Tenere 700: LS2 MX701 Explorer Carbon Frontier (Titanium/Red) Helmet

  LS2 MX701 Explorer Carbon Frontier (Titanium/Red) Helmet

The 1,450 gram (+/- 50 g) or 3.2 lb (+/- 0.11 lb) LS2 MX701 Explorer Carbon Frontier (Titanium/Red) helmet replaces my 6 year old 1,650 gram or 3.6 lb Nexx X.Wed2 helmet (1.9 kg or 4.2 lb with SMARTH Cardo Communicator as per my cheap luggage scale). Canadian distributor Kimpex only offers 3 Explorer Carbon models as of this date: Solid (all Carbon) $599.99 msrp, Focus (carbon/high vis Yellow) $649.99 msrp & Frontier (Titanium/Red) $649.99 msrp.  A shout out to Aaron & Modern Motorcycling in Vancouver for every day pricing that is competitive with online retailers & even Black Friday pricing....my all in cost was under $500, which is tremendous value for a light weight carbon helmet of this quality & features.

Features

• 1,450 gram (+/- 50g) intermediate oval shape (Champion Helmet's scale recorded 1,494 g or 3.29 lb for a medium & my cheap luggage scale shows 1.5 kg or 3.31 lb )
• 3 shell sizes: XS (53-54 cm) - S (55-56 cm) / M (57-58 cm) - L (59-60 cm) / XL (61-62 cm) - 2XL (63-64 cm) - 3XL (65-66 cm)
• removable vented peak with 3 position, no tool, 1 hand position adjustment, isolated from shell to reduce vibration & noise
• 4 intake air vents: 2 adjustable top front, fixed eye brow, adjustable chin; 7 exhaust air vents: 2 adjustable top back, 2 fixed rear, 1 fixed bottom back, 2 adjustable side + channelled EPS liner
• wide, 3D Optically Correct “A Class” Polycarbonate scratch & UV resistant visor with detent stop in up position & mechanical button lock when fully closed  + Pinlock 70 MaxVision. 2 additional tinted & 3 coloured visors are available.
• mechanical linkage large tinted interior sun visor available in 4 different tints
• eye glass fit system
• removable chin curtain
• quick latch adjustable chin strap, US models models fitted with D-ring style 
• emergency release cheek pads
• Carbon shell & multi-density EPS liner construction meets or exceeds ECE 22.05 & DOT FMVSS no. 218 safety rating. 2023+ models have the more current ECE 22.06 rating 1st introduced in 2020 & mandatory January 2024...pre 2023 models with the ECE 22.05 rating likely meet the 22.06 standard as no changes seem to have occurred to the helmet for 2023+ models.
• 5 year warranty

 

Unboxing

Travel Bag

Helmet Bag

Replacement parts/tool, Pinlock 70 MaxVision, air bladder doughnut

Champion Helmet 2023 Video Review

Champion Helmet Top 10 Adventure Helmets of 2024 Review & Road Test Summary

The LS2 MX701 Explorer Carbon scored near the top in most categories except for ventilation & was the quietest @ 96 db vs the competition that included premium Adventure helmets from AGV, Arai, Bell, Klim, Nolan, Schuberth, Scorpion & Shoei with 5 being more expensive than the LSD & 2 more than double the cost.

Click this link for the 2023 WebBikeWorld Video Review

Overview

A ride review will have to wait until my bike is insured in the spring.  Initial impressions are of overall premium fit, finish, materials & performance commensurate with more expensive helmets. The intermediate or long oval shape provides good fitment & room for the chin, being evenly snug without any pressure points & goes on without folding my ears. My head measures 58 cm & usually wear a medium or large depending on manufacturer & model. 

Eye Port & Fitment for Glasses

The eye port, which easily fits goggles, is extremely wide & expansive with outstanding vertical & horizontal sight lines allowing me to see my jacket zipper, pockets & feet when looking down + requires less head rotation during shoulder checks than my Nexx X.Wed2, which has a decently large sized eye port. LS2 claims an 'Eye Glass Fit System' but am not really sure what that is...regardless my glasses fit comfortably despite not having cut outs in the side foam & the open interior ear design aids comfort by not pressing foam pads tight against the ear sandwiching the eye glass legs where they fit over the ears. 

Visor

The visor has very good optics & outward vision, with the Pinlock 70 MaxVision not quite matching the visor's crystal clear optics & adding a slight yellow hue. It operates with a quality damped movement that holds a part open position well, at least without direct wind blast & has a solid detent stop when fully opened + a press button lock when fully closed...it should hold a slightly opened position to help minimize fogging, but does not have an anti-fogging detent position to hold the visor slightly open, which seems to be common with many manufacturers.

Tinted Drop Down Sun Visor

It also features an internal drop down dark sun visor with good coverage activated via a slider located on the bottom left side of the helmet. The only nit pik would be for it to extend slightly lower so that the cut off was not at the same level as my instruments...but acknowledge that manufacturers have to leave enough room to clear various nose bridge sizes & shapes while still being able to retract the entire visor within the interior of the helmet.

Quick Release Adjustable Chin Strap Latch System

It has a ratchet style metal quick release chin strap mechanism (see pic below) with a magnetically secured quick release tab providing very convenient operation & adjustment that can be done wearing gloves instead of the standard D-ring system fitted in the USA. Most regions outside the US seem to be fitted with the more convenient quick release latch system. LS2 spec'd  a conventional adjustable chin strap attaching the male end of the latch in conjunction with about 2.54 cm or 1" of separate latch adjustment range & wrapped the female quick release buckle in plush material that extends over the latch end for comfort.

  

Interior Nose Piece & Chin Curtain

The roomy interior nose piece extends about 1/3 above the end of my nose & directs exhaled air away from & below the visor &/or glasses benefiting cold weather riding & anti-fogging + the chin curtain integrates well with the neck foam to create an effective seal that should minimize noise & wind from entering the helmet from under the chin...likely a contributing factor to the class leading 96 db noise level recorded by Champion Helmets (see video above).

3 Position 1 Handed Adjustable Peak

The 3 position adjustable peak seems well designed & implemented + relatively solid. It pivots in an arc on the side mounting screws with 3 detent stops on the top mounting screw via 1 handed adjustment & is isolated from the helmet shell to minimize noise & vibration. The range of up/back & down/forward adjustment is about 2.54 cm or 1" with the lowest peak position about even with my eye brows for very effective shielding from the sun without having to dip my head much below the horizon & the top position almost completely above my line of site. There is ample clearance between the visor & the peak with the peak in the lowest position.

Bluetooth Communicator & Action Camera Mounting

I may require a coms upgrade as my older Cardo SMARTH Bluetooth with a com unit that mounts on the left side utilizing a tab that extends between the liner & shell & separate battery unit that mounts similarly at the back that will not mount on the LS2 Explorer because the sun visor slider lever is under the lower left edge where a coms unit typically mounts & a vent located at the bottom back edge where the battery would mount. There is a dedicated recessed mic location in the chin bar but no dedicated speaker cut outs in the EPS liner, instead having a slightly recessed area about 40 mm in diameter which will fit standard helmet speakers, but not larger, better quality speakers included with most higher spec bluetooth models without modification to the EPS liner. The EPS liner speaker location is painted black & exposed with no liner material to interfere with sound transmission....perhaps the slight recess vs deeper cut outs will position the speakers closer to the ears for superior sound, while retaining integrity & performance of the liner. The helmet does not have any dedicated Action Camera mounting plates/locations, leaving a clamp on chin mount as the most likely solution.