My old HJC is over 5 years old and has eaten a thousand pounds of dust on gravel road rides. The face shield is scratched to heck and the hinges won't hold the shield open one notch in hot weather anymore. I've even got the plastic covers on the top vents breaking off.
Time for a new helmet!
I have not owned that many helmets in my lifetime, but every time I go looking for one, I find myself frustrated. It's hard to find one that fits just right for any price--let alone sub $400. I do recall putting on a helmet at http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com one time that fit like butter and seemed to weigh nothing---it was over $500! "Aren't your brains worth $500?!" No, no they are not.
Last night I picked up a Scorpion EXO 1000 Apollo at the local CycleGear (Sorry, Rusty!)
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=10 ... cle_Helmet
It has a TON of features including a flip-down sun-shade which I have to believe compromises the crash integrity of the shell somehow, but it has all the right ratings.
It is much quieter than my old HJC and I was amazed at the difference in how it cuts through the wind. My ride home last night was in strong wind gusts. Normally, my HJC-covered head would have been tossed back and forth by gusts. Last night, however, while I could feel my bike and body buffeting in the gusts, my head cut smooth through the air in my new Scorpion. What a difference.
It was a bit chilly on the way home, but I opened the top air vents to check out the flow--I could feel the cool air hitting the top of my head! So I have at least some hope that this thing will vent in the hot weather. My favorite feature is the face shield locks one-click open with the flip of a manual switch.
I find that their sizes run small. My Large HJC was sloppy-big on my head. The Large Scorpion is TIGHT on my head. I thought about getting an XL, but they did not have the color I want. I think the L will break in nicely. A cool (and controversial) feature of these helmets is an air pump that pumps up the cheek pad area to provide as tight a fit as you want. There is also a release button. I find this feature worked well on the XL, but I don't need it on the L. Some reviewers said that they started using the pump once the helmet broke in a little. One guy told me he does not use the pump on the road, but then pumps it up super-tight when racing on the track.