The AGV AX-8 DS EVO is a premium quality, top of the food chain helmet that has been refined from a previous AX-8 DS, which in turn is a dual sport version of their AX-8 dirt helmet.
The conversion comes in the form of the addition of a face shield on the dirt helmet which starts giving it more of a dual sport design. The venting system changes completely in this metamorphosis, and with a few more adjustments, you get a full dual sport lid. Check price here.
The EVO literally evolves the previous AX-8 DS and adds a lot of improvements. This is a direct result of AGV listening to some of the complaints from its customers and correcting the errors.
The helmet is DOT rated, so you can wear this in the US and Canada without anyone stopping you for tickets.
What Would You Love?
Some features are add-ons while some are changes in the material itself when it comes to the recent AX-8 series. For example, the chin guard has a rubber lining instead of a plastic one. This has been done to protect your chest area from the chin guard impact if your head rolls forward in the event of a crash.
The helmet also features a buffed up EPS and thickened padding on the comfort zones to make it more shock absorbent.
In keeping with the use of advanced materials, AGV has chucked out the plastic bolts that used to keep the peak in place and replaced them with aluminium ones.
The shape of the AX-8 EVO DS has been kept somewhat similar to the AX-8 dirt with ridge lines still present for you to affix your goggle straps. AGV has also made sure that you can fit various Bluetooth com units like those from Sena quite comfortably.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
The Top Features to Look Out For
This is a decent rev up from AGV that seems to have a lot of things in the form of improvements. Let us see what else can it offer.
Shell
The AX-8 DS EVO is made of tri composite material (Fiber glass, Kevlar and Carbon) as expected of any premium helmet out there. This puts it back in the competition out there.
The fit is intermediate oval, which means that a majority of the market will be able to fit this helmet on. But the tight fit and contoured cheek pads mean that you might have to order one size larger than your head.
AGV has provided with 3 shell sizes for finding that comfort fit.
Visors
The AGV AX-8 EVO has a visor now instead of the open face structure that you find in the dirt version. The dual face shield has a wide field of view. It is an optically correct version, free of distortion.
The visor mount system consists of a screwed in mechanism, so keep your screwdrivers ready when you need to change the visor for any reason. It would have been nice to see a quick release system that is becoming a trend in most of the helmets out there.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Ventilation
Instead of a roost guard, the chin vent now has an aggressive looking toggle slider, which can be used to open or close it. The EVO version includes a removable breath guard which prevents your breath from misting the inner surface of the face shield.
Two brow vents and two chimney vents support the chin vent for additional air flow.
The exhausts at the rear are four in number–two at the top and two near the winglets. The top exhausts could have been placed under the spoiler to make use of the air turbulence in a better way, but they work fine nonetheless.
Padding and Lining
A Dry-Lex, ‘sanitized’ fabric makes your ride smooth and comfortable by wicking up the sweat real fast. Both the inner liner and cheek pads can be removed easily and washed without any problems.
The primary improvement in the EVO model is the density of the comfort liner and cheek pads. The foam is thicker now, and it fits tighter in comparison. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and if that tight fit is not what you expect, you can always order a size extra.
The comfort liner is attached at four mount points; two in the front and two in the back. Normally, this arrangement would have created pressure points at those places, but the padding thickness is carefully managed to avoid that.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Customer Reviews
A lot of customers find this helmet to be top notch. But some of the models appear to have skipped the Q and A process, because some users found bad things to speak about in this otherwise premium quality helmet. High helmet noise, vibrating peak, and fogging were at the forefront. Rigid face shield and scratched visors despite AGV claims also marred the overall experience of the average buyer.
Bottom Line
The helmet is lightweight and strong, which shows in the build quality. Coming from AGV, this is a given, but it is nice to see extra attention being put in this premium helmet besides proofing it for safety.
If AGV can take care of checking the products before they leave their manufacturing plant, they can avoid these random faulty models getting handed to their loyal customers.
Verdict? Wait and watch or buy something else.