2011 Scorpion Exo 1000 E11 Helmet - Review

We last tested the Scorpion Exo 1000 helmet a couple of years ago and found it a pretty worth lid with a few minor niggles, Scorpion went back to the drawing board to fine tune their E11 model for 2011 and included a much lighter shell design to name a few things. Dan stuck one on his noggin to see what all the fuss is about

Initial Thoughts

Being labeled as 'the Geeky one' would, back at school, have entitled me to a clap round the back of the head from a bully and on the flip side have them coming to me to help them with stuff. Thankfully in the modern (read: grown up) age being labelled as 'the geeky one' now entitles me to play with all the latest gadgets and technical things I can lay my hands on, as such, I have been given Scorpions brand new top of the range technical as can be Exo 1000 Air to play with. The 'Air' stands for 'Air-tacular pump action!'

Ok the 'Air' part actually stands for 'AirFit System'

Construction

Scorpion have pushed Innovation that bit further with their latest offering and have incorporated the tried and tested 'AirFit system' once again. In Leymans terms basically the cheek pads can inflate to give you a more comfortable/personal fit and a fair amount of noise reduction as well. The AirFit system works by use of a discreet chin mounted pump, you can even comfortably pump up whilst wearing gloves, and a release valve located adjaisnet to it that lets off a certain 'Darth Vader-esq' Tssss upon pressing (shame there isnt an auto inflate option, but trying to do a breathing in and out Vader would just end up in me breaking the valves on day one)

The word 'discreet' makes referance to the fact that the pump and relase are small but also cleverly hidden by a removeable chin skirt, further adding to wind/sound reduction

The E11 model Scorpion Exo 1000 has 5 adjustable air vents, two on the top, slightly reminiscent of the blue rangers helmet in the Power Rangers Movie (read: triceratops) (re-read: Im really showing my age/sadness/geek factor here) one above and one below the visor and a 5th hiding under the aero-tuned rear spoiler which coincidently also reduces lift. The internal padding is soft and forgiving with a KwickWick liner to make sure any hot days in the summer dont lead to you putting on a cold damp lid the next day.

The Visor has Pinlock MaxVision ready inserts which is a very welcome addition to anyone who commutes during the winter months, even in the summertime helmet fogging can be a real issue but thanks to the MaxVision inserts you can see 100% of the road. additionally there is a little lever on the side which is a Visor Locking System so you can either have your Visor locked closed, open slightly (which wont close no matter your speed) or old fashioned unlocked for easy opening and closing.

Having convinced my better half that I simply 'had to purchase an additional 'tinted' visor to test the SpeedShift system' I found myself the proud owner of a very nice tinted visor and the ability to actually test.

The 'SpeedShift' system is a quick change Visor system that, with a simple twist of the two locks detatches and reattatches a Visor in <10 seconds. My first attempt went embarrasingly wrong and took about 30 seconds to figure but after that its been a fast and simple system to work with, I heartily recommend for the summer a tinted visor but for those who dont do the 'Visor changing thing' Scorpion have given the EXO 1000 Air a trump card in the form of 'SpeedView'.

'SpeedView' is Scorpions name for a retractable internal sun visor that sits just above your nose and offers sunglasses free light protection. I found during my Review time that the SpeedView was perfect for my times with a clear visor and naturally was left alone with a full visor solution. To save money on buying an additional visor the SpeedView system works a treat and the lever to flick the visor up and down is smooth and strong. One minus point for the 'SpeedView' system for me was that the visor didnt fit as far down as other helmets I've had have done (Cabergs, Nolan), so when you want to cruise around with your main visor up and the internal sun visor down the wind was catching the lowerportions of my eye lids and causing a gratuitous build up of manly eye fluids.

The Helmet is a tough tri-composite fibre shell (TCT™ Matrix Shell) making it Strong, light (at 1500g +/- 50g) actual weight was 1600g @XL size so very good indeed - and very Quiet. It's also Sharp and ACU Gold approved making it a fantastic Lid and also contains an EPS-lined chin bar for aditionnal protection should you find yourself making an unfortunate contact with something. Chin Strap wise its over the the trusty Double D Ring fastenings making it further customiseable/comfortable, this is the first Double D lid Ive had for years, Ive been more of ratchet kind of guy since first picking up my Nolan and moving on from there. I must say its a refreshing change and both systems are easy as can be for someone to do up.

Having never trialled the previous model I can only draw on my experience of this one, compared to most of my other helmets in XL or XXL size this thing is considerably lighter and you notice it when on the move, neck muscles feel less under strain all the time and lifesaver checks easy to do.

* AIRFIT CONCEPT:HelmetPump™ permits a rider to personalize helmet fit through air adjustable cheek pads with additional noise reduction. Only by SCORPION EXO!

* TCT™ Matrix Shell: Quiet, aero-tuned design for wind-tunnel tested comfort. EPS-lined chin bar for additional protection.

* SpeedView™ an internal retractable sun visor that eases eye strain instantly in varying light conditions without changing face visors.

* SpeedShift™ quick-change retractable visor system (patent pending): Easy, secure tool-less visor changes in ten seconds or less. No adjustment needed: the visor  etracts while closing.

* Visor lock system: a 3 position lever allows to lock the visor in closed or slightly opened position.

* KwikWick™ moisture-wicking helmet liner and cheek pads: Breathable, easily removable and washable.

* Ventilation system: Adjustable, indexed front and rear vents with aero-tuned rear spoiler reduce lift, create vacuum and maximize airflow through helmet.

* Breath-deflector: Enhanced fog-free performance.

* Chin-cover: contributes to noise reduction.

* Closing chinstrap by double D ring.

* ECE 22-05 Certified.