT Revenge is well worth a look. It’s a SHARP 5 star rated helmet that’s slightly lighter than the Scorpion 410 and slightly cheaper too. HJC’s FG-15 is another 4 star helmet with excellent ventilation, is Pinlock-ready and is great value at a lower price point than the Scorpion. Finally, if you want a budget lid from one of the better known manufacturers, you might want to try the K3 SV from AGV. It’s SHARP 4 star rated like the 410 Air, comes with a Pinlock antifog insert, and has a built-in drop down sun visor. It’s slightly more expensive than the Scorpion though.

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.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Safety
Comfort
Noise
Features
Value
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scorpion-exo-410-air-reviewFor the price the Scorpion Exo 410 Air is hard to beat. SHARP 4/5 safety rating, great for comfort, ventilation and optically correct visor. It’s a bit noisy but otherwise it’s a great performer at a really excellent price. Highly recommended.

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