Zox Primo Com Helmet - Review

As my regular readers will know, I had a bit of a wreck in December. Since my HJC helmet smacked into the ground fairly solidly, I had to replace it. Since I had the opportunity to upgrade a bit, I went with a Zox Primo Com Bluetooth helmet. I've had this helmet since the beginning of January, so I've used it for a little while and feel that I can give a good overview of the product at this point.

Finding myself without a serviceable helmet, I went down to Lancaster Honda. I wanted something with Bluetooth capability, but didn't have a huge budget, so I was willing to go with another plain old HJC. Then I noticed the Zox.

It's a bit nifty looking with some pointy bits and pewter colored accents, and it has Bluetooth capability. Yes, I like that. I can listen to music, talk on the phone or whatever. It is DOT approved, including the EU DOT equivalent, but not Snell rated due to the odd ridges around the top and back, those same things that give it visual character.

After using the helmet for several months I have some observations:

The positives

• It looks cool
• It's comfortable
• Speaker volume is good enough, so long as you don't have a loud tailpipe (oops)
• The shell seems solid enough as does the padding
• Inside padding seems to hold up well over time.
• Easy to talk over the phone

The negatives

• Somewhat obtuse button controls
• Microphone pickup started getting dodgy after about three months
• Stopped charging at all after about four months
• The visor pops off easily when open all the way

That's right, the electrical components failed after only a few short months, but a huge positive was their replacement policy. With absolutely no questions asked, they replaced the helmet with a completely new one. I was impressed by the level of service. This one seems a bit better on the fit and finish front, so I'm hoping the last one was simply a lemon. What with their replacement policy though, I think I made. Fairly smart purchase.

So to recap, the helmet is fairly solid, and when the Bluetooth components work, it is fantastic. When the electronics failed, they replaced it. That right there impresses me please by itself. I inspected the electronics and the wires seem more firmly attached where the charging cord comes out. On the original helmet, the two thin wires inside the heat shrink were visible where they connected to the bluetooth unit. This is not so with the new helmet.

If I had it to do over again, I may have purchased something a bit more expensive, but the replacement helmet seems to have been better put together than the original, so I'm thinking I just got a lemon. If this one goes bad, I'll report, but as I said, it doesn't appear to have the same flaws as the previous one.