I find myself doing more and more adventure riding, and finding the right helmet is tough. I relied on dirtbike helmets with goggles for years but decided I should step it up and try out the CKX Atlas helmet, a dual-sport/ ADV helmet that touts numerous features to create a comfortable and versatile helmet. The helmet is stylish and has many features like a photochromic visor, five-way adjustable peak, numerous adjustable vents, ProClip quick-release strap, removable “muzzle” mouthpiece, and the Pinlockready visor can be easily removed to accommodate goggles if needed.
As mentioned earlier, the Atlas helmet comes standard with a photochromic visor, meaning that it will automatically darken in sunlight. It takes about 30 seconds to adapt fully to the sun, but tunnels can be a problem because of the time it takes to lighten. I often find myself riding with my visor open or cracked for airflow, and this becomes an issue, because the peak of the helmet has a large cut-out for maximum airflow to stop buffeting at high speeds. This means that, if your visor is up, the top half of the visor will have more sunlight on it than the bottom half, which is in the shade of the peak, leaving half of the visor dark (from the adjusted photochromic) and the other shaded half clear. This halfway point unfortunately sits right at eye level when the visor is down, but this only lasts for about half a minute until the rest of the visor adjusts to the sunlight.
An apparent design flaw of the helmet itself is that, with the peak in any position, it rubs on the visor when it’s fully opened. After seven long ride days in the helmet, my line of sight with the visor down is now obstructed by the scratches caused by the peak.