Schuberth E2 helmet in matt black

With the original E1, based on the venerable C3 Pro, Schuberth basically invented the flip-adventure helmet. The C4 was not around long enough to merit such a treatment, but the C5 has already proven itself to be a worthy successor to the C3, and so now Schuberth has used it as the basis for its new E2.

The reality is that the E2 is just the C5 with an adjustable peak, and different mouldings for the chin, brow and exhaust vents. The other truth is that these vents may look more aggressive, but there is no suggestion that they flow any more air on the E2 than they do on the C5, which means that the only meaningful difference between the two models is the peak.

Now if you want to know more about the C5, you can click here to go to our review and video about the C5, but the essentials are as follows. The helmet meets the new safety standard ECE 22-06. It comes with a Grade 1 optical quality external visor, a drop-down sun visor, multi-port venting, and a state-of-the-art integrated Sena comms. facility. For the first time ever on a Schuberth, the internal liners can be changed to allow a custom fit, albeit only in three of the six sizes. There is also a cost for the different liners, although not if you buy the helmet from Motolegends.

And so, as we have stated, the only real difference between the C5 and the E2 is the peak. The peak is not the most robust, but it incorporates a lot of slots and vents so we assume that Schuberth has used their in-house wind tunnel to test it for stability.

We are not totally convinced that most adventure riders really benefit from a peaked helmet, but more to the point many adventure bike riders have convinced themselves that they do. And if you want to combine an adventure helmet with all the acknowledged benefits of a flip helmet, the options are few. And if you want to be able to custom fit such a helmet the options are fewer still. In fact, there is only one helmet; and this is it.

But the way we see it, when you buy an E2 you are not making a commitment to a peak. And that is because you can remove the peak, and turn the E2 back into a C5. All you do is use the bungs to cover the holes in the outer visor where the peak attaches to the helmet.

The C5 is proving itself to be an excellent helmet. You will pay just £20/£30 extra for the peak, and so we would suggest that the E2 promises excellent value given the enhanced versatility that it offers.