You really are behind the times for helmet designs, for the high end which you see as a scam, being light and full of vents went out the window a few years ago, it's all aero now, go back 2 years, and there were very few vents, now you have movable vents for when you need venting. Add to that the increased use of exotic materials like graphine & carbon fiber and the introduction of new features like MIPS (a bit like a HANS device for your brain) that's the reason why high end helmets cost more. All this does trickle down to the more mid range helmets, some of it very quickly.