Five of the best adventure helmets

Scorpion’s adventure helmet has made a flying start with owners, picking up 13 five-star ratings from the first 15 customers to post a review. Its feature list includes sporty stuff like a composite-fibre shell and D-ring strap fastener as well as important touring functions such as a dropdown sun visor and Pinlock-protected main visor. It sits in a key price area, too, filling the space between entry-level helmets and premium options like Arai and Shoei. It’s compatible with goggles for off-roading, can be converted to street mode for longer road rides and has impressed us in its early days.

This makes our list as the favoured budget choice among Sportsbikeshop customers. There aren’t many reviews on this new version, which is certified to the latest ECE 22.06 safety standard, but it’s virtually identical to the previous version that met the old standard. It’s a plastic-shelled helmet with an anti-fog main visor and an integrated MIPS slip liner to boost protection in accidents where the helmet suffers a glancing blow rather than a direct impact. It has a D-ring strap fastener and it’s compatible with goggles. It can also be run without the peak to create a street mode that’s better suited to longer road rides. Owners gave the 22.05 version an average rating of 4.6 from the first 91 reviews.

With a carbon-fibre shell, you may not be surprised to hear many reviewers have been impressed with the lightweight of the Klim Krios Pro, which weighs in at just 1320g. Customers have also been impressed by the Transitions visor, which reacts to sunlight and is able to achieve a tint as dark as a race visor in bright sunlight. The Krios  comes with a clear visor as standard (the Transitions visor is supplied in the box) and a Pinlock insert is also included

We waited an age for the fifth generation of Arai’s dirt-touring crossover helmet as the previous Tour-X4 sat in the range for 12 years. Now the Tour-X5 is finally here and first impressions are that it builds on the success of its predecessor. The visor offers better vision, the Pinlock mounts more easily, swapping the peak is a considerably less fiddly process and it’s also approved to the new ECE 22.06 safety standard. Visors can now be swapped without using tools, though it can still be a fiddly task. The Tour-X5 can be run in MX mode with goggles, street mode with visor and no peak (handy on longer road rides) and is bound to become a very popular choice of adventure helmet.

Shoei’s Hornet ADV is a rarity in 2024 - a current-model helmet that meets the outgoing safety standard, ECE 22.05. While we wait for Shoei to update its longest-surviving model with a 22.06 version, there is enough stock of the older helmet in the supply chain to meet the demand for this year. Shoei’s exacting construction standards mean it remains a confidence-inspiring choice in the adventure bike world. Its aerodynamics are especially popular and the range of four shell sizes helps keep weight to a minimum for riders with smaller heads. Our customers are particularly complimentary about the Hornet ADV’s fit, and they’ve given an average rating of 4.7 from the first 68 reviews.