CKX Mission AMS Fiberglass Claw Helmet with Electric Lens Shield

Hot take: this helmet isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

I did a lot of research before buying the CKX Mission — watching countless YouTube reviews and reading forum discussions. Many riders spoke highly of it, and one of the biggest selling points for me was the possibility of not needing to plug in the electric shield, since I’m coming from a moto/goggle setup. The Mission is often described as one of the best helmets available, so I decided to give it a try.

Unfortunately, my experience hasn’t matched the hype.

On my first ride, the internal visor stopped working. After looking into it, I found this is a known issue tied to the visor mechanism design. Thankfully, the customer service team at UpNorth Sports helped me get it working again by holding the visor down and forcing the mechanism back into place. That fixed it for now, but I’m concerned about long-term reliability.

While inspecting the helmet further, I removed the interior foam and noticed both cheek sections were cracked in the exact same location. One side appeared to have been glued at the factory, while the other wasn’t. Seeing structural cracks right out of the box doesn’t inspire much confidence in how the helmet would hold up in a crash.

Another drawback for me is that the breath box is integrated into the shield. This design creates some usability issues. For example, if you lift the outer shield while the internal visor is down, it can catch on the visor and bend the cables, potentially damaging the same mechanism mentioned earlier. That feels like an easy and common mistake riders could make.

I also wasn’t able to comfortably run the helmet without plugging in the electric shield. I tried adjusting the breath box through its full range of positions, from tight to loose, but couldn’t achieve a proper seal. While removing it during adjustments, the breath box itself cracked, which was disappointing.

Ventilation around the mouth also felt unintuitive, and I couldn’t notice much difference between settings. I was also surprised to find there are no top vents, which seems to trap heat from your head.

To be fair, I do like the claw graphics and the field of view is nicely wide.

Pros:

Wide field of view

Sharp claw graphics and styling

Cons:

Internal visor mechanism reliability concerns

Cracked cheek components out of the box

Breath box/shield integration causes usability issues

Difficult to achieve a seal without using the heated shield

Ventilation feels ineffective and limited

For a $500 helmet, I think there are better options available. I’ll likely be looking into Ski-Doo, 509, FXR, or Castle next, as riders I know using those brands don’t seem to be having the same issues.