GEEN
04-19-2007, 08:27 PM
Like many riders, I hear about this new relatively new company Scorpion but because it’s new, they don’t have much of a reputation. Most discussion on the EXO-400 was speculative, second-hand, or not very comprehensive. But out of all the first-hand reviews I have read, I’d say 90% were positive. J.D. Power and Associates’ 2006 Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction Study rates Scorpion (#2) a single point below the Arai (#1), 29 points above Shoei (#3), and 114 points above HJC (#11) on a 1,000-point scale. It is SNELL and DOT approved. Knowing all this, I figured an EXO-400 was worth a shot.
I own a HJC CL-14 and have used an Arai Signet GT for a few days. I’ll mostly be comparing the EXO-400 to the HJC CL-14 because they are closer competitors. If youre considering the EXO-700, keep in mind that both Scorpion helmets use the same visor and liner.
http://x0c.xanga.com/291d760368332118423489/m85074251.jpg
Aesthetics
Both are great looking helmets. I like the HJC because it has more design and color, as opposed to the plain black Scorpion. Sometimes I wish I bought the EXO-400 with designs, but I intend on getting another bike of unknown color in the next few months wanted to stay with a neutral color. I was a little hesitant to buy the Scorpion because I thought the S logo would look really tacky and cheap, as seen in pictures online, and not as notable as say other name brands like Shoei and Arai. But to my surprise, the S logo doesn’t look bad or cheap at all in person. It is in brushed aluminum and looks quite nice. I guess I don’t have to remove it with some dental floss after all.
Inside
Before purchasing each helmet, I tried each in person. Very few local retailers carry Scorpion helmets in stock, but the San Diego House of Motorcycles does, and that is where I went to try them on.
Both helmets I have were size MEDIUM, but the Scorpion EX-400 fit better; it is very comfortable and a lot more snug. This is partially because I bought it a good 6 months after I bought the CL-14, but not entirely. At freeway speeds, I remember the CL-14 back then not fitting as snug on my head, and it even budged ever so slightly as I turned my head to change lanes.
The comfort of the liner for each helmet is about the same. They are both very comfortable. The EXO-400’s liner is fully removable, whereas only the cheek pads are removable on the CL-14. Scorpion claims its unique KwikWick liner draws sweat away from the face, but I don’t sweat much and have yet to test this out.
On the CL-14, unless you had the remaining part of the strap tucked under the elastic red thing, it’s going to flap around. And at freeway speeds, it will slap your neck painfully and repetitively. Tucking the strap under the red elastic thing is so cumbersome it’s not even funny.
Scorpion, like Shoei and Arai, has a snap button to keep the strap from flapping around. This really ought to be standard, and it’s disappointing how it isn’t on the HJC. However, on the EXO-400, the button where it snaps to is partially tucked under liner, which is somewhat inconvenient and hard to reach with gloves, but not a big deal.
http://x6f.xanga.com/352d510371730118423622/m85074358.jpg
http://xd4.xanga.com/26cd520634331118423631/m85074365.jpg
Visor
When I first started riding with the CL-14, I quickly learned I had to change my breathing habits to reduce the fog; I learned to breath downwards when the shield is down. Needless to say, the visor fogged very, very quickly. Although the CL-14 did not come with a breath guard, I doubt this would have been a solid solution because fogging still occurred a little even when breathing downward.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the Scorpion helmet is the anti-fog visor, which no other brands provide with their helmets. According to very few reviews, it did fog, but only in extreme cold. Coming from a Southern Californian rider with slight asthma, I can say with certainty that this thing does not fog, period. Even before I took it out on the road, I surfed the internet with my helmet on, all vents closed, for a few minutes. It got pretty steamy inside, but it did not fog. I never need to open my visor at a stoplight or for any other reason.
Both visors open with the use of notches, which causes some flexing. I found that the HJC flexed a little more than the Scorpion, but not by much.
As for cracking the visor open to let some air in and not blow into your eyes, for whatever reason, Scorpion doesn’t address this. The first notch on the EXO-400 is a bit too big, whereas it is perfect on the HJC. But many riders crack the visor to reduce the fog (like I did), but as mentioned above, this is not necessary, as the EXO-400 does not fog. Even with the visor completely closed, there is plenty of wind that comes up from the chin, perhaps too much. I got the Aeroskirt as above.
http://xd4.xanga.com/88ad450434d33118423638/m85074370.jpg
Perhaps the only people who would be saddened by this are those who enjoy the cool air while riding but whose eyes are sensitive to the wind.
Visor changing
Scorpion claims the visor is extremely easy to change with the SpeedShift mechanism. I am still getting used to it, but it can be done, even with gloves. It is much easier than changing the HJC mechanism, which is hard enough without gloves.
http://x10.xanga.com/581d470b34433118423585/m85074324.jpg
http://xd4.xanga.com/4c3d210134631118423603/m85074340.jpg
Venting
As you can see in the picture, the EXO-400 has more vents. But does that mean better venting? On the CL-14, the vents were only noticeable at speeds above 60mph, as I can see the fog disappearing.
http://xe6.xanga.com/5ac8202500168118423521/m85074280.jpg
http://xb5.xanga.com/d46d550b33630118423551/m85074298.jpg
http://xc3.xanga.com/d9fd240531c31118423503/m85074264.jpg
On the Scorpion, however, there was no fog, so I couldn’t use it as an indicator. To be honest, the venting is not as aggressive as it looks, as I didn’t really notice the airflow. But, I never noticed a steamy discomfort while riding either (as opposed to sitting in front of my laptop), so the vents must be working. To be fair, I must admit that I am pretty tolerant to heat and I don’t sweat much.
The quality of the vents on the EXO-400, however, is better than that of the CL-14. On more than one occasion, the plastic vent covering snapped off when I brushed against it with my glove or something. This is consistent with a few reviews I’ve read about HJC helmets.
http://x6a.xanga.com/f4fd520734631118423614/m85074351.jpg
Weight
To anyone who owns a Shoei or an Arai, weight is probably the biggest issue when considering this helmet. Both CL-14 and EXO-400 weight about the same—very heavy, according to many people. But I never noticed how heavy they were until I rode around in an Arai Signet GT once, which was light as a feather. The Scorpion is heavy, but only by comparison. I never notice the weight of it (it never strained my neck or anything) while riding, but that’s just me (and no, I don’t have a thick tree-trunk neck).
But to me, the CL-14 felt heavier, or at least bulkier. Lining the helmets up, I noticed the CL-14 is about a whole inch wider than the EXO-400. When I first got the HJC, I immediately felt like a bobble-head, which wasn’t the case with the Scorpion. This might have to do with each manufacturer’s interpretation of “medium” sizing though. As mentioned earlier, the CL-14 budged slightly when turning my head against the wind, which probably contributed to the helmet feeling heavier.
I wish I had a scale to accurately compare the two helmets but I don’t.
Noise
To my dismay, the Scorpion was slightly louder than the HJC, even after adding the Aeroskirt. Maybe not louder, but the noise was more noticeable. By that I mean the CL-14 had a lower frequency noise than the EXO-400’s high frequency noise, which will take getting used to. But comparing them to the Arai Signet GT, which was much noisier and in a much higher frequency, both CL-14 and EXO-400 are significantly quieter helmets.
Nevertheless, I have decided to ride with ear plugs for any trip longer than 10 minutes, as riding without them can be very hazardous to your hearing in a very painless way.
Price
I purchased both helmets brand new to completely avoid any unknowns about the condition. As a new rider, I bought the CL-14 primarily for its extreme affordability. CL helmets will almost always be cheaper than EXO helmets, which I found to be pretty much the same price everywhere, none of them cheaper than MSRP on Scorpion’s website ($140+). Because the CL-15 helmet recently came out, you can probably find CL-14 anywhere for less than $90 shipped.
I bought my EXO-400 with an Aeroskirt and an additional tinted visor for UV A/B protection. Free shipping, no tax, and it arrived the following day. Unlike the HJC, it even came with a helmet sack (not a big deal, but a nice touch nonetheless). Grand total was $175 from Helmet Harbor (helmetharbor.com).
I own a HJC CL-14 and have used an Arai Signet GT for a few days. I’ll mostly be comparing the EXO-400 to the HJC CL-14 because they are closer competitors. If youre considering the EXO-700, keep in mind that both Scorpion helmets use the same visor and liner.
http://x0c.xanga.com/291d760368332118423489/m85074251.jpg
Aesthetics
Both are great looking helmets. I like the HJC because it has more design and color, as opposed to the plain black Scorpion. Sometimes I wish I bought the EXO-400 with designs, but I intend on getting another bike of unknown color in the next few months wanted to stay with a neutral color. I was a little hesitant to buy the Scorpion because I thought the S logo would look really tacky and cheap, as seen in pictures online, and not as notable as say other name brands like Shoei and Arai. But to my surprise, the S logo doesn’t look bad or cheap at all in person. It is in brushed aluminum and looks quite nice. I guess I don’t have to remove it with some dental floss after all.
Inside
Before purchasing each helmet, I tried each in person. Very few local retailers carry Scorpion helmets in stock, but the San Diego House of Motorcycles does, and that is where I went to try them on.
Both helmets I have were size MEDIUM, but the Scorpion EX-400 fit better; it is very comfortable and a lot more snug. This is partially because I bought it a good 6 months after I bought the CL-14, but not entirely. At freeway speeds, I remember the CL-14 back then not fitting as snug on my head, and it even budged ever so slightly as I turned my head to change lanes.
The comfort of the liner for each helmet is about the same. They are both very comfortable. The EXO-400’s liner is fully removable, whereas only the cheek pads are removable on the CL-14. Scorpion claims its unique KwikWick liner draws sweat away from the face, but I don’t sweat much and have yet to test this out.
On the CL-14, unless you had the remaining part of the strap tucked under the elastic red thing, it’s going to flap around. And at freeway speeds, it will slap your neck painfully and repetitively. Tucking the strap under the red elastic thing is so cumbersome it’s not even funny.
Scorpion, like Shoei and Arai, has a snap button to keep the strap from flapping around. This really ought to be standard, and it’s disappointing how it isn’t on the HJC. However, on the EXO-400, the button where it snaps to is partially tucked under liner, which is somewhat inconvenient and hard to reach with gloves, but not a big deal.
http://x6f.xanga.com/352d510371730118423622/m85074358.jpg
http://xd4.xanga.com/26cd520634331118423631/m85074365.jpg
Visor
When I first started riding with the CL-14, I quickly learned I had to change my breathing habits to reduce the fog; I learned to breath downwards when the shield is down. Needless to say, the visor fogged very, very quickly. Although the CL-14 did not come with a breath guard, I doubt this would have been a solid solution because fogging still occurred a little even when breathing downward.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the Scorpion helmet is the anti-fog visor, which no other brands provide with their helmets. According to very few reviews, it did fog, but only in extreme cold. Coming from a Southern Californian rider with slight asthma, I can say with certainty that this thing does not fog, period. Even before I took it out on the road, I surfed the internet with my helmet on, all vents closed, for a few minutes. It got pretty steamy inside, but it did not fog. I never need to open my visor at a stoplight or for any other reason.
Both visors open with the use of notches, which causes some flexing. I found that the HJC flexed a little more than the Scorpion, but not by much.
As for cracking the visor open to let some air in and not blow into your eyes, for whatever reason, Scorpion doesn’t address this. The first notch on the EXO-400 is a bit too big, whereas it is perfect on the HJC. But many riders crack the visor to reduce the fog (like I did), but as mentioned above, this is not necessary, as the EXO-400 does not fog. Even with the visor completely closed, there is plenty of wind that comes up from the chin, perhaps too much. I got the Aeroskirt as above.
http://xd4.xanga.com/88ad450434d33118423638/m85074370.jpg
Perhaps the only people who would be saddened by this are those who enjoy the cool air while riding but whose eyes are sensitive to the wind.
Visor changing
Scorpion claims the visor is extremely easy to change with the SpeedShift mechanism. I am still getting used to it, but it can be done, even with gloves. It is much easier than changing the HJC mechanism, which is hard enough without gloves.
http://x10.xanga.com/581d470b34433118423585/m85074324.jpg
http://xd4.xanga.com/4c3d210134631118423603/m85074340.jpg
Venting
As you can see in the picture, the EXO-400 has more vents. But does that mean better venting? On the CL-14, the vents were only noticeable at speeds above 60mph, as I can see the fog disappearing.
http://xe6.xanga.com/5ac8202500168118423521/m85074280.jpg
http://xb5.xanga.com/d46d550b33630118423551/m85074298.jpg
http://xc3.xanga.com/d9fd240531c31118423503/m85074264.jpg
On the Scorpion, however, there was no fog, so I couldn’t use it as an indicator. To be honest, the venting is not as aggressive as it looks, as I didn’t really notice the airflow. But, I never noticed a steamy discomfort while riding either (as opposed to sitting in front of my laptop), so the vents must be working. To be fair, I must admit that I am pretty tolerant to heat and I don’t sweat much.
The quality of the vents on the EXO-400, however, is better than that of the CL-14. On more than one occasion, the plastic vent covering snapped off when I brushed against it with my glove or something. This is consistent with a few reviews I’ve read about HJC helmets.
http://x6a.xanga.com/f4fd520734631118423614/m85074351.jpg
Weight
To anyone who owns a Shoei or an Arai, weight is probably the biggest issue when considering this helmet. Both CL-14 and EXO-400 weight about the same—very heavy, according to many people. But I never noticed how heavy they were until I rode around in an Arai Signet GT once, which was light as a feather. The Scorpion is heavy, but only by comparison. I never notice the weight of it (it never strained my neck or anything) while riding, but that’s just me (and no, I don’t have a thick tree-trunk neck).
But to me, the CL-14 felt heavier, or at least bulkier. Lining the helmets up, I noticed the CL-14 is about a whole inch wider than the EXO-400. When I first got the HJC, I immediately felt like a bobble-head, which wasn’t the case with the Scorpion. This might have to do with each manufacturer’s interpretation of “medium” sizing though. As mentioned earlier, the CL-14 budged slightly when turning my head against the wind, which probably contributed to the helmet feeling heavier.
I wish I had a scale to accurately compare the two helmets but I don’t.
Noise
To my dismay, the Scorpion was slightly louder than the HJC, even after adding the Aeroskirt. Maybe not louder, but the noise was more noticeable. By that I mean the CL-14 had a lower frequency noise than the EXO-400’s high frequency noise, which will take getting used to. But comparing them to the Arai Signet GT, which was much noisier and in a much higher frequency, both CL-14 and EXO-400 are significantly quieter helmets.
Nevertheless, I have decided to ride with ear plugs for any trip longer than 10 minutes, as riding without them can be very hazardous to your hearing in a very painless way.
Price
I purchased both helmets brand new to completely avoid any unknowns about the condition. As a new rider, I bought the CL-14 primarily for its extreme affordability. CL helmets will almost always be cheaper than EXO helmets, which I found to be pretty much the same price everywhere, none of them cheaper than MSRP on Scorpion’s website ($140+). Because the CL-15 helmet recently came out, you can probably find CL-14 anywhere for less than $90 shipped.
I bought my EXO-400 with an Aeroskirt and an additional tinted visor for UV A/B protection. Free shipping, no tax, and it arrived the following day. Unlike the HJC, it even came with a helmet sack (not a big deal, but a nice touch nonetheless). Grand total was $175 from Helmet Harbor (helmetharbor.com).