Scorpion Exo 1000 helmet - review
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The Scorpion Exo-1000 helmet is packed full of quality and innovation and is a very good helmet as a result
Innovative lid design
Initial Thoughts
The Scorpion Exo 1000 model sent for this review was the “Spring Black Chameleon” graphic design which is mainly black, white and silver with iridescent purple butterflies. The design is very eye catching when riding and the quality of the graphics and paint is very good. I was really impressed with the overall build quality of the Exo 1000, and very excited to try the huge number of features which were immediately apparent as soon as helmet was unpacked. The attention to detail is brilliant, even the chin curtain which covers the “Air Pump” and button to deflate has directions for the emergency services to deflate the cheek pads before trying to remove the helmet which is great for rider safety.
As far as a small sized helmet goes this Scorpion model is rather snug. I have a small head in most brands and the first time I put it on I wondered if I should have gone up a size or if in fact I could get it off! The booklet which comes with the helmet does advise it may be a good idea to go a size larger in order to get the best out of the “Air Pump” system but as the lining broke in after a little wear it did loosen off a little and became a very comfy helmet.
Construction
This is Scorpions top of the range helmet and their first to come with their unique “Helmet Air Pump” system. I was quite excited about the task of finding out what this feature would add to overall comfort and safety. The air pump system consists of 2 air bladders which are situated in the cheek pads. These are inflated by pumping a button on the inside of the chin of the helmet in a similar way to the way old Reebok pump trainers inflated in the 80's. You deflate the pads by pressing a small button next to the pump.
I found with my face shape I only was able to inflate them a little when riding and they may have contributed to how little the helmet moved when travelling at high speeds or in blustery conditions, which was great but even without them pumped up I felt the helmet was snug and secure. I believe the Exo-1000 would suit most face shapes but would fit a slightly more oval face shape better as you would get better use from the “Air Pump” system. I found it a little tight round my cheeks.
The Scorpion Exo 1000 is pretty weighty compared to others I have worn, I made sure I tested it on fairly long rides and haven't had any neck ache as it seems to be well balanced and the weight was bound to be increased due to the incorporation of all the extra features.
Quality wise the liner and vents are very good, although the “KwickWick” breathable liner is not as soft as on other helmets I have worn and almost feels slightly scratchy on first wear. I did find it helped my face avoid getting too sweaty or warm when riding. It fastens with a double D fastening.
There are vents galore on the Exo1000, they feel extremely solid and its easily possible to snap them open and closed with ease with your gloves on, the Exo1000 features an intake vent at the chin and 2 exhaust vents and the only niggle I found with them is that due to the extra padding from the “Air Pump” system and the chin curtain very little air has the chance to reach your face directly from below. The chin vent however does an excellent job of keeping the visor clear.
The Exo 1000 also has a large vent at the forehead. This vent lets the most air in but also causes an audible whistling noise when fully open so can make the helmet seem quite noisy, especially when travelling over 60mph. Noise of course is subjective and I personally always wear earplugs when riding so to most this may not be an issue. There are also 2 more intake vents, one either side of the top of the head which look the business but didn't seem to function well as I was unable to feel much air from these. Finally there are also 2 exhaust vents at the back of the helmet and a rear intake/spoiler which is designed to create a vacuum and reduce lift, and I certainly didn't notice any lift.
Another neat feature of the Scorpion Exo 1000 is the internal retractable sun visor, which I think is a brilliant idea. It is moved into position with the flick of a switch on the left side of the visor. This does the job well, protecting your eyes and is easy to move into position when riding. I did find occasionally when doing over 60 the visor when retracted would wobble very slightly into view – only by a few millimetres and it may just have been this example. It was easy to sort out though just by flicking it down and up again.
Visor clarity is excellent on this helmet, and the anti fog system works extremely well so to date I have had no fog to contend with at all. The specially moulded visor has a locking system so you can lock the visor into position although this is not the easiest thing to do with your gloves on and really I didn't feel was necessary as the visor never lifted during the review even once. The visor uses the Scorpion speed shift visor release system which is a round dial at the left side of the visor. It is as advertised quick to release but not the easiest thing to replace and I shan't be removing it again in a hurry unless it actually needs replacing.
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Editor reviews
Reviewed by Kate G September 21, 2009
Last updated: February 11, 2012
Top 10 Reviewer - View all my reviews
Conclusion
This is a cracking helmet jam packed with features which unfortunately do make the helmet quite heavy if compared to others but on the whole its a well balanced comfortable lid which is breaking new ground in terms of innovation.
The ventilation system is slightly better than average but not quite as effective as I would have hoped for on a helmet so carefully thought out as this with little touches that I loved like the added sun visor.
The “Air Pump” system definately stops the helmet from moving when travelling at speed and adds to the feeling of safety and quality that this very well constructed helmet gives. One thing that is difficult to express and test on a short term review such as this is how the air pump system will come into its own when the cheek pads have given enough to make the helmet feel loose as they invariably do, being able to take up that slack and give a more personal fit could well be a godsend and may increase the lifespan of the helmet before replacement which is certainly worth consideration.
User reviews
View all user reviewsAverage user rating from: 6 user(s)
visor
i am dizapinted with the anti fog visor it not work prople stil foging maybe its english wether i do not know.do not bay it.
OK but expensive and not so good features
I have done several thousand miles on mine in a short space of time in all weathers. The first one was a warranty return due to poor QC within a few weeks.
In short, if I could turn back time, I wont have bought this helment unless it was significantly cheaper. I got it at the bike show at a discount already.
Cons:
- Noisy (very worse than my caberg flip up!)
- Heavy and big
- Sun visor is useless, I also have the darker one. Generally only useful at dawn. My 5GBP rider glasses is 10x better. My sunvisor on the Caberg at 60% cheaper is about 2x better.
- Visor locking switch keeps on locking due to wind, very annoying.
- Ventilation is ok, but my top vents have jammed again
- Air pump good idea, but the worlds smallest release button and warning sign (pretty sure in an accident a paramedic wont see it)
Pros:
- Pretty sure it is safe
- The visor doesnt fog up much
- Has a good fit
- Smells nice for a few months
Very disappointing
My old Shoei was well past its use-by date, so got this helmet in September 2009. I liked the design, the shape and the fit. The inflatable air bladders were, to me at least, a good idea and ensured it was a snug, but definitely not uncomfortable, fit at all times. I was really after a helmet with an integral sun visor and I prefer Double-D fasteners, so this helmet appeared to fit my requirements ideally.
Oh dear, what a disappointment this helmet was.
The first thing I noticed on the ride from the shop was the visor opening. The first “click” on the visor is a 2 inch wide opening resulting in the wind being blown straight into your eyes, with or without the sun visor down. In fact, with the sun visor lowered I personally felt the wind was channelled into the eyes slight more.
By itself that would not have been too much of an issue, but I like to crack the visor open a little to clear any fogging, and boy does this helmet fog-up! At the slightest hint of any moisture, both the outer visor and inner sun visor (if lowered) would fog up. When both fog up it was very difficult to see and I had to open the outer visor to clear it, but then I cannot see because the wind is directed straight into my eyes.
I tried the air vents in all possible combinations with and without a cowl covering my mouth and nose, but all to no avail. In the end I resorted to a fog free visor insert, which at least prevented the outer visor fogging up, but the sun visor would still fog.
The press-stud on one side of the chin curtain lasted about 2 days before it refused to stay snapped shut. Not too much of a problem, but given the price of the helmet I was disappointed with the quality.
The integral sun visor itself is a good idea (IMHO) and is extremely easy to open and close. The standard sun visor is however not very dark and hardly made any difference in bright sun. You can purchase darker sun visors, but I never got round to doing so (see later).
The helmet is reasonably quiet, defiantly not the worst I have had, but not quite as quiet as my old Shoei. It is also reasonably stable at speed, though some buffeting occurs as you approach higher speeds.
What really disappointed me with this helmet however was the build quality. In addition to the press-stud annoyance mentioned above, after about 5 months of use one of the visor release catches popped off whilst ridding about 30MPH. So with one side of my visor flapping open I had to stop and run to pick up the catch before someone drove over it – luckily it was early one morning and there was not much traffic about.
Maybe I had not fastened it properly when I refitted the visor after cleaning, but the fact that the whole catch detached completely from the helmet when it itself had not been removed was worrying. It has happened a couple of other times since as well.
The last straw for me was when the plastic round the bottom of the helmet started coming unglued. After 4 weeks of waiting, the local supplier had still not got the parts to repair it, so I demanded a refund.
For the money I really cannot recommend this helmet. At half the price I might have put up with some of its failings, but even then I would not expect it to fall apart after about 2,000 miles worth of use.
Scorpion EXO-1000
Coming from Shoei XR-1000 I found the Scorpion much quieter and gace a much better fit. I ride a ZX12r and found the helmet to much more stable at high speeds than any helmet I've had beforehand and very impressed. I've just fitted a Scala G4 headset kit and it works very well with low noise and find the Airfit system is a real bonus on motorway work. Only downside was condensation building up on the interior of the visor which was dissapionting but I removed the neck skirt and found this cured most of the problem. I am overall very impressed and won't be spending fortunes on so called top 'brands'as this one seems to beat the others hands down.
axo 1000
i purchased this helmet 2 months ago,the helmet is good but could be better,with being a new design i have had a few small problems but they were very good to fix them,just picked up a brand new axo1000 today so see how it goes,over all good lid for the money
