The Scout Air is an interesting helmet in terms of shape, and is one of the lightest helmets that you are going to be able to find that is available by Bell. For $150 you are getting a super light helmet that only clocks in at one pound and 12 ounces. When you are wearing this helmet, it’s almost laughable at how light it is. It virtually feels like you are wearing a hat. The weightlessness factor on its own is one of the top selling points for this unique and old-school style helmet.
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If you are a rider who likes nostalgia, this may just be the right choice for you. It has a classic retro feel that makes it look like something that you would find in an old, American road house movie. This is also the type of design that you might see on someone that is out exploring the open roads of European cities or the Italian countryside.
It comes in five shells and uses premium components in a matrix design, not polycarbonate. It comes with two peaks in the box, with the helmet. You can get a lot of different visors that will fit onto the Scout Air as well, which gives riders a lot of versatility in terms of how they want to customize the look and feel of the helmet.
Let’s jump in and take a look at the other features that makes the Scout Air a functional, fun, and unique helmet.
Ratings
Comfort:
Visibility:
Ventilation:
Quietness:
Specifications
Outer shell material : Composite Tri Matrix
Shell size : 5 shells (XS-SM, MD, LG, XL, 2XL)
Liner : interior foam, that is covered in suede
Weight : 1 pound 12 ounces in weight
Pinlock : No
Strap System : Double-D
Safety Ratings
DOT : Yes
ECE : Yes
SNELL : No
SHARP : Not tested
Shape and materials
One of the drawbacks that you get when you are looking at minimalist, classic helmets like the Bell Scout Air is just that ––– the minimal part of the design is pretty extreme. This helmet is relatively inexpensive, which typically means that you aren’t going to get a lot of traditional features, and that you are going to be missing some basic essentials. Not only does that mean no frills and extras, but that also means that you aren’t going to get a lot of the same, functional characteristics that you get when you buy a full-face helmet. So many times with helmets in this price range you find that you aren’t going to be able to take out any of the interior padding or the guts of the helmet. That means that you can’t clean it, wash it, adjust those features, or replace them. It just gets to the point where the liner and cushioning gets so gross or worn out that you have to eventually toss it and buy a new one.
However, Bell did not leave you hanging out to dry in that way. Not only is the Scout Air really inexpensive, Bell gives you the ability to remove all of the guts from the helmet so that you can clean it and bring it back to life. That way you don’t have to ride in a helmet that gets progressively more disgusting, each time that you take it out for a ride. You can also fully replace the interior padding when you need a new liner.
Things I liked
Things I don’t like
Overall comfort
The fit of this helmet is an intermediate oval head shape, which is fairly standard for the american market and a lot of the products that we see from Bell as a company. You can expect that this is going to fit a little bit longer from front to back. One thing that you are going to have to keep in mind if this is in fact the helmet that you settle on is that it fits a full-size smaller than other Bell helmets and many other major companies on the market. As long as you know ahead of time that you are going to need to buy a size bigger, then you are going to be fine.
Bell is known for open-faced helmets that sit lower on your brow. This is something that a lot of riders tend to appreciate from Bell’s designs because it eliminates the mushroom-effect that higher brow helmets can create when you are wearing them. The Scout Air doesn’t follow this traditional trend like you may think. This model is actually going to sit higher on your brow than you might expect. This is something that some riders may like, but many won’t, so it is definitely something to watch out for if you are looking into the Scout Air.
Visibility
Another great feature about this no-frills, low-profile helmet is that the peaks are really easy to remove. In the click of a button on the forehead of the helmet, you can quickly pop out and remove the peak and put a longer shield on your helmet to get a little more coverage and protect your eyes from the sun. That makes it really
Quietness
Despite the face being fully open on this model, the Scout air is surprisingly quiet. You would think that with all of the excess air and wind that is coming through the face of the mask that it would be loud, but the total lack of vents around the helmet keep it relatively insulated to noise.
Ventilation
Since this is an open-faced helmet, you are going to get a ton of great ventilation through the face of this helmet. That makes the Scout Air really nice for summer and warm weather riding. Other than that, this traditional brain-bucket style helmet doesn’t have anything else in terms of ventilating the top or back of the helmet.
If you are seriously considering a classic-looking helmet like the Scout Air, the chances are that you are already used to or expecting that you are going to be getting the majority of your ventilation through the open face of the helmet. If you are switching over from something that has a closed-face, this is something that you are going to want to be aware of. Overall, the ventilation on the Scout Air isn’t too bad. Remember that “Air” means that the helmet is lightweight, not that it is great for ventilation.
This helmet hugs your head really tightly, so it is really going to hold heat in the bucket. If you tend to run warm, this might not be the best choice for you and you may want to opt for another Bell helmet or brain bucket style that has a little more in terms of breathability and ventilation.
Safety
Even with the Scout Air being one of the lightest helmets that you are going to find on the market, it still manages to be a safe bucket. It is both DOT and ECE rated, and for us, that means that it is plenty safe enough to ride with.
Conclusion
What are our final thoughts on the Scout Air? For the lack of features that you normally see on low-fi helmets like this one, it really does have a lot to offer. The lightweight design is obviously the biggest selling point that Bell is pushing with this model, and something that we think that you will find unique and quite comfortable.
Another reason that we see a lot of value in this model is that it breaks a lot of conventional design deficiencies that you normally find for designs in this price range. You are going to get a lot longer viable shelf life with the Scout Air because of the ability to take out the interior liner. Being able to replace or clean the interior is a huge plus, and gives a lot of value to this inexpensive bucket.
Where to buy this helmet :