Dexter Electron 2 review | A bargain adventure lid punching above its weight on features

Sportsbikeshop’s in-house brand, Dexter, offers a feature-packed motorbike helmet for under £100 – a drop-down visor, a Pin-Lock ready visor (in theory another £15 but included free at the time of writing), a quick-release strap and a full complement of vents match any offering from premium rivals.

Naturally, there are compromises to meet the price (the chin vents are fixed open, and only matte grey or black colour options are offered), but the overall feel of this adventure helmet is more value for money, than cheap and nasty.

Being rated to ECE 22.05, it’s only available to buy while stocks last.

Comfort

I found comfort levels to be reasonable, if not outstanding – it’s fine for a tank of fuel on a motorway, or around a couple of hours. I’m a size large and there’s not a drastic amount of padding, and after a while there’s a little pressure around the top of my head. I wouldn’t be able to keep it on for a full day, but periodic helmet-off stops for fuel or water make it perfectly wearable for a day out.

The lining material feels low-rent to the touch, but it doesn’t irritate once on your head, or get excessively sweaty on hot days. It’s not up to the standards of a top-end dual-sport helmet with wicking technology, but I wouldn’t expect it at this price.

Visor

The large visor gives good all-round vision, and seals well against the shell without adjustment. There’s an internal sun visor which is useful, though the operating tab is small and I’d like it to come down a little further.

It doesn’t have any kind of anti-fog coating either (a common omission on many internal visors), so it’s prone to misting on cold, bright mornings unless you open the main visor, or retract it when you stop. A Pin-Lock anti-fog visor is included for free at the time of writing – replacements are £14.99, and a dark-smoke main visor option is also available.

Ventilation

Chin, forehead and exhaust vents promise decent airflow, but it’s not exactly a roaring draft. It helps, but the extended chinbar tends to allow more air in than the vents themselves. The chin vents are fixed, and can’t be closed: you’ll need a neck tube pulled right up over you chin for cold rides.

Noise

Noise levels are higher than a pure road helmet, though fairly typical for a peaked helmet and not excessive for wearers of earplugs. There’s no pronounced whistling, just normal wind noise over the peak and other shell protrusions.

Looks

The matte finish helps elevate the finish beyond many cheap, plasticky helmets, and overall it looks fairly typical for an adventure helmet.

Quality

Quality is better than you’d expect and perfectly acceptable. The internal visor mechanism feels flimsy and the vent fittings look low-rent but the shell feels robust without the worrying, excessive flex some polycarbonate helmets have, and it’s a reasonable place to put your head. I dropped it once, but nothing broke or sustained obvious damage.

Value

Excellent – a visor alone for a premium adventure helmet costs nearly as much, and it’s a perfectly wearable helmet.

Other options to consider

Verdict

A great budget option – for new riders on a budget, occasional pillions who might not see the value in expensive gear, or even as a near throwaway helmet to take on a fly-ride motorcycling holiday, it’s a great choice. If you’re a rookie off-roader and tend to bash your lid regularly, you can afford to replace this several times over compared to a name-brand helmet, too.

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