Same experience for me. I normally wear L or XL, but even the XXL was uncomfortable on the Explorer. Features-wise it's the perfect helmet for me but I couldn't stand to have it on for 5 minutes in the store... there are pressure points in the XXL that annoy my head! I've tried the XL and XXL's on at two different Cycle Gear stores and all were the same. I had bought the Bilt Bluetooth helmet which was the 2011 Christmas $99 promotion, and it fit better but it has an unsolvable air leak at the shield. So I'm thinking about moving the very good Bluetooth unit from that helmet to a dual sport helmet.
Got my hi-viz Explorer Adventure lid today. I normally wear an XS but went with the small due to the size chart and all the reviews stating they run small. I think that's due to the internal shape being a narrow long oval. CycleGear is sending me a pre-paid return label so I can exchange it for an XS. Besides being a bit too big, I'm pretty impressed with the helmet for only being $99.
I picked up a Matte Black Large on Sunday; I was tired of riding pavement in a regular MX helmet and being pinged in the face by bugs. It was on the $99 deal, so I figured let's try it, especially after reading good things here. In short, I LOVE it. It fits very well. I normally wear a Large, and the Large fits just fine. The cheek pads are ever so slightly snug, but I expect they will break in. I do kinda wish I had gotten white or silver, but black goes with all my other gear. The black just shows dust and dirt more easily. I hosed it off with Simple Green and water after the ride, cleaned the visor, dried it and reassembled and it looks like new. I REALLY like how the visor can be set at any angle and it won't close (or open) with the wind. And despite wearing (prescription) sunglasses, the flip-down tinted visor is useful too. I added my own quick-release buckle off of another helmet, so I'm set there too. Oh and it's lighter than my old HJC CLX-4 MX helmet. Rob
I have a cheap UV tester that shows that both visors of the Bilt Adventure Helmet have UV 400 protection. Using the same machine, the dark visor on my Shoei Hornet gets the same results, as do my sunglasses (the clear visor on the Hornet appears to be offering a little less UV protection). Note that this test was done with a cheap device, so there is no guarantee that the results are 100 percent exact.
I'm torn on the Bilt Explorer Adventure helmet. I really want to like the helmet, especially the main visor that stays put where ever you put it and the sun visor is nice to have there, but honestly the fit to my head just isn't that great. I'm wearing an XXL and it still has pressure points that eventually start bugging me after all day in the helmet. I've even had a few times where I've gotten an excruciating pain/headache starting and had to to just stop and take a break. I don't think the Bilt Explorer has even a remotely oval shape fit as I'm definitely a very oval shaped head by several different expert Arai helmet fitters. I think overall its a much more round shaped and why it doesn't fit me well. I also need to wear one of those cool maxx head liners so my ears don't tuck down when I put the helmet on as that drives me nuts. That's a pretty poor design on the helmet liner to have edge that grabs your ears. I think the biggest issue I'm running into though is the speakers from my SMH10 just don't have enough room and that's part of the problem that is causing pressure points, but even without those, the fit of the helmet on my head is way less than perfect. I have an MSR one that fits better, but the visor is not nearly as nice and its even got less ear room than the Bilt. I haven't even tried my SMH10 in that one. I really wish the Bilt Discovery had the same face shield as the Bilt Adventure as the discovery fit me so much better. I'm thinking this helmet has a much more oval shape to it and why it feels so much better. I'd even give up the sun visor for a better fit, just really can't stand the Discovery face shield and its optical issues. I've been torn to go back and purchase the Discovery when its on sale for $69 and just see if I can live with the face shield, but its face shield is no where near like the one on the Explorer. Hmm, maybe I can take the pads out of the Discover and retrofit them into the Explorer? Probably doesn't help the shape issue of the overall helmet though. My wife seems to be enjoying her Bilt Explorer and she's been through several DS helmets, so that's good that she likes it.
I couldnt agree more with you. I wear a L in a Bell but ended up with a S in the Explorer. I couldnt tell any difference between the M and the S. My biggest complaint with this helmet is the lip at the bottom of the visor. It has a nasty habit of reflecting light directly into my eyes. my fix has been to line the lip with electrical tape.
One thing I noticed about this helmet is that there is a lot of turbulence inside it with the visor closed. It really needs a chin skirt Not being one who sews, I got creative with black duct tape. We'll see how it works out tomorrow. I used my street helmet as a guide. Rob Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Well guys, I really tried to like Bilt Explorer Adventure helmet, but it just doesn't work for me. I really came to appreciate the face shield that just stays where ever you put it or the drop down sun shield, but when it came down to it, the fit of the helmet doesn't work and I find the pads extremely poorly designed, cheap, and painful. I even noticed the pads getting "wrinkled" and staying that way? Because of the way the pads are behind your ears, I also had to wear a cool max head liner just to keep my ears from being folded down when I put it on and make the helmet more comfortable, but in the end, that didn't work either. I just spent 3 days DS riding about 4 hrs from our home (in Tellico, TN) with my wife and by day 2, I had had enough of the helmet. I was just getting terrible pressure points behind the ears giving me excruciating headaches that was making my riding miserable. It was so bad, that I went over to Tellico Motorcycle Outfitters and bought the Icon Variant, so I could continue to ride on the 3rd day in comfort. Mike had an awesome price on it, so it made it less painful for the purchase. I had never been a fan of Icon over all just because they usually don't market to the dual sport guys and had never even considered this helmet before, but after going through several $100 DS helmets that just don't work, I had to pull the trigger on something more expensive and this one fit the bill. I only have 1 full day ride on my Variant, but so far I'm loving it and I definitely got that "oh yeah, this feels good" when I put the helmet on which I never had with the Bilt. The shield also has a great small opening setting just to allow a little air in which I love, plus a couple other settings. It doesn't go up as high out of your view as the Bilt, but overall I think its a far superior helmet, but of course the price reflects that. What stinks is I had even debated before leaving for the ride on taking my trusty Scorpion EXO-700 or even my MSR DS helmet which is just okay, but I really wanted the Bilt helmet to work. Well in the end, it cost me a new helmet that's much more pricey, but that's okay as I think I'm really going to enjoy this one. You guys enjoy your Bilt helmets and I'm glad they work for you. My wife has an XS Bilt Explorer Adventure helmet and although she doesn't have the same issues I had with mine on comfort, hers has started to become so loose on her that she's starting to question how well it will protect her in a crash. I think again, this goes back to the "cheap pads" they use in this helmet and her's have stretched in just a short time that it no longer fits her snug like it should. We may be replacing her helmet before our big "Out West" trip this year.
I've been using it as a commuter helmet and I like it so far. Biggest issues is I would like to install my old Cardo Scala and I cannot get the clip between the shell and the foam.:huh
Does Cardo give you the stick on 3m option plate?. We didn't have any trouble mounting our Sena SMH10's and they use a very similar plate/clip setup. Galaxy Note 2 on Tapatalk
I think they do with the newer G9. This is an older Q2. I may just do that with some industrial Velcro!!!
We had Q2's at one time and I could have sworn they had the stick on plates too, but its been a couple years now and I sold them off. Industrial velcro could work.
Finally got my XS version. I think it's mislabeled as an XS because it fits just like (maybe worse) than the Small I originally ordered. The liner in this helmet is rough and feels cheaper. I'm disappointed because I really liked this lid. I'm going to return it and just keep wearing my Caberg until I find a lid from a local shop. Guess I'll lookin into the Fly.
What's the trick for getting the internal shield back on the track.....mine slipped off when I closed it with my hand instead of the push button......I removed the inner shield.......played around with the red spring mechanisms on the left side.......but I can't seem to get it back on track/reset......frustrating....
Took it all back yesterdday during the lunch hour....ALL of it (Jacket, Pants, Gloves, Helmet)......I was willing to keep the helmet if they'd let it go for $99 and exchange it for a white one (had some problems with internal/drop down "inner" shield this weekend.....kept jumping off track)....they were willing to exchange but at price of $199 against my $399 package deal.....too rich...... Opted to buy the lower end "Explorer Discovery" helmet (no inner shield).....it's actually a tad more comfy anyway......it was on sale for $69.....in terms of sizing, I wear an XL Shoei street helemt......went with L in both of the BiLT helmets: http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...-Discovery-Adventure-Helmet/p/43193_59409_199 Picked up a white BiLT Techno Mesh Jacket on Sat.......perfect for our "SUN" Diego weather......wear with internal liner in the morning/mesh in the afternoon.....I used it both Sat and Sunday and was pleased with it: http://www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/...o-Mesh-Motorcycle-Jacket/p/43811_59524_110877 I have to say the exchange/credit process was painless at Cycle Gear.......I really haven't shopped there much in the past......nice that exchanges are so easy..... All the house brand "BiLT" gear comes with a 5 year warranty......I don't think they realize how much we ride ........I may never have to buy another mesh jacket
I took the plunge recently and bought the explorer last week, this month they are $199 but CG still had $99 display up I rode the last few days running errands and did some highway to test it out, even hit a good size downpour. Helmet was great, no leaks no rattling (loctite on visor screws) and so far comfortable. It's got DS roots and compared to my dirt MX HJC, a medium fits same for both and the explorer was a bit quieter. I bought the shield from CG, dark smoke tinted, for $15 :huh!!! I really like the dark smoke and the drop down visor combo in direct sunlight. This is one of my favorite helmets now, mostly due to the look and a drop down visor. Its not the quietest nor the best when checking for cars (wind pull on visor) but it is very nice to look at and is comfortable equal to my CL-16 with a better liner feel. I am still in the honeymoon phase but once I have more miles on it we shall see how it stacks up!!!
I also just got the "explorer discovery" helmet. Hard to pass up for $70. I was going to get the AFX fx-39 but I saw this today. My wife has an AFX helmet and there's not an appreciable difference between the two. Due to that I figured what the heck. I'm a new rider and figured I don't need a $500 helmet now anyway. I will say that I'm disappointed I don't have the sun shield but sunglasses fit my head comfortably with the discovery helmet, so it's not a huge deal. I'll give a review of it once I wear it a while, but it will be pretty useless as I don't have much experience to compare it to.
I've been trying really hard to like mine, but after a little over a month of wearing it, I am having serious misgivings. It just isn't as comfortable as my old helmet (AFX DS-39). I really like all of the features, especially the retractable sun shield, but the quality just isn't there. The padding inside this helmet is a joke, and by the end of a full day ride, I have sore spots all over my head. Also, the base of the helmet is very narrow, and I tend to take my helmet on and off a lot on long day, so my ears are in pain from being almost ripped from my head every time I put the helmet on or off. And it is extremely difficult to get it over my headphones (Shure SE215-K IEMs). So I am seriously thinking about putting it on the shelf as a loaner to friends for when we go ATVing, and go back to the AFX...