From one Frank to another... Thank you SO much for this video. I am completely new to ADV riding and motorcycling in general. After buying my bike (2021 XR650L with 647 orig. miles and ALL the good upgrades already done) and needed to get the related protective gear. I shopped for a helmet first and after looking at dozens and dozens of helmets and reading many reviews I saw the Scorpion 950. At the time I didn't know the one I was looking at was a Winter helmet, but that wouldn't have discouraged me anyway. I instantly liked the 950's features so I measured my pumpkin, determined a L would fit and bought it. - When I rec'd it, it was way too tight and I realized I had measured incorrectly and an XL would be the ticket. Yeah, finding one in XL was like searching for a rainbow-colored unicorn... - So I bought the 960 in an XL which fit nicely snug, but comfortable. - However, helmet to helmet I strongly preferred the 950 (I still had the 950 to compare side by side). Things I observed were: - I had a harder time opening the visor/modular piece with the 960...while the 950 is instantaneously far better. - The sunscreen lever placement and size is also far better on the 950 than the 960. - I don't know yet if the noise while riding will bother me, though I doubt it because: - 1) it will not be my main transport - 2) I am expecting some trade-offs and can tolerate inconveniences fairly well... Fast forward to your video here and you clarified precisely the items that stood out to me. I have bought a 950 in XL and love it, but it is a "Winter" version (no visor heater...not that I'll need it). I've removed some of the extra insulating items around the face and hope that will provide some additional airflow. All the same, I far prefer the 950 (admittedly riding may introduce the noise/wind problems @ynotjf stated) and again, THANK YOU for your review.

I took your advice and bought the AT950, you are WRONG! (Said with respect & hope we remain friends..) While I concede the inner visor switch is better on the 950, and the Peak visor is thicker and flexes less, the AT960 is a better helmet. Why is the 960 better: -The 960 is quieter, the new neck roll keeps air out and is substantially quieter on the Hwy. -The 960 visor has a better shape with less distortion over the nose area, plus it has a first click position that is barely open (about 1/8”) but allows air in to cool the helmet down. The 950 first click opens the visor about a full inch so the visual distortions from the nose area is right in your field of view. -The Peak on the 950 barely moves but it creates a pounding noise in the helmet even at low speeds, if you reach up and hold the peak between your fingers the noise goes away. The 960 buffets about 50mph but is quiet at all speeds. If you remove the visor from both helmets, the 960 is much quieter on the Hwy. Wind gets through the 950 and causes a internal buffet sound that is absent in the 960. -I can leave my eyeglasses on while I put the 960 on & take it off but I can’t on the 950, check pads get in the way. This is a big deal for eyeglass wearers.. -Holy Crap those 950 cheek pads are pure torture, my 960 are tight but broke-in and became reasonable. My favorite is a 960 medium with large cheek pads that provide a little extra room around the jawline. -I prefer the newly designed top vent on the 960 over the pop-up style on the 950. I didn’t notice a difference in air flow between either helmet with the face shield closed but that first click position on the 960 visor provides ample airflow and remains quiet. So several reviewers are claiming there’s not much difference between the old and the new versions but to me the 960 is like a completely different helmet and I definitely prefer the new 960..

Thanks for this review. I'm not looking for a helmet right now but it's good to know what is out there.

Thank you for the great review! I wish I had come across detailed reviews like yours earlier this year. Using my AT950 since 2018; it's served me well and for the money, you absolutely cannot beat it! This year, I decided to 'upgrade' to the AT960, but like you, I was very disappointed for the exact same reasons. It also seemed to fit a lot tighter... I ended up returning it and decided to fix up my old AT950 instead; glued some trim back in place and painted it white - figured I'd get another season of use out of it.

Mainly updated to meet Euro market safety requirements.

Shoei is best! The Scorpion EXO AT950 was my first helmet. The best thing I like about it is the large field of view.

Totally agree. The 950 is an awesome helmet. But good luck trying to find one.

Thank you for the great review. I have the AT950 but I want speakers in my helmet so the search goes on.

Great real-world review! 👍

I have both, the only change I find being worst is the opening button from being pull to push. Mainly because when you're trying to close the lid you accidentally push the button and wont lock. The rest of the changes are just relocation, I don't have issues with any of them. Also the shell sizing is different, I was L on the old helmet, now I'm M with some hot spots.

I liked this camera angle better and the arms stretched out to show case the helmets was a nice touch. 👍 I'm still not sure I like my scorpion helmet.. mostly because it's the wrong size. 🙃

Agreed on all points! I'll stay with my 950! Moving the visor slider to that position just makes mounting a comm with a camera impossible. Totally annoying as I really love the helmet. More and more helmets are coming with the built-in comms and I also find that very annoying. I didn't upgrade my Shoei for that reason and I won't be sticking with Scorpion either after my 950 gives out unless like you said I'm still able to buy a 950. I hate when upgrades are such massive failures and the company doesn't realize it.

I'm guessing they also moved the slider because the old 950 ones broke.. Mine broke in the first year of use, and they would only warranty repair it if I mailed them the helmet. I've been riding it with a piece of black tape on the left edge of the sun screen for two years so that I can deploy the screen

XT 9000 is the best Scorpion helmet but the 950/960 might be better for stops at Starbucks since I'm a KTM owner now

JTotal horse shit on differences as the #1 priority for people should be keeping their brains on the inside of their skull. The AT960 is ECE 22.06 rated which is the latest ECE rating to date. BTW, a bigger button making it easier to open isn't aways what you want in a crash. I don't mind personally having the button require some effort to open. It opens and is more of a user skill to do it faster than you demonstrated. Now I get it, safety isn't important in your opinion, and this is an opinion piece, but for new riders, there are important differences to consider.