The Best Modular / Flip-Up Helmets Under $500 For Beginners

Why We Picked It:

The Scorpion EXO-AT960 is the latest ADV modular helmet based on the much loved AT950. It has a redesigned lightweight polycarbonate shell with removable peak visor, allowing this helmet to also function well for sport touring. The helmet also has a built-in drop-down sun visor and a unique buckle that can be easily operated with gloves on.

In terms of functionality, the helmet has good ventilation and is relatively quiet at highway speeds. It fits true to size and feels great against the cheeks thanks to Scorpions moisture-wicking KwickWick II liner. The new design is also much more friendly to eyeglasses, and there’s a port on the left-hand side of the helmet, to fit the EXO-COM comm set (about $190 if purchased separately). The helmet comes with both clear and tinted face shields, and there are additional shield options available.

The EXO-AT960 has both DOT and ECE 22.06 certifications, meeting the most current safety standards in both the US and Europe.

Why We Picked It:

The HJC C91 is a “do what is important right” helmet from the manufacturer. It has been designed from the outset to be budget-friendly, yet carries the same level of safety and impact protection you would expect out of HJC.

Starting with the polycarbonate shell, EPS foam lines the interior with carefully grooved sections for ventilation. A drop-down sun visor comes standard, and the visor itself is pinlock capable. The ventilation in the helmet, dubbed SuperCool by HJC, uses air from both the chin vent and the top-mounted intake to flow cool air through and around the interior of the helmet, exhausting out a venturi port at the top back.

Where the real budget-friendliness comes in is that the helmet comes ready to either use HJC’s own Smart Bluetooth system or any other major communications system (Sena, etc). It features a removable lining so you can machine wash it to get a day’s ride out of it, and the chin bar locks down securely with a metal pin-and-lock system.

The HJC C91 is DOT certified

Why We Picked It:

The Sedici Sistema II Parlare is a very advanced helmet at a very middle-of-the-road price. In fact, we honestly believe that it is underpriced, but don’t tell anyone we said that. So what makes it so advanced? For starters, it uses a fiberglass and kevlar shell, which is lightweight and extremely impact and abrasion-resistant, and quite often reserved for helmets in the $500 to $700 range.

It features a dual-density, multi-layer EPS foam under that shell, which is shaped and grooved for maximum cooling. Those grooves are fed by the two-position chin vent and three-position crown air intake, circulating throughout before being exhausted through three venturi exhausts on the back of the helmet. The chin bar itself is solidly locked down with a massive steel post-and-lock system.

And if that wasn’t enough, it also comes with a SENA DWO-6 bluetooth compatible comms system built into the helmet. That, by itself, usually asks for $150+ and then you have to install it yourself. The DWO-6 has a 1-kilometer range for comms, and can have up to 4 other riders connected to it so communications can occur over a group ride.

The Sedici Sistema II Parlare is DOT and ECE certified.

Why We Picked It:

The HJC RPHA 90S is, on the face of things, a fairly expensive helmet, pushing near our $500 budget limit. However, it does have a lot of things going for it, especially in terms of safety and carrying over a lot of the technology used in the construction of the non-modular RPHA models.

First and foremost is that this is a mostly-carbon-fiber helmet, with a mix of carbon fiber and carbon-glass hybrid fabric to make the shell super strong, but also super light. This is backed by multiple layers of multiple density EPS foam for the best impact and shock resistance possible. This is the same construction used in the RPHA 11 Pro, a full-blown competition racing helmet.

Adding to this is HJC’s MultiCool interior ventilation, cooling the entire head efficiently with the minimal amount of grooving needed in the EPS foam to keep its structural stability. A flip-down sun visor is standard, as is a visor with an included pinlock anti-fog and anti-UV insert already installed. The visor system is also toolless, meaning that you can swap out visors as needed in seconds, another innovation brought over from the racing helmet side of HJC.

Altogether, it combines to make a super-strong, super light, durable, and comfortable helmet that is among the best of the best. It far exceeds DOT standards.

Why We Picked It:

The Advant series picks up where the LS2 Valiant lineup began, with the most unique modular setup available.

Rather than a typical chin bar that ends up standing up over your head looking goofy and catching wind, the LS2 ddesign goes all the way back into "Jet" mode. Allowing this helmet to function as both a full face and an open face. Optical quality is very good and the dropdown sun visor is easy to operate with gloves on.

The Advent X has a High Performance Fiberglass Composite (HPFC) shell that uses to shell sizes to cover the fitment range. For about $100 you can step up to a full Carbon version.

LS2's state-of-the-art ventilation system. with numerous air intakes and exhaust ports, has plenty of airflow for a pleasant ride even in scorching conditions. The fully removable and washable liner makes cleaning a breeze. This Advant X is certified to meet DOT FMVSS 218 and ECE 22.06 standards, ensuring utmost safety and security during your rides.

Why We Picked It:

The Bell SRT Modular helmet is one of those interesting bits of kit that come out once in a while. Most helmets, if you dig down into it, are designed for a specific style of riding. You have sport helmets, ADV helmets, dirt helmets, cruiser helmets, and the like. That is what sets the SRT apart.

Firstly, it was designed for those who commute via motorcycle, as it has a very large and wide visor port for the best peripheral vision. It also has a drop down sun shield and an easy-open and easy-close chin bar that can be operated by gloved hands.

Next, it uses Bell's classic fiberglass composite shell material, which is extremely resilient while also being elastic enough to absorb a good portion of impact energy. What isn't absorbed is passed to the multi-layer EPS foam, over which a very comfortable and padded liner is placed. To keep your head cool in the helmet, there is a large, multiple zone chin bar intake and a ram-air crown intake, both controllable via easy to access sliders. That heat is pulled out by two spoiler-mounted Venturi exhausts.

As Bell themselves state, it won't get you to the track, and no modular helmet realistically ever will be used on a track. It will, however, get you to work, and is fully compatible with nearly every Bluetooth intercom system if you have a riding group or need to make or accept a call during the commute. It's a focused helmet that is intentionally not focused on any one specific style of riding, instead focusing on safety and comfort so you can ride all five days of the work week.

The Bell SRT Modular is DOT certified

Why We Picked It:

The Simpson name is quite popular, and the Bandit style even more popular, thanks to a certain tame racing driver on a fairly small, not-well-known, low-budget British motoring show that rhymes with Pop Steer. Well, they have a motorcycle version of it, and even better, it’s modular!

What makes the Mod Bandit a great helmet is both aesthetics and functionality. While the aggressive shape makes it one of the most fearsome-looking helmets on our recommendations, it also does add to creating some wind noise if your bike doesn’t have some kind of windshield or wind deflector. The functionality of it, however, is that the helmet flows an unbelievable amount of air. The front and top vents can flow so much cooling air that it has been noted by reviewers and users of the Mod Bandit that at times, it doesn’t feel like they are wearing a helmet at all.

The helmet does have a few flaws, most notably the previously mentioned wind noise. This is a helmet where good-quality riding earplugs are definitely recommended. It is also somewhat difficult to operate the chin bar release with gloves on until you learn where it is and can hit it by memory.

Apart from a few of the downsides, however, the helmet is definitely worth looking into if you live in a place where a large portion of your riding is going to be in hot weather, as this helmet will keep you both looking and feeling cool. The Mod Bandit is DOT certified.