Summary: Rather anti-climatic after the long wait and
buildup, the Scorpion EXO-1000 is built like a tank and loaded with
features, but more isn't necessarily better.
Finally! After all this time, the EXO-1000 has
arrived.
webBikeWorld had the world's first photographs and product
information on this helmet, which we posted on February 17, 2007, live from
the Dealer Powersports Expo in Indianapolis (see our original report).
We tried to get a helmet for a review several months ago, but production
issues delayed the formal release of the EXO-1000 until late summer in North
America -- not the best time to release a brand-new helmet to the market.
We were finally able to purchase an EXO-1000 from one of the
first production runs released to dealers, and I've been riding with it over the
past couple of months. I think the extended delay from the original
announcement to the touch-and-feel stage sort of threw a chill on the
urgency of the review, thus the delay in bringing you this report.
The EXO-1000 was probably the most talked-about and most
anticipated helmet of 2007, mostly due to the buzz surrounding the "HelmetPump"
inflatable cheek pads. This generated a lot of interest and, as
sometimes happens, this very unique feature developed a "must have"
mentality, without much thought to its functionality. It sounded so
cool and interesting that everyone wanted it. So was all the fuss
really worth it? Let's see...
Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality The quality of the Scorpion EXO-1000, at least based on our example, is
superb, with one exception in the way the visor fits (see the Visor narrative below). The
fittings, the paint, liner and everything else is very nicely done.
The vents are especially praiseworthy, at least in the way they feel, if not
their function.
Flimsy and cheap-feeling plastic vents seem to be the norm
even on the most expensive helmets, but Scorpion has set a welcome new
benchmark that other helmet manufacturers will have to match. The
vents open and close like fine switchgear, which adds to the overall feeling
of solidity in the EXO-1000.
The paint quality, the thick clear coat, the liner and
everything else on the helmet also is of very high quality.
The problem, as we'll see in a minute, is that the helmet is almost
over-built; just about every feature that can be imagined has been added,
which may be responsible for making this helmet around 400 grams or so (nearly one pound) heavier
than it should be.
It sort of reminds me of an old Mercedes-Benz: overbuilt and
loaded with features but heavy and a bit plodding.
Score: We give the EXO-1000 an "Excellent"
rating for paint and overall quality; it would have received an
"Outstanding" except for the visor problem, which may be a quirk of our
example. But otherwise, I'm not sure it gets much better than this in
2007. See
the ratings descriptions in the summary table at the end of this page.
Helmet Fit and Comfort and Internal Shape
We think Scorpion's goal was probably to create a
neutral fit with the EXO-1000; that is, a helmet that
would fit the majority of head shapes.
But I'd say that the helmet is very slightly biased towards
the "long oval" shape. Burn says that it fits him just fine, but I
find that the upper part of the helmet feels like a tight round band, while
the sides feel slightly too narrow for my round skull.
For more information on the importance of internal
shapes and choosing and
fitting a motorcycle helmet, please see the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page.
The band that feels like it goes around the top of the liner
not only fits tight, it
makes my head sweat, which is unusual. And the snug sides make it
difficult to wear full-temple eyeglasses; I have to use
my short temple
modified eyeglasses instead, and I have a hard time stuffing even those
between my face and the liner.
But that's just me. The point is that full round-heads
like me
may find that the EXO-1000 has a bit too much pressure on the sides, but I
do think that the helmet will fit a majority of owners without problems.
The liner is nicely made and it feels like quality material,
but it isn't as soft as some. Scorpion calls the material "KwikWick",
and both the removable liner and cheek pads are claimed to be
"moisture-wicking", but my experience with the helmet differs -- the
material seems to be less absorbent than almost any other helmet I've worn,
and this is one of the only helmets I can think of that actually makes me
sweat and doesn't absorb the moisture.
When I take off the helmet, my head is damp and it just
feels hot and swampy inside, even in temperatures down to 60 degrees or so. This
may also be partly the fault of the venting, which I'll get to in a minute.
This size XL feels to me like it's about
1/2 size small and this may carry through across the rest of the size
range, which runs
from XS to XXL.
Score: I'll give the
EXO-1000 a "Acceptable" for its internal shape but a "Poor"
for the issues with the liner.
Air Flow
The EXO-1000 has 4 separate intake vents: the chin vent, a brow vent and two
top vents, each with separate controls. Again, the quality of the vent
mechanisms is excellent, but I've been very surprised at the lack of air
flow that I get from them.
The chin vent has a flat vertical cover that opens forward, so
there is no direct air flow on to the face. The helmet has two vent
openings through the back of the chin bar, but I find it very difficult to feel any air
coming in, except maybe when running around 60 MPH on a Sportbike in a
leaned-forward position. This seems to allow some air to find its way
in around the vent.
The brow vent is a nice idea, but I feel no difference
whether it's opened or closed. The two top vents surprise me the most;
they open forward as air scoops, so you'd think they would gulp a lot of air
and push it down on to my head, but I feel less air in the top of the
EXO-1000 than almost any other helmet I've tried.
This, combined with the tight feeling head band, makes the
top of my head get hot and sweaty, even in cooler weather -- not something I
enjoy very much. It isn't until around 60 MPH that I can feel the
slightest amount of air flow...strange.
The helmet has two exhaust vents on the chin and two in the
rear in addition to a big exhaust vent that can be opened or closed, located
underneath the lip of the rear spoiler. Why an owner would ever want
to close this exhaust vent is beyond me, so maybe some weight could have
been saved by making this a less complicated design.
Score: I'll give the
EXO-1000 a "Poor" rating for
venting and air flow.
Helmet Weight Here's where all the gimmicks and geegaws cause a
problem. Our EXO-1000 in size XL weighs in at a
whopping 1821grams (4
lbs., 0-1/4 oz.), which makes it #78 out of the 83
helmets we've reviewed at the date of publication.
In fact, this gives the EXO-1000 the very dubious
distinction of being the heaviest full-face, non-modular helmet we've ever
reviewed. The only helmets that are heavier are all modulars: the
Schuberth C2; the
Nolan N102; the
Nolan X-lite X-1002; the
KBC FFR; and the
stupendously massive HJC
FS-Max (Modular) at 1911 grams (all in size XL).
That's too heavy, and although I will say that the helmet
does seem fairly well balanced so that the weight isn't riding up top, the
mass can be felt when turning my head side-to-side.
I'd guess that the multiple intake vents, exhaust vents,
internal sun shade, the HelmetPump inflatable cheekpad system and probably
the Snell compliance have taken their toll.
For more information on helmet weights, see the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet Weights page for a chart comparing
the EXO-1000 with all of the other helmets we've reviewed
on webBikeWorld.
Score: "Poor" to
"Unacceptable", depending upon personal preference.
Visor
The EXO-1000's clear visor uses the Scorpion quick
release visor system, which is a round dial that allows
the visor to be easily removed but is a bit fussy to
replace. The visor has an interesting bend at the
very top and it's notched to fit under the brow vent.
It's a complex mold and, unfortunately, ours has a problem
on the left-hand side, where it doesn't come close to sealing around the
gasket surrounding the eye port opening. It starts with about a 1/8"
gap on the left and doesn't touch the eye port gasket until almost half-way
across the face of the helmet.
This may be an issue only with our example, but prospective
owners may want to closely inspect the seal between the visor and the eye
port gasket before committing greenbacks. Not that this is a
deal-killer, but it's a surprising faux pas and, I think, may be
partly responsible for the elevated noise levels we found.
The visor has another unfortunate trait
that we also experienced on the
HJC FS-10;
it only has 4 detents to hold it open, and the first is
nearly half-way up. There is a lever on the
left-hand side that cracks the visor open just a touch;
the lever also acts as a visor lock, but it's
fussy to use and the visor must be fully opened and
slammed home to seal (or as close as it gets to sealing)
if the lever is used.
Score: I'll rate the visor
clarity, operation and visibility as
"Acceptable", which drops to a "Poor" considering the
sealing problem, which may be an issue with our helmet
only.
Rotating Sun Visor
Here we go again: the EXO-1000 comes with what I guess
is now a marketing "must have" feature, the internal sun shade.
These devices are a good idea with, so far, very poor
implementations, in our opinion. They add too much weight; the
rotating mechanisms are usually cranky; they don't rotate down far enough to
lower out of the rider's line of sight; the bottoms have weird curves and
nose cut-outs (anyone with a nose that big would be wearing an open-face
helmet anyway); they don't always have infinite positioning (on or off only)
and, to top it off, they're usually not dark enough to block the sun anyway,
probably because of liability concerns.
How about this, manufacturers: make a very dark or opaque
internal visor that can be pulled down manually about 25 mm and is cut
straight across? That's all you'd need to keep the sun out of your
eyes when riding west on a summer's afternoon.
Score: I'm sure some will
argue, just as they do with our fondness for D-rings,
but I'll rate the internally rotating
sun visor as "Poor". If you don't agree,
no problem, but I'm just not a big fan of these things
-- yet.
wBWVideo Tour of the Scorpion EXO-1000 Helmet
Noise Levels
The EXO-1000 does have a relatively "dirty",
aerodynamically speaking, shell, with
lots of vents, the rear spoiler, exhausts and those big
round visor removal knobs that stick out in the air
flow. This makes the helmet louder than I think it
should or could be.
Noise and tolerance thereof is subjective, of course,
and I always wear high-quality ear plugs, but there is a
wind rushing noise that seems to be generated around the
top vents and the rear exhaust spoiler on the EXO-1000,
along with a continuous low-frequency wind rushing noise
around the bottom of the helmet, caused by turbulence
and amplified when riding behind a short windscreen.
What I don't hear is the annoying whistling noise that
can be caused by air passing over vent holes, and this
is surprising. It isn't the loudest helmet I've
tried by any means, but I'd say it's probably in the
bottom third.
Remember that we always wear correctly
fitted, high quality earplugs and an extra helmet liner
when riding, and we strongly recommend that you always
wear hearing protection also. See the
wBW
Earplugs and Hearing Protection page for more
information on choosing and wearing earplugs.
And also remember that your experience with noise levels
will probably be different because it depends on many factors, including your
head shape, the motorcycle configuration, prevailing winds
and more.
Score: I'll give it a break
and rate the EXO-1000
as "Acceptable" for the amount of noise that it transmits.
HelmetPump Inflatable Cheek Pads
This is what all the excitement was about. The EXO-1000 includes air
bladders in the cheek pads and a small air pump in the chin bar to inflate
them. The air pump is a rubberized button, similar to...didn't Nike
make an athletic shoe with an air pump back in the '80's or so?
Another small button lets the air out. This all sounds
interesting, and it's so new and different that everyone thought it would
change the world. But think about it -- when's the last time you felt
the need to inflate the cheek pads in your helmet? I think once I
bought a set of thinner cheek pads for an Arai helmet, but other than that,
it's a need I didn't know I had.
With the cheek pads deflated, the helmet fits pretty much
like any other helmet; maybe like the cheek pads are slightly thinner, i.e.
more roomy than normal. But you don't really notice it until you pump
them up. I can't really add much air before they get too tight.
So for those unusual owners who may have a large head but
very hollow cheeks, this may be a desirable feature. For the rest of
us, it's a complexity and weight additive that the helmet could do without.
But then they wouldn't have much to market, no?
We're interested in hearing other opinions; perhaps we're
missing something here?
Miscellaneous
Note to Scorpion: Please, please, please stop
using that phony chocolate smell inside the helmets.
It's no longer funny, if it ever was.
We first experienced the stench on the EXO-400, where we thought a
practical joking retail employee maybe slipped a cheap chocolate bar in the
box before shipping the helmet. But it turns out that this is
Scorpion's idea of fun.
The smell is overwhelming and it gives me a headache; it
smells like very cheap chocolate. Who wants to be trapped inside a
helmet with that smell? I had to leave the helmet outside,
wrapped up in a bag with a box of baking soda inside to try and absorb the
odor, but it's still in there. I'm sure some of you won't mind it, but I can't stand it and it
would prevent me from buying another Scorpion helmet if I didn't have to do
it for the sake of webBikeWorld reviews!
The helmet has a chin curtain that keeps some air and,
presumably, noise from entering under the chin bar. This has the
unfortunate side effect of blocking the air that usually comes up from
underneath, which, I believe, normally constitutes the majority of
ventilation in most helmets. The chin curtain can be removed; it's
apparently designed to offer some protection for the pump and deflation
button.
The Scorpion EXO-1000 carries both a DOT and Snell approval.
It uses a D-ring attachment system and the extra
length of chin strap attaches with a snap. The
padding under the chin strap is comfortable.
Conclusion
Let's see: take away the gimmicky air pump and remove
the sun visor, and what do we have? Basically an
EXO-700 that weighs about 200 grams more and costs
$120.00 more? We think the best deal in the house
is the Scorpion
EXO-400, a quality helmet which can be had for
around $140.00 (solid colors).
The EXO-1000 feels well built, but it has just a wee bit too
much of nearly everything. Sometimes simpler is better. That's
one rider's opinion; don't forget -- we're not selling the things, so we
have no interest other than letting you know how we feel.
Please
send
comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be posted. Posted comments may be edited.
From "T.R." (6/09): "I own a Scorpion EXO 1000 and would
like to share my opinion with you. I bought the helmet for the
features: anti fog shield, sun shield, air flow, and pump system.
The quality of the helmet seems to be very good. The exterior finish
is really nice. The interior pads are comfortable and do wick sweat (I
live in central Florida so I know about heat).
I really love the sun shield and air flow. On even the hottest days I
get great flow when moving. Most of my riding is in town and I do not
usually reach highway speeds. The helmet is a bit heavy but I normally
don’t notice the weight.
I recently did a quick trip to Atlanta over one weekend. It was a
round trip of 960 miles on I-75. Once at highway speeds I noticed that
the helmet was loud. The longer I spent at speed the louder it seemed
to be.
At speeds above 70 mph the noise was uncomfortably loud. When wearing
the helmet for 6.5 hours on the way up to Atlanta I noticed that the helmet
was heavy and at the end of the trip my neck was fatigued. On the way
home it was raining. I rode at highway speeds in a steady rain for
about 450 miles. The helmet leaks. Even with the top vents
closed, water leaked onto my head. The shield also leaked at the top
edge and occasionally a drop would leak down the inside of the shield.
I concluded that I would never wear the helmet on a long trip again.
Around town it is OK, on the highway it is too loud and too heavy."
From "E.S." (10/08): "I purchased a Scorpion EXO-1000
about two months ago. Actually, I purchased three, one for myself, one
for my wife and one for a buddy who looked ridiculous stuffing his XXL egg
into a medium HJC.
We spent about a week researching and trying on helmets. Honestly, the
number one factor aside from a Snell rating was fit. All three of us
have heads that just don't seem to fit well into anything and this was the
only helmet line that didn't leave a major pressure spot on my forehead.
I wore it around the store for 20 minutes before finally settling on it.
A plus is the drop-down shade. I use it a lot. I
do wish it were darker and have asked my dealer to let me know if ever they
get a darker shade. 98% of the time, however, it is plenty, as I ride to and
from work with the sun to my back. Riding into a low sun, however, is
unpleasant to my poor retinas. The bottom edge takes some getting used
to, but I have discovered it's nice being able to see the instrument cluster
without the shade.
The cheek pads I could live with or without, though on
longer drives, I like to pump them up for a little psychological security.
Fortunately, the majority of my riding is 10 miles or less,
either commuting or just putting around town, so the negatives don't bother
me all that much.
The first thing I noticed is that the vents don't seem to do
anything at all. If my head gets a bit sweaty, I can tell that there's
air moving through because I can feel the evaporation. It's nothing
like my Shoei RF-200 (yes, that bugger got retired finally). When I
open the vents on the Shoei, I know it. On the Scorpion, I have to feel the
switches to know.
The next thing I noticed is that it is considerably louder
than the Shoei, which has nearly no padding left. I don't notice the
high-pitched sounds which don't seem to increase with open vents, but it is
a very boomy lid.
One flaw that may become an issue is the top vent moulding
is beginning to peel away. My wife's has come off altogether!
There's just a strip of adhesive material holding it on and it's not very
permanent. I will be taking both helmets back to the dealer for
attention to this problem. Hopefully Scorpion will stand by their
product and offer either a replacement or satisfactory repair."
From "R.F.": "While I have no experience to speak of
when comparing helmets (first bike, first helmet, less than 1500 miles on
both, albeit not for long), I felt I should offer my commentary on the
helmet as I see it thus far.
It took a bit of time to feel comfortable with this helmet,
I will say, although I don't know for sure how much of that was due to the
foibles of this particular armor as opposed to adapting to wearing them in
general.
I've got a vertical-oval head, which works nicely with this
helmet as per your article, so we'll go with that for starters. I
didn't need to remove any padding whatsoever in fitting this helmet - after
the first thousand in it, it's softening nicely and is barely an effort to
wear at this point.
I think, in general, that this is a helmet for bigger
riders. I'm 6'3", and north of 300 pounds, so weight isn't a concern for
most things that I wear. I really only notice the heft of the helmet
when I'm at speed on the freeway, and then mostly because of wind resistance
when I check my blind spots. In fact, I enjoy the heft as it feels
more reassuring to me as a novice rider.
There is a lot of commentary about the vents, and I've
noticed the concerns too. The vents are fairly useless at low speeds,
and I don't really notice more than a subtle change when I open the vents.
I really would like more air at the mouth when riding closed, to be honest -
I think if the vent opened downward instead, it would work much better.
It puts the intakes in a low-pressure area which is horrible for scooping
air at anything below freeway passing speeds.
As I reach 75 or better, the effect is markedly better -
I've heard stories of these vents originally being designed for riders on
high-performance bikes who needed modified airflow to stay conscious, and
these experiences would seem to substantiate the story. I've not touched the
rear exhaust vent, so you're also right in saying that the mechanism to open
and close probably wasn't needed.
What I tend to do to compensate for this weakness in the
design is to ride with only the interior mask down, leaving the primary
shield up. While it may look a bit silly, I've not caught a bug or
rock to the eye yet that the internal visor hasn't stopped. It covers
enough of my face to keep me comfortable and keeps my eyes from watering at
speeds below 45 or so (riding an unfaired bike), but also permits air to
flow freely.
The visors themselves are somewhat frustrating, I suppose,
but I am an all-up or all-down rider. No reason to put the seam of the
visor directly in my line of sight... extra obstructions need not apply to
my field of vision. I've noticed that the primary picks up chips
fairly easily, as a side note, and will probably be in the market for a new
one within the next two months. Somewhat disappointing, to be honest.
The Air-bladder... meh. I rarely use it, besides
reliving the memories of those Nike PUMP sneakers. It's mostly useful
for when I loan the helmet to my passenger. She can inflate the thing
to secure it on her head, even though it's much smaller than mine.
The one pet-peeve I have about this helmet, and it is sort
of a big one, is that I have noticed the tight-around-the-brow feeling to
the extreme, especially on long rides.
After 100 miles or so, it feels like there is a brick
pressing into the front of my forehead. I'm not sure if I'm just wearing the
thing incorrectly (although I doubt it) or if I should remove a pad or
replace one, or what, but the padding directly over the forehead is not
really that substantial. It makes for an extremely potent headache, to
the point of needing to stop and take a 15-minute-breather to allow blood to
flow back to where it's used to being.
A response, as well, to the customer who said that the
internal visor was in line with the bottom of his eyes.... what? How
are you wearing the helmet, sir, flat across? This helmet wears better
for me pulled down in the front.
I'm trying to envision how your eyes can be that close to
the bottom of the visor - in my helmet there's only a half-inch gap between
the pads and the plastic - I can think of no other explanation but that
you're trying to wear it canted back from the ideal angle. This is a
sport-bike helmet for sure. It should sit on your head differently
than it sits on the desk.
My regards to your review, editor, a fairly comprehensive
and balanced write-up."
From "R.G.": "I recently bought the EXO 1000 ( May 28
2008) and I love it. I write this review because after reading the
other owner comments, I found my experience to be quite different in most
areas.
First of all, I find the helmet to be very comfortable and not noisy at all
when compared to the five others I own (including ARAI and SHOEI). I have a
large skull with high cheek bones and a narrow face. The XL I bought
and wear, fits snug and the inflatable cheek pads fill in my face causing
the helmet to feel very secure, eliminating "high speed helmet rise".
The internal sun shade is what I love most because I wear strong RX contact
lenses which make my eyes hyper-sensitive to light. I have no line of
sight issues with the shade and I no longer have to fumble with sunglasses
which were never quite right in any helmet I've worn. The shade
could've been darker but, it's okay and I have a couple of ideas for fixing
that.
The weight is not an issue for me, my 19 1/2 inch neck is stout enough.
I agree the helmet is warm and the vents are a disappointment. My '07 SV1000
and my '08 CBR1000 put me in decidedly different riding positions and the
helmet feels good riding both. I feel very safe and comfortable in
this helmet and I live in S.E. Oklahoma where it's humid and hot.
Undoubtedly, there are better helmets but, I really like mine.
Perfect? No, and I'm yet to find one of those."
From "D.R.": "Like you guys, I waited and waited for
this helmet to arrive on US shores. And waited some more. When I
finally found a dealer with any kind of stock, they didn't have the color I
wanted in the size I want (XL, which is weird, because I've worn L's for the
previous 200K miles with other manufacturers).
You're right, it's heavy. After 3K miles, I've grown
accustomed to it, however. The vents don't appear to do a thing, from
what I can see, which is a real disappointment. I've noticed a minor amount
of condensation down around the bottom of the shield at lower temps (I've
ridden down into the thirties so far) and I'm not looking forward to next
winter, if it's going to get worse. I find the helmet to be quite a
bit noisier than my previous HJC.
The sun shade works well for me, position-wise, though, like
everyone else, I wish it was darker. I may try to laminate some DIY
window tint stuff to it and see what happens. Being able to leave my
sunglasses home is a huge benefit, since I wear the huge old-lady virtual
reality goggles that cover my prescription glasses.
The main visor annoys me the most, however, as there's no
detent to let you crack it a bit; you have to use that stupid lever to keep
it open a small amount, and it's a pain to use.
Like yours (and another review I saw on your site) my visor
didn't seal against the gasket worth a damn...it was COMPLETELY off it on
the top edge, enough to slide a credit card's thickness of cardboard in with
no resistance, whatsoever. In a fit of desperate genius, I cut a piece
of solid wire, maybe 22 gauge, and slide it into the fold of the gasket
across the top. That widened the gasket enough to make it mate to the
visor. But even with this, the visor closes against the gasket with all the
force of Liberace's wrist. And this on a $300 helmet.
Other people's statements that the helmet makes their head
sweat really scare me, as I HATE being hot when I ride. Summer's
coming, and it this is a major issue, I'll probably just sell the silly
thing and go back to my HJC. The sun shade was the real draw for me,
but not at the expense all the other issues."
Update from "D.M." (See below): "I wrote in November
about my initial experience with the Scorpion EXO-1000. Now that I
have had more of a chance to put some miles on it I have to report that I am
very pleased with the helmet.
Although A's report (below) indicated that the helmet was noisy, I have to
say that this is the most quiet helmet that I ever had. As I mentioned
previously, I did own two RSR2 helmets that you rated as one of the most
quiet helmets ever tested, I say the Scorpion trumps the Shark. Just
so you know, this observation is made after a 700 km (420 miles) ride last
Saturday which included both super slab and back roads.
It could be a fit issue where one respondent has a helmet
that doesn't fit his/her particular head but I find with the helmet pumped
up that I have a nice "air lock" that might keep noise levels down. I
also have to mention that this quiet is found with or without ear plugs,
although with earplugs it's almost dead silent.
The condensation problem I had in the Fall continued in
early Spring. Scorpion are aware of the condensation problem but do
not appear to have a solution. In warmer weather this is not a
problem.
I see this helmet being my long distance choice this summer.
No need to carry extra shields and you do get used to the slightly shorter
than expected flip down inner shield."
From "A": "I have a Scorpion EXO1000 and thought I would
share my findings for publishing on your site perhaps:
The first thing that is obvious is the XXL, which I need
because they are sized small, is huge and heavy! Fit and finish is
very good though. The slide/snaps that hold the cheek pads in place
are very fragile and they should be checked on every helmet before purchase.
Scorpion is very good at replacing these so I'm sure it's a widespread
issue.
More face shields should have the anti-fog coating that
Scorpion uses. It's amazing how well it works and puts my Shoei to
shame. At very low temps it is prone to condensation but not fogging.
It is quite a noisy helmet.
Yes, the sun visor should come down further but I really
like it in the Canyons near us here in the Colorado Rockies. On these
roads you can ride very quickly from bright sun into cool dark canyons so it
works very well. Being activated by the lever at ear level is much
better than the HJC that uses the slider on the top of the helmet. The
one slight gripe I have with it is that when it is out of use you can still
see it vibrating at the top of your peripheral vision.
I have very mixed feelings about the bladder. At
speeds over about 60mph I find that the helmet tries to lift upwards which
gets really annoying because then it makes my glasses bounce a little.
Pumping up the bladder stops the bouncing and stabilises it on your head.
Then I tried my old Shoei RF900 and that put everything back
into perspective. Why spend the money on bladders when you can buy a
quieter, more comfortable helmet that has been properly designed and is
lighter.....but I do wish Shoei had a helmet with that sun visor and an
actual fog-free face shield (since the Shoei face shields fog at all temps
below about 80f). That would be the ultimate for me.
Your impressions may vary:}"
From "R.I.": "Just got my new Scorpion EXO-1000
yesterday. Finish, fit and features. Simply put excellent.
Not a flaw on the lid anywhere I could see.
Only minor gripe I had was the face shield didn't lock down.
A quick inspection showed the shield latch or as Scorpion calls them, the
speedshifters, on the left side of the helmet wasn't fully engaged around
the opening in the shield. Quick twist to pop off the shield on that
side and re-attached properly in less then 5 seconds.
My first ride with this helmet I have to say it was waaaay
quieter then my old HJC. Until I opened all the vents. With everything
open, it was about as noisy as my old HJC fully closed. That's
something I can definitely appreciate.
The Speedview sun visor will take a little getting used to.
Its about as dark as my light smoked shield I had on the HJC, but it doesn't
come down to completely cover the lower portion of the face port. I DO
like it, and it great to ride with, I just wish Scorpion made it just about
3/4 to 1 inch longer. Maybe they can't and still have it fully retract
into the top of the helmet. I took it for a 15 mile or so ride and so
far no hot spots or anything. I'll see how well I like it after a
longer trip.
Overall, I think I'm really gonna like this lid. On a score
of 1-10, I'd give it a 9.5."
From "D.I.": "I think you should put more emphasis on
the EXO-1000's incompatibility with glasses
- aside from one pair of very thick-armed glasses, every other pair I own is
completely mangled trying to get the arms back to my ears.
Unfortunately I wore the pair that works to the store when I tried the
EXO-1000, or I never would have bought it.
Your short-arm glasses "solution" (wBW
article) shouldn't be a factor in the review. Most people won't
want to chop up a couple pairs of glasses that easily cost more than the
helmet itself. Not to mention that it means carrying a pair of chopped
clear glasses, chopped prescription sunglasses, and normal versions of each
kind of glasses for a ride of any length.
Four sets of glasses to save money on a helmet? Maybe
you guys have a better vision plan than I do, but at $200-300 a pop for
lenses alone, I can buy a top-of-the-line Shoei or Arai for the cost of the
"chopped" glasses. And unlike the EXO, these other brands tend to work
very well with just about any glasses."
Editor's Reply: Thanks for the feedback.
The "chopped" glasses do not figure into our helmet evaluations. I've
actually found very few helmets that won't fit my normal glasses, which have
very thin frames. Some oval shaped helmets give me a problem because
of the mis-match between the liner and my head shape, so that may be an
issue. But it's always important to wear a helmet by trying it on in
the store before purchasing it to avoid problems like this.
Regarding the cut-down eyeglasses, it's best to use an old
pair for the modification that might be lying around after a slight
prescription change. I have an old pair from 2 prescriptions ago that
I use, and I have set of cheap clip-ons to put over them if necessary.
Total cost? Maybe $5.00."
From "D.M.": "I enjoyed your review of this helmet.
I bought one early in November. I didn't check it when I left the
store and found out that the cheek liner on the left was loose. I
tried to re-attach it and it wouldn't go in. I found out that the
female part that attaches to the helmet had come off. I tried all
weekend to re-attach it and it wouldn't go in.
I met the rep from Scorpion Canada at my dealer the following week. He
took one look at the helmet and told me that it was shot. Evidently
the female connector is not a snap in but a slide in. So if you pull
on it like the other two connectors on the cheek pad you will likely rip out
the female connector. I was told this has been a common problem.
Nowhere in their packaging or "manual" for the helmet do they tell you this
is a slider, so beware.
So they have to replace the helmet. The store doesn't
have any more mediums in my colour so I will have to wait for a replacement.
It turns out the replacement will not likely come until late January.
I was back in the store a few weeks later and saw my colour in a large.
For fun I tried it on, it fit tighter and actually better than the "smaller"
medium so I took the helmet. Can we say poor quality control?
The internal shield is too light in colour and I will check
replacements in the Spring. As others have written it is too short. I
ride a K1200S so I am leaned over the bike better than a cruiser rider but I
still wished that it covered more area. Maybe future replacement
shields should be made longer and more square as suggested in your report.
I am hoping that it is due to cold weather but the main face
shield has been quite useless despite the fact it is specially treated to
prevent fogging. After riding for about 5 minutes the shield is full
of wet, condensation so I have to lift it up to clear it. Riding in
35F weather is not something you want to do without the shield in place.
Yes I have opened the vents but it doesn't seem to help.
Again, keeping warm is my priority. I have two Shark RSR-2 helmets and
haven't experienced this problem nor on Shoei's that I have owned.
Hopefully it is a cold weather thing but I won't know for another 5 months
as it is hibernation time here in Canada.
The helmet is heavy but it doesn't bother me like you and
others have mentioned. I do like the pump. I like a tight
fitting helmet and pumping up the cheek area gives me a feeling of security.
Although it seems like I have griped substantially on this
helmet I admit that I like Scorpion as a company and feel that for the money
you can't beat the quality."
From "J.D.": "Being the helmet junkie that I am, I
bought the EXO-1000 with the white and silver graphics expecting it to be
one hell of a helmet.
Now I'm ticked I can't take it back!! This helmet is very heavy and is
louder that anything I've ever worn. Not a whistling noise but a
booming noise, can't figure it out, it happens around 55 mph.
You were dead on about the visor seal as mine is the same way, doesn't quite
seal all the way. It's about 60 degrees here and I was sweating after
about 15 minutes riding with it, should be called quick sweat instead of
quick wic.
Now to the pump. Reebok used to have a high-top basketball shoe with
this same feature back in 89, I had a pair. The shoes didn't last very
long because the the air bladder was uncomfortable around the ankles and
didn't "help prevent sprains". The helmet pump is also uncomfortable
as the bladder is not as pliable as foam and doesn't do a good job
conforming to the rider's face.
After riding awhile, you begin to feel the pressure points. Foam moves
back and forth and up and down. The air bladder just moves in and out
and doesn't move up and down nor side to side which is why you have pressure
points. Back to the drawing board Scorpion. Less hype and more
helmet."
From "R.T.": "Great review... as always as detailed as
can be. I was disappointed to see that Scorpion didn't set the world
on fire with the 1000. But perhaps it is a sing of thing to come, as
most of the quirks can be revised... at least I hope.
I currently own an EXO-700 and the rear vent whistles on a
naked bike. Coincidentally, I wont buy another 700. The 400 on
the other hand is all that and a bucket of chicken wings. love it so
much, I own 3 of them (Warhawk, Tsunami & Sting).
I also own an Arai RX7 Hayden Replica, an old Arai Quantum
/s Harada replica & 3 KBC VR2 (Repsol, Dragon & Gunslinger).
The EXO-400 should be the standard by which all others
should be measured upon..."
From "A.K.": "I am speechless. I too own an
EXO-1000 yet I have found none of the faults you mention. Yes, it may
be heavy, but I haven't ridden in a long time and started with an HJC
flip-up, so maybe my standards are low.
The internal visor was the main feature that drew me to this
helmet. It works great. Now I don't have to have a dark visor on
all the time and change change my field of vision as conditions reinvent
themselves.
The second most important feature, for me, is the visor
release mechanism. The HJC mechanism was clumsy, very superficial
feeling, and was difficult to use. I didn't dare take the visor
off...it was too much of a pain to get back on. The Scorpion mechanism
is intuitive, robust, and elegant. I read somewhere else that it
couldn't be done with gloves on......so, take the gloves off. I don't
get it.
This helmet moves a great deal of air. Especially if
you use the slightly ajar setting on the shield lock. I find that I
have to close all of the vents when it gets a bit cool, less than 40F, or I
get really cold. It worked wonderfully at 100F that I saw earlier.
The air pump feature didn't figure into the purchase
decision. It should have. It is great. I have a small head
and it is quite difficult to get a helmet to fit me properly. With the
air pump system I can "lock"
the helmet on my head removing all wiggle, never could do that with other
helmets...regardless of the size.
I am sorry that this is so long, but I wanted you to know
that Scorpion has one very satisfied customer. It is unfortunate that
your experience didn't equal mine. I greatly appreciate your reviews
and advice. Keep up the good work."
From "B.": "Just a quick note about the fake "chocolate
smell". It's the smell of the plastic/rubber that they use for the
helmet, not something they deliberately add to the helmet. A lot of
children's toys made of rubber smell the same way. This is also why
the baking soda didn't get rid of it . Anyway, thanks for the review.
I was excited about the sun visor thing, but I doubt it makes up for the
other shortcomings."
From "E.C.S.": "I just got the opportunity to try out an
EXO-1000 helmet by Scorpion. I have to say, I was disappointed!
I tried the XL and the fit was good. I had purchased
on of their EXO-400 models for my fiancé and knew about what size I would
need. It has enough pressure to feel secure, but not head-ache
inducing (I have a bit of a roundi-sh or short-oval head). The liner
felt good, pretty plush and thick feeling.
It is a really heavy helmet, although when I put it on, it
balanced well and you couldn't really tell unless you quickly turn your head
from side to side.
The paint was good (I saw both solid and graphic versions),
and it seemed really well manufactured. I couldn't find any mold
flashings or glue drips etc.
Here's where the disappointment sets in:
First, the inflatable cheek pads: I could actually wear the
helmet without inflating the cheek pads and it fit beautifully (I'm a bit
chipmunk-cheeked)! I did try out the inflation mechanism and found
that, while inflating was easy, I had a REALLY hard time finding the release
button, and I wasn't wearing any gloves! I couldn't imagine trying to find
it when I had even lightweight gloves on.
Second and most disappointing the, internal sunshade:
I had been reading your reviews of several helmets with this
feature and I report, sadly, that this helmet suffers from the same flaw.
The sunshade, which has only the open and closed positions, falls such that
the bottom of the sunshade falls right in my line of sight. I ride a
cruiser, so I look out of my helmets in a more straight-ahead angle, so it's
in just the wrong place. I suppose if you were on a sport bike, then
this might not be an issue.
I think the internal sunshade is probably the best
innovation in helmets since the advent of the modular helmet. So why
can't anyone manage to make he shade drop all the way down to the top of the
inside of the chin-bar? This would eliminate any of these weird
line-of-sight issues. I guess I'll just have to keep switching visors
for now!
Thanks, and keep up the good work!"
From "L.W.": "I was able to test ride the EXO 1000 and
would love to hear what your take is on this helmet.
My impressions of the EXO 1000 is that this is one BIG
helmet. It weighs over 4 pounds and the shell is simply enormous.
I thought the quality of build and construction was quite good. The
pump system feels solid but the inflatable cheek pads seem a bit
uncomfortable to me.
Unlike a dual density foam that forms to your face the air
pads stay hard and don’t conform. Another thing about this helmet is
the noise level, it is very loud. I understand that if you inflate the
cheek pads firmly it helps to reduce the noise, but the booming sounds in
this helmet are loud even with ear plugs in. I was really looking
forward to buying this helmet but now I’m looking for something else. i.e.
the Schuberth R1."
