The new Nexx X.wed 3 helmet is the latest adventure offering from the Portuguese manufacturer. It follows on from the X.Wed2 and the XD.1 before it, both of which I have owned and reviewed. Nexx describes this as “the world’s wildest adventure helmet” which is a bold (and relatively unspecific) claim, but it does, on the surface, look like a step up in design and features. There were a few issues with the 2 that both I, and other owners have experienced. So does this new helmet address those, and does that make it the best X.Wed yet? After covering over 1000 miles in it, I aim to find out.
Let’s start with the construction of the helmet. I was lucky enough to go out to visit the next Factory which is about an hour south of Porto in Portugal. It quickly became evident how much work goes into Nexx helmets and how much manual hands-on work is involved. We see a lot of information from companies like ARAI about their handmade helmet process and to be fair there’s not much difference in the next Factory. I was impressed at the level of skill and detail throughout the production as well as the quality control measures at each individual step. There are also some interesting environmentally lead innovations. For example, NEXX told us that they Source all of the materials that go into the construction of their helmets from within a range of 60km of their factory and they’re also always looking at ways to reduce waste. One such Innovation is that they no longer glue all of the individual EPS liner parts together. They’ve been designed in a way that this method is no longer required and the impact of that is that the company have reduced their glue consumption from 10 tons a year to Just 2 tons per year.
I’ve been wearing Keyo design in fluro and white which is one of the full carbon fibre shell versions. There are also composite shells available in the range at a lower price point. Regardless of their construction have three shell sizes which cover the entire size range. The X.Wed3, fully kitted out with the peak and visor, ready to ride, weighed in on my scales at 1,780gm. So it’s not a particularly light helmet but in use, I didn’t really notice it it never gave me any problems. It has a drop-down tinted shield with a nice action and excellent coverage, the shield itself being 18% larger than the X.Wed2. The main visor has a central tab along with two smaller tabs on either side which is good to see. The carbon helmets are fitted with a Pinlock 120 XLT insert which is the same found in the new Arai Tour X5. It offers an excellent quality of vision as well as a very wide field of view.
Ample ventilation is provided by one vent on the chin, a small switched vent on the forehead right above the opening, two eyebrow vents, a large Central vent and two upper-side vents. All of these are easy to operate and they do flow a lot of air which exits from four ports under the rear spoiler. The inside of the chin bar also features a winter cover which can be removed for warm weather allowing greater air flow. The helmet is also prepped for the Nexx XCOM 3 Communications unit which is made by Sena. We did get to test the system on a ride whilst at the factory, and despite the fact we were using pre-production versions, they worked very well even with more than 10 of us connected via mesh! If you want to use your own existing coms then there is still room to mount it on the side but to be fair flat space is a little limited.
The base of the helmet is also interesting as it features foam bumpers on the side to help prevent collarbone impact injuries and the underside of the chin section to lessen sternum impact injuries. The helmets also feature a fast cheek pad release system simply pull back the cover release the red Tab and the whole side interior comes away. At the back, you’ll find a handy goggle strap retainer and the eyeport is large enough to accommodate pretty much any pair of goggles. Two of the biggest changes of this helmet from the previous model are the visor and the peak, on the X.WED2 the visor and Peak were both held in by the same fixing screw. This made visor and Peak changes awkward and owners have reported issues with the bolts working loose. Now the peak and visor have completely separate fixings meaning you can change either without the need to remove both, the visor is also now quick release which is a massive Improvement. The interior is a plush place to spend some time the soft satin finish material is very comfortable wicks sweat away nicely and is removable for washing. it’s well balanced so despite it not being a super light helmet I found it very comfortable it’s not giving me any hot spots or neck aches even after a full day of riding ventilation and vision are very good and the drop-down visor offers excellent coverage.
Overall I think Nexx have done a really good job with the X.WED3. I think they’ve dealt with the gripes and the issues that I and a lot of other owners had with the X.WED2, but they’ve also added some really nice innovation and design touches. I think this puts this particular helmet definitely in the premium category for adventure helmets and it’s also a really purposeful looking helmet.
So what about prices there are three carbon fibre versions the Zero Pro which comes in a plain carbon finish priced at £599.99. The Keyo which is the helmet I’ve been wearing that’s available in numerous colour schemes at £599.99. The Wild Pro, which is the only gloss finish carbon helmet and comes in just one colour at £469.99 followed up with two composite versions, the Trail Mania at £399.99 in various colourways and the plain composite helmets come in at £329.99. It is worth noting that all of the carbon fibre models come with an additional 80% smoke visor. All of the carbon fibre helmets are fitted with the Pinlock120 XLT insert and the composite helmets are fitted with a Pinlock 70 insert.
After wearing this helmet for over 1,000 miles in as many different conditions as I could I think it is an excellent adventure helmet and Nexx has done a really good job. So if you are in the market for this style of helmet I would say this is one to put on your list to check out. If you are interested in this helmet and you want to buy it there’s a link below to the Nexx UK website, where you will save 10% off of your purchase. Just click the link and the discount will automatically be applied in your basket.
Order your X.WED 3 here – https://nexx-helmet.co.uk/?ref=ManCaveMoto
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