A Review of the Scorpion EXO 1000 Helmet

On Friday I bought a new Scorpion EXO-1000 helmet, and now I have done some actual riding with it. 

This helmet is built like a tank. The outer shell is a bit larger than the typical helmet. For comparison, I can't fit this helmet in the rear position under the seat of a Burgman 400.  All my other helmets will fit.  It weighs 1820 g. My HJC Symax flip-up helmet was only 1667 g., and that was probably my heaviest helmet until the EXO 1000. The new helmet Mary Ann bought, the HJC IS-16 also with a flip down sun shield, was 1653 g. I have done several rides now to Port Dover (90 minutes), and the extra weight does not bother me. It's just an extra 150 g. or so. Much of that increase in weight is due to the Snell certification, which seems to usually add about 100 g.

Another interesting feature is the air pump system. There is a warning label on the underside of the chin bar to emergency personnel, to deflate the cheek pads before attempting to remove the helmet. And even if they do, this helmet is a bugger to get off. It may loosen with time, but right now, if some medical emergency people have to remove this helmet, I am done for. Of course, there is a technological solution for this problem too. Just buy a "Shock Doctor Helmet Removal System" and install it in the helmet. Once you install this accessory in your helmet, the Emergency Team will be able to squeeze an air bulb to pump the helmet safely off your head without aggravating your spinal injuries. I suppose one day this may be mandatory, and 10 million helmets might have to be recalled to retrofit the system.

Now for the internal sun visor which I tested yesterday in brilliant sunshine, with white snow and wet roads. For a while I also was riding directly into the sun, and the shield is not dark enough for that. No shield ever is. One solution for the setting sun is to have a black tape strip across the top of the face shield, and then you can tip your head to just block the sun. To handle the reflection off the wet road, polarized glasses work well. The helmet's built in flip down sun shield is a light smoke colour. A dark smoke colour shield is available on Amazon.com for under $30.

The one feature that I didn't like the look of before the ride, was the lever that props up the face shield a few millimeters to allow some air to circulate. It also functions as the face shield lock, which I did not use or need yet. But when I was actually riding, the prop worked perfectly to open the shield just a crack. While riding, I can easily find the lever, even with my winter gloves. You can pop it back down easily by pressing the shield.  This works to clear fog on the shield while moving.  Yes, the faceshield has anti-fog coating, but it only works down to about 7 degrees C when there is also rain and high humidity. 

The anti fog coating works reasonably well. It's the first time I have been able to fog up my eye glasses before the face shield. 

On my Vulcan with the handlebar windshield, the flip down sun visor all by itself was enough wind protection with the face shield up for short runs at lower speeds.

I don't know if it may be too hot for some people (we don't get really hot weather here), but at 10c the top vents actually make the top of my head cold. The rest of the vents don't seem to make any difference when sitting behind the handlebar windshield.

This is a heavy, large helmet with lots of features and a Snell safety rating. I like the look of it, it has a modern shape, with a compound curved face shield (horizontal and vertical) and tasteful graphics. So far, the extra weight seems to be worth carrying.

Picture: Me, wearing the Scorpion helmet, and the Vulcan in Paris, Ontario. Tuesday March 9, 2010.