Nexx Helmets

Where do I even start. Biggest regret was spending full price for this. I'll start with the negatives as there aren't many positives if any at all.

1. Voice Command Accuracy
This intercom runs on Sena and not Cardo which was its first mistake. I think I get about 10% accuracy when using voice commands to skip songs, adjust volume etc. This is mostly attributed to Sena preferring 'American' accents and the fact that Nexx thought it was a good idea to mount the microphone nowhere near your mouth but instead hidden at the top of the shell where the integrated visor hides away (at least this is the case for my Nexx X.WST3 Carbon). I sat in my chair with the helmet on in a quiet room and it still wouldn't recognise my voice half the time even when talking slowly. I had more success when switching to a stereotypical American accent but that still missed a few. You can imagine my frustration when I went out for a ride and it would rarely recognise my voice at all which led to me shouting at the top of my lungs just to get it to recognise 'Hey Sena'. I even moved the microphone nearer to my mouth but that didn't improve anything. Just go read the Bennetts review for this and you will see it's not just me. My Cardo has around a 95% success rate with my voice so I know it's not my voice that's an issue.

NOTE: I managed to fix the voice command issue by enabling Siri on my iPhone. So now I just use Siri to control my phone, adjust volume, skip songs etc. (and Siri can do a lot more) and now voice commands work great. Which just proves Sena's voice recognition isn't great.

2. Battery Life
The battery life is shockingly bad and even worse if you ride fast or with ear protection and need to up the volume to max. I think I got around 4 hours of music playtime. To make matters worse, if you forget to turn the unit off, it doesn't automatically power off like Cardo does or go into standby. So you end up draining more battery because it just plays static noise. I'm surprised the battery life is this bad because the unit is much bigger than my LS2 4X and that lasts just as long as my Packtalk Edge.

3. Charging
Unlike a Cardo Packtalk Edge, you cannot take the unit off of the helmet to charge separately. You need to plug the cable in with it still attached to the helmet which is so cumbersome. Not to mention, most USB-C cables won't work as the port is very narrow so you need to use their cable or a cable that doesn't have a large connector housing. And the charge port faces down so you either need a 90 degree cable or risk bending the USB-C connector. At least it has USB-C though!

4. Sound quality
Way inferior to any of the Cardo units I've used which is a shame seeing as its using Harman Kardon speakers. If you use the speakers purely for GPS navigation, then you will be disappointed by the static noise that you can hear when no audio is playing or inbetween dialogue. I have to have music on or turn it off completely otherwise it starts to drive me up the wall. Unfortunately, you cannot use your own ear plugs because the intergrated comms use their own proprietary cables. So no 3.5mm jack to plug your ear plugs into like I can with my Cardo + UltimateEar SoundEar Pro.

5. Connecting with other riders
For whatever reason, bluetooth pairing does not work with Cardo users. At least for me it never connects and pairs. And unfortunately, bluetooth is the only method of connecting with other users as the mesh system only works with other Sena riders.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the Siri fix, I would have got a refund or thrown it in a bin. But now with the Siri fix, I can actually use the unit as intended. It's just a shame battery life and sound quality is still lacking. If you want to communicate with other riders who use Cardo, then avoid this at all costs. This is only good with the Siri fix, and if you plan to just listen to music and ride alone.

The helmet looks great, is comfortable and the venting options are great. However, I went with the Medium (my usual size) and the helmet is noticeably larger on my head than my Shoei NXR2 due to the integrated visor and 22.06 requirements. There are also a few negatives regarding functionality and compatibility with accessories which I will mention.

Firstly, if you're a Cardo user then you can forget about it due to a lack of mounting options and a terrible integrated comms unit. You cannot mount a Packtalk Edge using the clip mount as the shell width is to wide. And the adhesive mount won't work anywhere convenient enough for you to operate with your hands. The only location you could stick the adhesive is by the Nexx logo on the side just behind the visor but it's awful. I opted to go for the integrated comms unit 'Nexx X.Com 3 Pro' but that unit is absolutely awful and runs on Sena. The voice commands work 10% of the time, constant white static noise when no sound is playing, not so great audio quality from the speakers, and shockingly bad battery life. I wrote a bad review about it there if you want to read about it.

Secondly, I question the build quality sometimes due to the shell noise. Just walking to my bike with the helmet on, there is constant creaking that I can hear inside. Not to mention, operating the visor up and down is incredibly janky and makes the same awful creaking noise. Also, the front vent easily pulls off when trying to open the vent as its clipped on by a little piece of plastic. So if you try to operate it with gloves on whilst riding you may just end up pulling it off and losing it.

Thirdly, the integrated visor fogs up like crazy which makes it unusable during most of the year in the UK. The main visor won't fog up with the pinlock that is included, but the minute you bring the integrated visor down, it just immediately fogs up and the only workaround is to open up more vents which isn't ideal during winter months. Not an issue with this helmet only, but all helmets that include integrated visors.

Lastly, the quick release mechanism to remove the helmet lining is not so quick! You need to pull the tiniest rubber flap that is impossible to get to with your finger and after pulling that back, you need to pull a slider back which will sometimes get caught on the cables you need to run the integrated comms unit in which makes it inoperable sometimes. So good luck getting your helmet lining and pads out to wash each time because that system is terribly designed.

Other than that, it is lightweight considering the integrated visor mechanism and wind noise is not too bad. But if those negatives concern you, then you may want to look elsewhere. But from a purely bare bones helmet perspective, it's good enough to wear every day.

Absolutely awful helmet.

Continually lets air in around the flip mechanism and visor and the chin collar is too small which allow air in also. So much so I had to double up on neck scarfs to try and resolve - still didn’t work.

Flip up mechanism - flimsy, loose, and doesn’t fully connect to the helmet.

Drop down visor doesn’t always retract fully.

Worst purchase I have ever made from SBS.

The helmet looks great and it should for over £500
However the iridium blue visor scratches really easily and the visor lock switch is very cheap and came off my first helmet but sportsbikeshop replaced the helmet within days so cannot fault them.
All the gear I’ve bought from them have been great just slightly disappointed with nexx build quality.