Best electric scooter helmets – 12 best choices in every helmet category

An electric scooter helmet is the only truly mandatory piece of equipment for scooters, both because it can prevent serious injury and because it’s required by law. If you only buy one piece of gear, it should be the helmet. It can literally be the difference between life and death!

There are a few different types of helmets suitable for electric scooters, each with an ideal use case and scenario. Also, you will very likely want your helmet to look cool, something which only a few helmets achieve.

In this guide we will which are the best helmets for electric scooters, see how to choose the right helmet for your scooter and your needs, and also answer some questions and what you need to know before buying.

Best electric scooter helmets

After researching, testing, and experimenting with many different helmets, we’ve found the following to be the best picks for electric scooter riders.

Best Quality Full Face – Shoei RF-SR

Shoei is a Japanese manufacturer of premium, high-quality helmets. This comes with all the famous perks that many Japanese products come with – fanatic devotion to making the best possible product. They have been a market leader for more than 50 years.

They manufacture helmets for motorcycles primarily. That’s great news for us scooterists, as those types of helmets are the safest, most carefully tested, and always conform to the established safety standards.

The Shoei RF-SR is one of their top helmets.

As a full-face helmet, it will provide you with maximum safety. It can’t get any better and safer than this.

And since this is a Shoei helmet, you can rest assured that comfort and experience will not be sacrificed.

This helmet comes with all the features you can think of, all the bells and whistles.

It has an aerodynamic shell design, Multi-Ply Matrix AIM+ shell, dual-layer multi-density EPS liner, fully removable interior, chin curtain, breath guard… this helmet has it all. Its proprietary ventilation mechanism provides the perfect balance between constant airflow and silent rides.

With a weight of only 5 lbs / 2 kg, this tough helmet is also pretty light at the same time, given all its features.

It has a very strong, smart, aggressive look, and you can pick from an array of colors.

The Shoei RF-SR is DOT certified and compliant with the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, and is Snell M2015 Rated, with a warranty period of 5 years!

It can’t get any better than this. If you want the best electric scooter helmet (that still doesn’t cost an arm and a leg as many other helmets do), the Shoei RF-SR is a perfect choice.

You can find this helmet on Amazon here if you live in North America. In the UK and EU, the Shoei RF-SR is not available, and the next best thing is the Shoei NXR Stab Full Face Helmet on Amazon UK.

Best Value Full Face – Bell Qualifier

Bell is a legendary helmet manufacturer that has been in the game for more than 60 years.

They make some of the best helmets for bikes, motorcycles, and rideables. At the same time, they have the experience and know-how to craft great safe helmets and still not have the price point too high.

The Bell Qualifier is an amazing value full-face helmet for fast rides and motorcycles. It is lightweight, but also very, very tough. I wouldn’t be surprised if people go to war with this thing.

It’s made with a polycarbonate ABS composite outer shell, comfortable mesh innards, and anti-bacterial liner. The padded wind collar will help a lot with reducing noise, and you also have integrated speaker pockets. The click-release shield system enables a very fast shield swap. Great fit, great comfort, all without sacrificing safety.

This helmet looks like something you’d want to wear if you’re trying to Kill Bill. In all seriousness, it’s a very cool-looking helmet, with a classic bad-boy look. It weighs 5 lbs / 2 kg.

The Bell Qualifier complies with the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218. It’s DOT certified, however it seems it’s not Snell rated. It comes with a 5-year warranty.

All in all, this is one of the best value full-face helmets on the market today. Coming from a very reputable and established brand, it will provide you with the best safety for the lowest amount possible.

You can find the Bell Qualifier on Amazon (and also on Amazon UK for better delivery terms in the UK and EU).

Best Quality Modular – HJC IS-MAX II

Modular helmets are somewhere between full and open face helmets. HJC is one of the best helmet manufacturers when it comes to these types of helmets.

They are based in South Korea and have many factories in Korea and Vietnam, producing more than one million helmets every year. They have been perfecting their 40-step process for over 50 years now.

The HJC IS-MAX II is one of their most popular, best-selling helmets. It’s made primarily for motorcycle riders.

The material used for the shell is an advanced polycarbonate. It has an adjustable chin bar, and thanks to the CAD technology it provides great comfort and fits perfectly. The shield release mechanism is very simple, it’s just one button.

The optically superior pinlock faceshield will give you 95% UV protection. You can choose between several different shield shades, and the smoke shade is definitely the coolest one.

You will get great ventilation and airflow at all times, all the heat, steam, and humidity will be expelled with the channeling ventilation system. The interior is constantly kept cool, and has anti-bacterial protection.

The helmet weighs about 5.5 lbs / 2.5 kg.

The noise from the wind is almost entirely gone, except for riding at very high speeds.

The HJC IS-MAX II is DOT certified, and fully compliant with the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.

While there are many modular helmets for motorcycles available, this one is certainly one of the best. You can check it out on Amazon here (or on Amazon UK for the UK and EU).

Best Value Modular – ILM Motorcycle Modular

The ILM Motorcycle Modular helmet is one of the best helmets around below the $100 price point, and it’s certainly one of the best modular helmets in that price range. A very popular, very battle-tested and time-proven helmet, great value for money.

It has a very powerful, strong, tough-guy look and feel to it.

The shield has a quick-release mechanism, that enables the screen to be easily replaced. The shield also has a dropdown sun protection screen, and uses the Breath Guard and Chin vent reroutes technology to prevent fogging. That makes this helmet ready to handle all types of weather.

The construction is from lightweight ‎Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, and the interior liner is fully removable and easy to clean. On the inside, the adjustable cheek pads will give you a perfect fit.

The helmet is DOT certified and complies with the US FMVSS 218 standard, and it weighs 4.94 lbs / 2.24 kg.

If you are interested in the Bell Revolver Evo, check it out on Amazon.

Best Quality Open Face – Bell Custom 500

One more Bell helmet, which cements its reputation as a great brand.

The modern Custom 500 comes from a great lineage. Its predecessor, the classic Bell 500, is somewhat of a superhero among open face helmets, and has been protecting motorcycle riders for more than 70 years.

The Bell Custom 500 is in many ways the standard for open face helmets. It provides a hard-to-beat quality and safety, and still doesn’t cost a fortune.

With a weight of just 3.5 lbs / 1.5 kg, and with DOT certification and US FMVSS 218 compliance, it is one of the best helmets that strikes a good balance between safety and comfort.

It comes with an integrated 5-snap pattern that makes replacing visors a breeze. It is a low-profile fiberglass composite shell, while the EPS liner provides anti-bacterial protection.

The value this helmet provides is rarely seen. No wonder is one of the most popular and widely used open face helmets of all time.

You can find the Bell Custom 500 on Amazon for the US and Canada, but also on Amazon UK for the UK and some EU countries.

Best Value Open Face – HJC CL-JET

Since HJC are a very strong helmet brand, it’s only natural they will qualify for many helmet categories as one of the best choices.

If you want an even greater value for money open face helmet than the Bell Custom 500, consider the HJC CL-JET.

Usually, this helmet will cost under $100 on Amazon.

A very modern-looking helmet with an awesome design, this slick item comes with many safety and comfort features built-in.

By using CAD technology, this helmet achieves both lightness and hardness at the same time. The composite outer shell is made from advanced polycarbonate, and the inner liners are very fitting, and it comes with bluetooth connectivity options.

With a weight of 4.5 lbs / 2 kg, this helmet is a bit lighter than the safest helmets. The helmet is DOT certified.

The full face shield will provide great protection from wind, bugs, sand, dust, pretty much everything that makes your life miserable when riding a scooter at great speeds.

The RapidFire II shield replacement system enables owners to replace shields without any tools.

In summary, HJC CL-JET is a great value open face helmet. You can find it on Amazon here.

Best Quality Half Helmet – Vega Warrior

Half helmets are a great compromise between safety and a comfortable user experience.

They are a very popular option, as they are lighter and easier to put on, take off, and store.

One of the best half helmets of our time is the Vega Warrior. This helmet has sold hundreds of thousands of units, and the miracle is that the vast majority of its owners have nothing but good words for it.

The Warrior is small, very light in weight (just 2.2 lbs / 1 kg), and has an adjustable size. It has a DOT certificate for complying with the US FMVSS 218 standard.

The drop-down inner sun shield provides great protection from the sun and the other natural elements, without compromising on safety too much. With the dial system for size adjustment, it will fit everyone, no matter the size or shape of their head.

Since this is not a closed helmet, you will enjoy even greater ventilation. The comfortable EPS inner linings will not interfere with that in the least.

Like all other great helmets, it comes with a 5-year warranty. It is DOT approved, compliant with the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218.

If you need this helmet, you can find it on Amazon.

Best Value Half Helmet – ILM Half Helmet

Half helmets are usually cheaper, but we can push the envelope further and go for even better value.

The best value half helmet today is the ILM Half Helmet.

For a very affordable price, you will get a very safe, popular, tried and tested helmet.

Weighing only 2.7 lbs / 1.2 kg, this is one of the lightest helmets around.

It comes with a quick-release chin strap, a removable and replaceable drop-down sun visor with UV protection, and an ABS shell that is DOT approved (FMVSS Standard 218). The inner liners are made from high-density EPS foam.

The glossy-black dome design is one of the slickest looks in a half helmet ever.

You can check out the ILM Half Helmet on Amazon (and on Amazon UK as well).

Best Quality Offroad Helmet – Shoei VFX-EVO – Allegiant

Ok, we’re in the offroad territory now. It contains some of the coolest, shiniest, best-looking helmets ever made.

Shoei is one of the top dogs in the helmet game. Their helmets are simply out of this world.

The Shoei VFX-EVO is one of their flagship products. It not only complies with most of the international standards, but it even exceeds them. The helmet implements the Snell standards and complies with the US DOT FMVSS 218 and ASTM F3103 standards.

This helmet has been around for several years now, and it has improved a ton over the years. It provides the best safety and comfort, and prepares you for the worst by employing technology that absorbs rotational shocks, something not found in many helmets (it relies on the unique MED system, or Motion Energy Distribution System).

The mud guard is designed so that it doesn’t interfere with your goggles. The shell is made from Advanced Integrated Matrix Plus Multi-Fiber, which is a combination of fiberglass and organic fibers. The helmet will prevent mud from entering, and will filter out dirt and dust. Airflow and ventilation are incredible, thanks to the many ports.

You get all of that in a very lightweight product, weighing just 3.3 lbs / 1.5 kg.

We can go on and on about this helmet. It is, without a doubt, one of the best helmets ever, and possibly the best offroad helmet today. You can find it on Amazon if you’re interested.

Best Value Offroad Helmet – O’Neal SIERRA II

O’Neal are primarily a manufacturer of motocross helmets.

The brand is somewhat legendary. The founder, Jim O’Neal, was a teenager enamored with motorcycle racing. In a classic case of scratch-your-own-itch, he realized that the current racing equipment, most notably helmets, were not sufficiently good. So he started his own brand, which has now been in business for more than 50 years.

The O’Neal SIERRA II model is their offroad motorcycle offering, usually priced very affordably on Amazon.

The helmet has an ABS outer shell, air channeled comfort liner that is easy to remove and wash, and a double-D padded chin safety lock. It weighs only 3.6 lbs / 1.6 kg. The only downside is that it can be noisy when riding at faster speeds.

The helmet is DOT certified, and ECE R22-05 rated.

You can check out this great value offroad helmet on Amazon.

Best Quality Bike Helmet – Giro Register MIPS

If you’re not really riding at great speeds, a bike helmet can be a more comfortable option for you. While I don’t advise skipping on safety, it may be a worthy compromise for some. Not only are bike helmets easier to wear, but they are also cheaper too.

Giro is a very famous, very reputable bike helmet brand, producing all kinds of helmets for various use cases.

The Giro Register MIPS is a very strong shell helmet, made to fit any head size. You can simply tune the size with the dial to make sure it’s a perfect fit for you.

Some Giro helmets have a multi-angle impact protection system built-in, that redistributes the shock from an impact and greatly reduces the chances of a serious injury. The Giro Register MIPS comes with that feature.

The polycarbonate shell is reflective, and the interior uses quick-dry liners.

The helmet complies with the US CPSC Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmet for persons age 5 and older. With a weight of just 0.6 lbs / 0.3 kg, it is the lightest helmet on this list.

Make no mistake, this is one of the best bike helmets around. If you don’t ride that fast and you believe a bike helmet will provide you with enough protection, you can check out the Giro Register MIPS on Amazon if you’re in the US or Canada, and Amazon UK for the UK and EU.

Best Value Bike Helmet – Schwinn Thrasher

Bike helmets are cheaper, but as a value shopper, I’m always interested in the best possible deals.

And from this entire list, the Schwinn Thrasher helmet fits that criteria the best. You can literally get decent protection for low or medium-speed rides, for as little as $20 (usually, sometimes it can be more expensive, but not by a lot).

Coming from one of the giants of the bicycle industry, Schwinn has been crafting bikes and equipment since 1895. That’s more than 125 years in business!

And this is precisely one of those cases where low price doesn’t mean low quality. This helmet has received more than 3300 ratings on Amazon, and 93% of them have been 5-star or 4-star ones. We can safely assume that this helmet has been sold in the millions. Wow.

The Schwinn Thrasher comes with a dial-adjustable fit system, and with a full range padding to give you a perfect fit and solid comfort levels. The helmet is US CPSC approved.

It weighs less than 1 lb / 0.5 kg, the three-piece microshell increases its lifespan without weighing too much. It has 20 air vents for those brutally hot summer days.

If you want the cheapest, simplest solution for your electric scooter safety, you can check out the Schwinn Thrasher on Amazon for the US and Canada, and Amazon UK for the UK and EU.

Should I wear a helmet on an electric scooter?

Electric scooters can be very fast and dangerous, and you should always wear a helmet when riding to prevent serious head injuries.

In most countries, it is illegal to ride on a scooter without a helmet. While e-scooter laws are still not entirely clear in some places, and you might get away with riding without a helmet, it is still a very dangerous practice.

What helmet is best for electric scooters?

The best helmet for you is the one that:

• offers enough protection for your speed and ride types
• you like how it feels and will always wear

While wearing a helmet is mostly a matter of habit, you still need to get a helmet that you will actually wear the whole time. This is critical. That’s why a helmet has to be protective, comfortable, and good-looking.

There will always be a debate on the topic of protection vs comfort, but the best helmet is the one that finds the golden middle between the two.

How to choose an electric scooter helmet

First, start by finding out what the law requires you to do. Depending on your country, this will mean your helmet has to satisfy a certain standard. Pretty much all of the helmets listed here should be fine for every country, but double-check before buying to make sure.

Next, consider the type of scooter you have and the type of riding you perform. This means, if you have an offroad scooter, or ride offroad a lot, you will need an offroad helmet.

If you only ride offroad some of the time, you can go with either an offroad helmet or another type of helmet. However, an offroad helmet will be unmatched for offroad riding. If you can afford it, maybe you can get one helmet for regular rides, and an extra for offroad. If not, I recommend getting the offroad helmet only, since it will definitely provide the best protection.

If you never ride offroad, you can consider the speeds that you ride, and only then take into account your own personal safety vs comfort balance.

If you ride very fast (25 mph / 40 kmh, or more), then a full-face helmet is your only choice. You may be able to get with a modular helmet, but a full-face will be a lot safer and can make a big difference if you suffer a serious accident.

If you ride with medium speeds most of the time (18 mph / 30 mph), you should still consider a full face or a modular helmet, since those speeds are no joke either. However, with these speeds, you may think about an open face helmet as well.

Half helmets can only be considered if you rarely ride faster than 15 mph / 25 kmh, and bike helmets are a good choice if you ride at 12 mph / 20 kmh most of the time.

Remember, the perfect helmet is the one you wear at all times, not just the one offering the most protection. While it’s great to get the most protection you can, there’s no point in getting a super-expensive, feature-full helmet that you will never wear because it’s too much work.

Still, if you’re after the most protection possible, and can get used to any helmet, the obvious choice is a full-face helmet. For me at least, everything is more fun when I know I’m doing everything I can to be as safe as I can.

Finally, you will pick your size, your fit, and your color.

Summary

That’s pretty much everything you need to know about electric scooter helmets.

For reference, here’s one more quick summary of the best electric scooter helmets, their best use cases, and where to buy them.

Matt Trajkovski

My name is Matt Trajkovski. I love electric scooters, and electric vehicles in general. I like doing a lot of testing, reviewing, and research on various electric scooter models and brands, following our proprietary rigorous editorial and testing process developed here at EScooterNerds, looking for great value and performance, both through data and experience. All of the content published on this blog goes through a rigorous review and editorial process, and our product reviews not only include the hands-on experience of our own team members, but the experience of our audience members as well. My goal is to provide you with the best information about electric scooters possible. You can see all of my posts in my articles archive.