Whether you are an experienced rider looking to replace or upgrade an existing helmet or you’re just starting out, the majority of your brain power should be invested in asking yourself very important questions like: What kind of riding will the helmet be used for? What features do you want? Does the helmet have a good safety rating? Will the helmet fit the size or shape of your head and what makes the particular brand of helmet the right one for you to invest your hard-earned money with?
These are the important questions people should think about when looking at a new helmet or new brand, as the flavour of the month is ever-changing. These questions were asked and answered when reviewing our latest test helmet from Autocycle Centre, the NEXX X.VILIJORD Zero Pro. The ‘X.VILIJORD’ is a high-quality do-it-all adventure helmet, it’s loaded with features and does everything that the print says it does on the box.
With the ECIMA 2023 motorcycle trade show in Milan just passing us by, NEXX helmets were there and had revealed their new and exciting 2024 helmet collection—like their epic X.WED3 adventure range. These new helmets are next level in design and have consistently evolved thanks to vigorous testing and feedback from their ambassadors. One particular ambassador by the name of Charley Boorman from Long Way Round was given the opportunity to build his very own NEXX helmet and in the process, he gave the public a behind-the-scenes step-by-step tour of the process that is the NEXX formula.
Let’s just be honest, the majority of us buy a helmet based on three things: looks, pricing and brand states. Most of us do this with the clothing we wear, the food we eat and the vehicles we own. But, sometimes it’s a brand’s story or heritage that makes you feel connected and to a degree, a loyal customer no matter what. After getting to know NEXX and how they do things, I can’t but help feel connected to this tightly knitted Portuguese helmet manufacturer.
If you haven’t already listened to Charley’s breakdown of this exciting helmet brand, NEXX helmets are fully European-made with every fibre, plastic, clip, mould, stitch and rissole made in-house. The designer can literally open a window and scream in a high-pitched Portuguese manner to anyone downstairs and an adjustment can be made on the fly—it’s that hands-on. With over 20 years of experience, the formula has truly been dialled into the “NEXX” level. Interestingly, NEXX’s employees are 80 per cent female as they pay better attention to detail and have more patience.
Where many helmet brands have found any number of reasons to get certain generic parts, painting or even interior work outsourced to save money and time, NEXX do it all in-house to uphold their philosophy—all knowledge concentrated. NEXX believe in knowing their products inside and out, which allows them to consistently improve while allowing them to have more room to provide a higher-level quality and more personalised helmet.
Walking through the doors at the NEXX factory you will see state-of-the-art machinery, so although NEXX preaches “handmade” this still applies as the machinery is manually operated to deliver high-tech components. This philosophy that we are talking about has been called “smart factory” by NEXX. In summary, this means a significant reduction of time to market, improved flexibility, increased quality, and all with reduced energy and resource consumption.
Having lived with the NEXX X.VILIJORD ZERO PRO Carbon for the last few months, all of the above starts to make sense. One would think, with all the crappy weather conditions, open road bugs and off-roading dirt, that servicing the NEXX would be a tedious experience. For the mechanically inclined you’ll make your way around the X.VILIJORD relatively, but for the monkey brains, NEXX has thought about us too. At the bottom of the NEXX helmet website, you will see a Video Tutorials section for every single helmet they make. Cleaning, removing parts or servicing your own NEXX can be learnt how to be done off of these well-documented videos—this is something, I have never seen before.
NEXX has thought of it all, from designing, building, fitting, riding and servicing. Next time you find yourself needing a new adventure helmet or wanting to get something special or unique, think NEXX.
NEXX X.VILIJORD ZERO PRO CARBON
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