Evolander is the new graphic line for the carbon X.LIFECOUNTRY, and Blue Red is its coolest-toned member. Fine contour lines, the kind printed on a topographic map, wrap around the chin bar and the rear of the shell in dark blue, white and dotted red, with silver-grey panels and strips of exposed carbon in between. It looks like an expedition helmet because that is what Nexx designed it to be.

The mechanics are shared with every carbon decor on this model: a flip-up chin bar approved for riding open, a removable off-road peak, a drop-down sun visor and a second tinted visor supplied. Below you will find what the graphic is like to live with, how the helmet handles a route that mixes motorway and gravel, and an honest list of its compromises.

About the Evolander Blue Red graphic

The theme is cartography. Nexx draws elevation lines across the lower chin bar and the back of the helmet, so the shell reads as a stylised mountain map. Dark blue carries most of the surface, light grey brightens the upper side panels, and thin red dotted lines trace routes through the contours. Gaps in the paint let the 3K carbon weave show through on the crown and behind the eye port. The peak is black with grey inserts and matches the darker lower edge of the shell.

The whole design is finished in gloss. That makes it easy to clean after a muddy stage — rinse first, then wipe, so grit is not dragged across the lacquer — and it keeps the blue looking deep. Dark gloss paint also shows swirl marks from careless washing more readily than a matt surface, and the busy line pattern does a good job of hiding small chips on the chin bar where stones tend to land.

Evolander is offered in three colourways: this Blue Red, a matt Green Copper and a gloss Red White. All three share the same shell and kit.

One helmet for tarmac and trail

The X.LIFECOUNTRY exists for a specific kind of trip: long road sections, interrupted by gravel, forestry tracks and the odd washed-out pass, usually on a big bike carrying luggage. Here the format earns its keep. With the chin bar up you can talk at a border crossing or drink at a fuel stop without taking the helmet off; with the peak fitted you can follow another rider on a dirt road without catching stones and sun in your face; with the peak removed the helmet behaves like a touring flip-up on the motorway home. A screwless extensor lengthens the peak when the sun is low.

X-Sensus Vision and the visor set

On a peaked helmet the field of view decides how comfortable it is off-road, because you are constantly looking up at the next obstacle. Nexx enlarges the aperture under its X-Sensus Vision name to around 15 % beyond what the standard asks for. The X-SWIFT visor comes off without tools. You get a clear visor with a Pinlock 120 XLT MaxVision lens already fitted and a second visor in Smoke 80 % for bright days, plus an internal sun shade that lowers with a slider. The liner leaves room for glasses.

Chin bar mechanics

Nexx's Super Locker pivot locks the chin bar in its raised position, so it does not fall back into your field of view over bumps. A single easy-access button releases it, and an anti-opening catch stops it from popping open by itself. Closing hardware is stainless steel and aluminium. After a dusty day, a short blast of air through the hinge keeps the action smooth.

Homologations: ECE P/J and three more

Four certificates cover the helmet: ECE 22-06 in P/J form, DOT FMVSS 218, CCC GB811:2022 for China and NBR7471:2015 for Brazil. The P/J marking is what allows open-face riding on public roads under ECE rules. Since January 2024 every new helmet sold in the EU must meet 22.06, the regulation that added rotational impacts on an abrasive surface, more impact locations, several test speeds and tests with accessories mounted. No SHARP star rating exists for the X.LIFECOUNTRY.

Carbon shell and how the sizes are split

Evolander is printed on X-PRO Carbon, the aerospace-grade 3K shell, not on the X-Matrix2 composite used under the Plain and Westbound decors. Two outer shells cover seven sizes: XS to L in the smaller, XL to XXXL in the larger. That is a coarser split than three or four shells, so the head sizes at the bottom of each band carry slightly more volume. The crossover from L to XL is the place to try on both if you can.

The weight question

Nexx states about 1,650 g, plus or minus 50 g, for the carbon shell — a figure measured without accessories. Fitted out with peak, sun visor, Pinlock and deflector, the helmet you wear is heavier. What tires the neck most on this format is less the static mass than the peak acting as a sail at speed; unclipping it before a long stretch of motorway makes a clear difference.

Airflow and interior

Ventilation runs through two closable intakes and two exhausts, with the Mid Airflow Chamber channelling air between the shell and the liner and an Air Cumbs chamber above. Inside, the Morpho-Fit lining is shaped in three dimensions and covered with moisture-wicking X-Mart Dry fabric. Everything comes out for washing, and the cheek pads use the F.R.S. emergency release.

Sound insulation

Around the visor and chin closure Nexx fits the Silent Travel Seal, a double rubber gasket, and adds vortex generators below the chin plus cheek pads and a neck roll designed against noise. We do not quote a decibel value, because we have none we can verify. A peak always adds some wind noise at speed; wearing earplugs on long highway days is wise.

Spare parts and accessories

A good reason to choose a helmet from a large range is that parts stay available. For the X.LIFECOUNTRY we stock the clear and Smoke 80 % X-SWIFT visors, Pinlock lenses in several grades, anti-noise cheek pads, the neck roll, the complete crown liner and the action-camera support. The shell is prepared for the X-COM3 intercom, and Nexx also names the X-COM3 PRO; top and side camera mounts come with the helmet, the devices themselves do not.

Limitations

Flip-up hinge plus peak makes this one of the heavier helmet formats you can buy. If your riding is entirely on tarmac, the peakless X.LIFETOUR does the same job with less mass and wind. Two shell sizes give a less tailored outer size than models with more shells. And a graphic this detailed cannot simply be touched up after a fall; a damaged shell must be replaced anyway.

In the box

• Helmet: X.LIFECOUNTRY Evolander Blue Red, X-PRO Carbon
• Clear X-SWIFT visor with Pinlock 120 XLT MaxVision lens fitted
• Second visor, Smoke 80 % tint
• Removable off-road peak and screwless peak extensor
• Wind deflector, breath guard, top and side camera mounts

Specification

• Type — flip-up adventure helmet, peak removable, homologated P/J
• Homologation — ECE 22-06 (UN) P/J, DOT (FMVSS 218), CCC (GB811:2022), NBR7471:2015
• Shell material — aerospace-grade X-PRO Carbon 3K, two shell sizes (XS to L, XL to XXXL)
• Claimed weight — about 1,650 g, tolerance 50 g, bare shell
• Closure — Super Locker chin-bar pivot, micrometric metal buckle
• Visors — tool-free X-SWIFT, clear and Smoke 80 % supplied, Pinlock 120 XLT MaxVision, drop-down sun visor, eye port 15 % above standard
• Acoustics — double-seal Silent Travel Seal, chin vortex generators, anti-noise pads and neck roll
• Airflow — two closable inlets, two outlets, Mid Airflow Chamber, Air Cumbs crown chamber, X-Mart Dry lining
• Lining — Morpho-Fit 3D, removable and washable, F.R.S. quick-release cheek pads
• Electronics and mounts — X-COM3 Bluetooth 5 preparation, two camera mounts, reflective night elements

• 1x helmet (X-PRO Carbon, two shell sizes)
• 1x Pinlock 120 XLT MaxVision anti-fog lens (fitted)
• 1x clear visor + 1x second (Smoke 80%) visor
• 1x off-road peak + screwless peak extensor
• Action-camera mounts (top + side); wind deflector / breath guard