LS2 Explorer MX701 Carbon Helmet – Road Test

A box arrived from LS2 Helmets containing a Titanium Red LS2 Explorer Carbon and a note which read, “Yes, they do. Try this”.

The note and the helmet were in response to the article on whether a peaked adventure helmet would keep the low winter sun from my eyes more effectively than a sun visor. Hence the note and the “Yes they do” comment. It is an easy claim to make. Let’s get into it.

In the Box

Along with the LS2 MX701 C Explorer Frontier, to give the helmet its full title, there are several goodies in the box. The visor has the Pinlock posts already fitted and included in the box is a Pinlock 70. 

If the peak isn’t for you, or if you need to remove it for a while, there is a kit in the box that includes blanking plates. You can remove the peak and neatly fill in the gaps where the peak normally connects.

With a European HQ based in Spain – LS2 originally started in China in 1990 – there are a set of the required French stickers in the box. Should any of the LS2 Helmets find their way to a French retailer, or if you are of a mind to fit the reflective stickers anyway, you are covered.

There is also an inflatable doughnut, which will come in useful when I install a Sena Intercom in a few days, and two, yes two, bags. One is the traditional soft drawstring type and the other a padded carry bag.

And, of course, there is the Explorer Carbon helmet. With the exception of removing two stickers, one on the visor and the other on the integral sun visor, there was nothing for me to do other than put the helmet on, tighten the straps and go for a ride.

First Time Riding

Enough waffle. There is nothing like a road test to find out what the MX701 is like to ride with. The LS2 Explorer is a very comfortable helmet. The neck roll looks as if it will be tight but moves perfectly out of the way when putting it on and then wraps around my neck and under my chin to form a comfortable seal.

The cheek pads are tall and grip the side of my face to help stop any rotation of the LS2 Explorer around my head.

The padding around my skull is reassuringly tight but not intense and as I pull the helmet on, the padding gently compresses, giving a firm, comfortable fit.

As is the style of peaked adventure helmets, the chin bar is further away than with a standard full-face helmet and LS2 have extended the chin fabric to compensate.

Big Ears and Glasses

The way in which the LS2 Explorer’s padding encompasses my head is different to the Shoei and Schuberth helmets I am most familiar with. The fitting is snug and very comfortable but leaves ample space for my Dumbo size ears.

The padding design allows for the arms of my glasses to easily slide in, and due to the space around my ears, the arms of my glasses are not pushed onto the side of my head.

Sound and Light

For a helmet of this size and design, the MX701 is very light. The label on the MX701 claims 1500 grams +/- 50 grams, and the XL I’m testing weighed 1556 grams, according to the kitchen scales.

The lightness comes thanks to the carbon fibre shell. Compare the weight to Arai’s X4 Tour, which doesn’t have the additional weight of a drop-down sun visor and yet the Arai still weighs in at 1,683 grams and that is for a size medium.

Offsetting the lightness is an increase in noise. The neck roll padding cuts a lot of wind and road noise out, but with the lighter shell, more noise is inevitable. The MX701 isn’t loud by any measure, but if you want the solitude that can be found in silence, you are looking for a brick of a helmet, not a light one.

I’ve used earplugs when I ride for longer than I can remember, and with my normal earplugs in, an all-day ride would be easily achievable.

How was the LS2 Explorer?

My first reaction was how out of practice I am with double-D rings, especially when my jacket is buttoned tight and stopping the neck roll around the double-D rings from moving out of the way. More practice is required, after which it will be second nature.

The next thing I noticed was how much I rely on being able to look down. The nature of flip-front helmets is that you can lift the chin bar out of the way. Obviously, this isn’t possible with any full-face helmet, and the style of an adventure helmet adds a little more to this dilemma.

It isn’t a consideration when riding, but when filling up with petrol or trying to plug my Keis Heated Jacket in, it did make looking at what I was doing a little more challenging.

Visor and Peak

The peak on the LS2 Explorer is how we ended up here. I had wondered if peaked adventure helmets were the answer to low winter sun, and LS2 Helmets told me they were and sent the MX701 so I could see for myself.

The peak is a simple and welcome addition on the afternoon I was out riding. It shielded my eyes from the sun sufficiently, and although habit had me lowering the integral sun visor on more than one occasion, I raised it again a few seconds later.

I picked roads that put the sun across my field of view, as well as directly into my eyes, and between 3 pm and 4 pm on a November afternoon, the peak provided enough shade to stop me struggling with the sun. I only needed to tilt my head slightly on occasion to place the peak in the correct place.

The integral sun visor provides another layer of protection (UV-protection-index 380) and on the LS2 Explorer, the sun visor is an eye relaxing shade of blue, similar to the colour of polarized sunglasses.

Although the peak was the part that fascinated me, it is the visor on the LS2 Explorer that has stunned me the most. The visor is made from 3D Optically Correct “A Class” Polycarbonate, a space-age polymer with high resistance to impact that avoids distortion and offers maximum clarity, according to the LS2 marketing blurb.

If that sounds like a bunch of hot air and waffle … trust me, it isn’t. I even went as far as ordering a replacement visor for my Schuberth C4 to compare two brand new visors with each other.

The C4 visor is excellent, and the optics of the MX701 visor are even better. So good that more than once, I went to close the visor only to find that it was already down. There is no distortion at the edges, and even without the pinlock that comes in the box, it isn’t prone to misting up.

The Bottom Line

Having ridden 50 miles in the LS2 Explorer Carbon, what do I think?

The MX701 scores 11 out of 10 for comfort. Which I appreciate is a daft saying, but if my Schubert C4 is very comfortable, how do I describe something that is better? “Extremely comfortable”, perhaps?

From the short ride I took, I can’t see any issues wearing the Explorer Carbon all day. And being the sort of person who will use any excuse to ride my motorcycle, this is something I will have to prove. And all in the name of journalistic research, obviously.

The visor is stunningly clear. The photo in the Visor and Peak section was taken through the MX701 visor. I am noticing that I need to turn my head slightly more when looking left and right. It is far from an impediment, more a natural consequence of adventure helmet design.

All of which brings us to the vulgar subject of money. As I write this, the LS2 Explorer Carbon costs £300 if you want it in black or £320 for any of the different colour versions.

Which really is an insanely low cost. And now, if you will excuse me, it is time to plan a day out riding.