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We've said it before, and we'll say it again: adventure gear is outrageously expensive. That's particularly true if you're drooling over top-shelf adventure helmets, which can run anywhere from $700-$900 nowadays.
Look, we get it: of all the places to roll the dice on quality, your helmet probably isn't the best place to start. It's tough to put a price on the structural integrity of your skull, and most of us probably feel the same way about our brains.
With that being said, both our staff and our customers have been consistently surprised by a handful of budget ADV helmets over the last few years.
These are the five we've tested under the $300 mark that we'd recommend to absolutely anyone.
Quick List of Budget ADV Helmets:
| Helmets: | Summary: | Price |
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Bell MX9 Adventure MIPS
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Lightweight and affordable ADV helmet with excellent airflow and an ECE certification. | CHECK PRICE |
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HJC i80
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A modular ADV helmet with a drop-down sun visor for under $300. Need we say more? | CHECK PRICE |
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AFX FX-41 DS
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A sub-$200 adventure lid that's absolutely packed to the gills with features. | CHECK PRICE |
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O'neal Sierra II
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The least expensive ADV helmet we would recommend that still manages ECE certification. | CHECK PRICE |
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LS2 Blaze II
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Excellent features, handsome looks, and great safety chops for under $200. | CHECK PRICE |
What Makes An ADV Helmet Worth Buying?
We'll start off by saying that if saving money is your main concern, there are plenty of lids out there that fit the bill. If you actually want to rely on your budget ADV helmet to protect you in a crash, however... well, that's a different story.
That's why each of the helmets below share a few core competencies we wouldn't recommend living without. Here are the cliff notes on how we choose our budget ADV lids.
Safety First
"The more safety certifications a helmet earns, the better."
This one probably goes without saying, but our first priority when choosing an adventure helmet is safety. Specifically, we're looking for what sort of safety certifications a helmet has earned.
The most common we see in the States (and the minimum requirement for this list) is a DOT certification. The all-important DOT stamp is required for a helmet to be certified "street legal" in the first place, so this one is a no-brainer.
You'll also notice that many of the budget ADV helmets in the list below also sport an ECE rating, meaning they also pass European safety requirements and can be legally sold there.
The more reputable certifications a helmet has, the better the value.
Ventilation
"When it's hot out, you want all the airflow you can get."
If you're shopping for an ADV helmet rather than a basic street helmet, chances are it's because you're planning to spend some amount of time off-road. Riding in the dirt is a sweaty, active pursuit, and as such, we give second priority to ventilation.
This is where hands-on testing plays a crucial role. A helmet can have all the vents in the world, but if they don't actually succeed at routing cool air in and hot air out, they're going to be a sweaty, foggy mess in short order.
Weight
"Believe it or not, these two ADV helmets actually weigh about the same, no carbon fiber required on Bell's part."
While a truly lightweight helmet is hard to find on a budget, we recommend looking for the lightest lid you can afford. In our experience, the lighter a helmet is, the less neck and shoulder fatigue you'll feel after a long day in the saddle.
As a general rule of thumb, we try to keep all our picks below the four-pound mark for this reason.
Helmets that play around 3.5 pounds are our preference, although some riders are willing to bear a few extra ounces in exchange for extra features.
The Best Budget ADV Helmets We've Tested
Keeping the above themes in mind, there are a few lids we've bought and tested in recent years that deliver surprisingly good quality for the money.
Here are our current favorite options that slot in under $300.
Bell MX9 Adventure MIPS
Of all the budget ADV helmets we've used over the years, Bell's MX9 Adventure MIPS is still our favorite of the lot. We've worn this everywhere from Spain to Mexico, and it's just a great all-around helmet for any all-terrain endeavor.
Starting with the obvious, you can pick one of these up for $250 all day, but we've seen them go as low as $200 when there's a sale on certain sizes or colors. That's cheaper than most house brands, yet comes from one of the best manufacturers on the planet.
"Putting the Bell MX9 Adventure MIPS through its paces in Utah." photo: Royal Enfield
The MX9 Adventure is built on the same DNA as Bell's MX9 motocross helmet, so it should come as little surprise that one of our favorite features of this budget ADV helmet is that it flows a ton of air on and off-road.
That off-road DNA is also apparent in that we have yet to find a pair of goggles that doesn't work with the MX9 Adventure. The same could be said for the weight, which at 3.6 pounds in a size medium is nice and light for a budget-friendly lid.
The main downside we've found with the MX9 Adventure is that it's almost as noisy as a dirtbike helmet, although with a decent set of earplugs, it's about as quiet as anything else.
It also has several non-adjustable vents, which you'll feel in heavier rain.
PROS |
CONS |
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CHECK PRICE:
Bell MX9 Adventure MIPS
REVZILLA| AMAZON
HJC i80
Behold, the sheer power of economies of scale. Under normal circumstances, manufacturing a helmet as good as HJC's i80 would be impossible, but when you're the largest helmet company in the world, you can afford to flex on the competition.
Here's the deal: we're talking about a budget ADV helmet that also happens to sport a modular flip-up design, a drop-down sun visor, and a Pinlock-ready face shield, all for around $260.
That's $50-$60 cheaper than Scorpion's popular EXO-AT960 modular.
"The HJC i80 excels for pavement-focused ADV touring."
Somehow, HJC also manages to build the i80 lighter than the AT960, sneaking in just below the four-pound mark against all odds. Sure, the two feel about the same in reality, but we're impressed just the same.
We also dig that the i80 includes cutouts for eyeglasses, is surprisingly aerodynamic at highway speeds, and even comes in four different shell sizes, which makes for a good fit in our experience and also cuts down on undue bulk.
Our main complaint is that the i80 is only rated for DOT safety certification, the bare minimum for street-legal status.
We'll also note that the design leans more toward touring duty, so the ventilation can feel lacking when you're working hard off-road
PROS |
CONS |
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CHECK PRICE:
HJC i80
REVZILLA| AMAZON
AFX FX-41 DS
If an ADV helmet under $300 is good, an adventure lid under $200 must be better, right? Usually, a lid as cheap as the $199 AFX FX-41 would give us pause, but it's actually proven to be a solid all-rounder for our team.
The secret sauce for us has been the FX-14's whopping array of 17 separate intake and exhaust vents. This thing flows a ton of air, and as such, works great for dirt-intensive ADV or dual-sport trips like our ride through Vietnam.
"You won't mistake the AFX for a premium lid, but it nails the essentials for all-terrain adventures."
It also works great with larger goggles, includes cut-outs at the chin-bar that play nicely with neck braces, and even features a drop-down sun visor despite its dirt-cheap MSRP.
As for downsides, our biggest complaint is that AFX only manufactures the FX-41 in two shell sizes to keep costs down, so depending on the size you order, it can look pretty bulky.
It's also on the heavier end of the spectrum at just over four pounds.
We'll also note that while goggles do fit the FX-41, routing the strap around the visor is a little awkward.
This is one of the few lids we actually bother pulling the visor off of for off-road sections, which can be a pain on a true 50/50-style adventure tour.
PROS |
CONS |
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CHECK PRICE:
AFX FX-41 DS
REVZILLA| AMAZON
O'Neal Sierra II
Just when we thought a decent ADV helmet couldn't get any cheaper than the AFX above, O'Neal dropped the Sierra II into our laps. $170 for an ADV helmet that's both DOT and ECE certified? Now we're talking.
The Sierra II is also lightweight for the money at just under four pounds, and is surprisingly aerodynamic on the highway thanks to its reinforced peak visor, which is secured to the helmet in five separate locations for maximum rigidity.
"Testing the O'Neal Sierra II on the Oregon BDR."
Hell, O'Neal even managed to work a drop-down sun visor into the Sierra II without breaking the bank. The helmet works so well with goggles that we rarely use it, but hey, it's there at no additional cost.
That being said, this is an extremely budget-built helmet, and you'll notice that in several ways. It looks oversized for what it is, the visor and vents feel a little clunky, and the ventilation isn't great when the visor is down.
As such, this isn't the best match for highway touring duty, especially in the warmer months. It's tough to complain considering the price, but if you're working on a shoestring budget, the Sierra II will get you on the road safely.
PROS |
CONS |
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CHECK PRICE:
O'Neal Sierra II
REVZILLA| AMAZON
LS2 Blaze II
Finishing out our list is the LS2 Blaze II, an awfully handsome lid with a ton of features for just $200. We'd consider this the "all-rounder" of the bunch, splitting the difference between dirt and touring evenly without going too cheap on the materials.
A few things make the Blaze II stand out for the money: it comes in three shell sizes rather than two like the cheaper helmets on our list, and it also delivers both DOT and the latest ECE certification.
"LS2's Blaze II looks great, fits great, and works great on and off-road." photo: LS2
It also sports a drop-down sun visor, includes a Pinlock-ready shield, and somehow weighs just 3.6 pounds in a size medium.
Ventilation is solid, it's reasonably quiet at highway speeds, and the Blaze II even features emergency release cheek pads.
It's not as good off-road as the Bell, and is slightly outclassed in highway comfort by the HJC, but otherwise it's tough to fault.
We did note that the rear vents get covered up by a goggle strap and the visor is a bit clunky, but those are small gripes for a $200 lid.
PROS |
CONS |
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CHECK PRICE:
LS2 Blaze II
REVZILLA| AMAZON
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