Explorer

This happens to be one of the best designer dupe's I think I have ever smelt, as it is almost 1:1 to Creed Aventus. Many other re-creations of Aventus just 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 get it right. This one in my opinion captures that super popular DNA, for a fraction of the price. I know pineapple is one of the main accords people usually point out when describing this DNA, but I personally just do not smell it. I do still smell a fresh citrusey accord to it, which makes it super great for everyday wear, in any season. Do NOT buy this at retail price though, find it on discounters for under or at $50. This is in my top 5 favorites in my collection!

Its nice, but the citrus scent is a bit one dimensional.

This was my signature scent when it came out. Since then i became a niche snob and stopped wearing designer scents. But this fragrance kept itching and i recently bought my third bottle of this. My Aventus like scents where getting empty and i needed something else and for some reason this just works the best on my skin. People never said anything about Cedrat Boise. People hated cdnim on me. And this just gives me a nice bottle for 6 hours or so. Personally i would buy this over blue de chanel, yves Y or even Sauvage and it's half the price.

I have owned this for about 5 years now and after losing/forgetting it on the back of shelf for a year or so I decided to give it a whirl again today. I have always liked this scent from day one but jumped down the closest dupe to Aventus rabbit hole for years and was focused on finding the closest to the OG for a long time. So here I am years later, a dozen or so bottles of Aventus dupes have come and gone and have a 2022 batch of the OG to compare. This is basic !!! Basically the most likeable form of this DNA and I now stand on that ground with certainty. I have worn each enough to realize the people around us do not know or care its a designer or niche or clone. They just know you smell nice and this one does the job with more broad appeal to myself and to other around me. Performs for an 8 hour work day and is not stupid loud or pushy. Its just done with good taste and projects a medium bubble for most of its life on skin. Now even more so than a few years ago its a complete value at current prices. Everyday scent dumb reach king! 8.5/10

This is after 2 months of wearing this frag. - I already wrote first impression on 2026-06-06, and was underwhelmed. --- Initially I did not like it but as my nose got better, I started appreciate the scent profile more. To me Aventus Creed has very yucky smell, ambergris? - I had to wipe that thing off after 10 minutes - I have a sample, which I tried 3 times for a span of 3 weeks But Explorer has the similar vibe but lighter, without that yucky stench. Still not my daily driver but still works in more professional places I have to be at. - Longevity is no good as this requires spraying one more time in the afternoon. A good blind buy

The Chronicles of Kapow or The Ultimate Fragrance Buyer’s Guide Until I Find a More Pompous Title: Entry Number 23 Ok, yes, it is an hommage to Aventus, a pale one, but not a bad one, maybe even a good one. It does not have the complexity of Aventus and its nice smoky touch. The opening is fruity and fresh, quite inoffensive, but it is hard to dislike it. The dry down makes it more interesting and gives more depth to the scent. If only the akigalawood note was stronger… It is versatile, nice and can make an easy dumb reach. There is nothing wrong with that considering it is quite affordable. It is efficient and not pretentious and I think many can appreciate that. The longevity is good and the projection is average. It will not give goosebumps to more experienced noses. So, in my book, it is an average B. I rated the extreme flanker a bit better. Maybe I can confess that Aventus ‘only’ deserves A-/A in my book.

I smelt aventus for the first time in my life. I had bought montblac explorer 2 days ago I loved my explorer more the aventus could be a fruity batch but only the aventuses opening is better

Closer to Aventus then people give it credit for, I smelled this before I smelled aventus for the first time on my friend and I instantly knew what he was wearing because I had smelled explorer. Overall okay performance and projection, could be better

This thing is buns, it smells like watered down windex and nothing like aventus. There's way better aventus dupes out there.

I must say the opening is quite energetic—not sharp like Eros Energy, but definitely very citrusy. In the dry-down, the citrus notes remain but are better balanced with woody notes (which are the only ones I can clearly detect). It has a refreshing feel that is quite enjoyable; to me, it even smells a bit like Vick VapoRub. You get a lot of value for the price; I feel it’s a well-balanced fragrance, though nothing extraordinary. Its projection isn't particularly impressive—it only really projects for the first hour—though it does last around 8 hours. I’d give it an 8/10.

Really good and affordable. Very easy to wear.

Decent fresh fragrance. Don't pay full price for it though.

At this point, everyone knows this is yet another fragrance inspired by Aventus, to put it diplomatically. Compared to other fragrances in the same vein, such as Zara Vibrant Leather or Armaf Club de Nuit Intense, I think this is the best of the bunch. Vibrant Leather has noticeably weaker projection and longevity, and although the two are quite similar, I also feel that the Montblanc comes across as being made with higher-quality ingredients. As for Club de Nuit Intense, its opening is, in my opinion, such a tacky harsh synthetic blast that it ruins the comparison from the outset. Yes, it becomes much better in the drydown, but improving after that kind of opening isn't exactly a challenge—the real challenge would be making it any worse. Overall, I think Montblanc Explorer is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys the Aventus style but finds Zara Vibrant Leather lacking in performance, and who wants something a bit more refined than Armaf's offering.

It's alright as far as Aventus clones go. It smells pretty similar, but there's a touch of something in it I don't like... something a lot of Aventus dupes share. Not sure exactly what it is, maybe a heavy synthetic musk, maybe just the quality of the ingredients they're using. Real Aventus is much better. Personal subjective score: 6/10

True to other's comments, the comparison's to Aventus are apt--A downmarket, stripped down version, but the peppery-fresh opening is strikingly similar, while still feeling weaker, less intense and complex, less fruit...just less in every way. Quite barber shop-y. Fine as a generic fresh and masculine scent....but pales in comparison to what it is trying to copy. So generic feeling that it is hard to get it all the way to "like", even though it is pleasant...I rate it at neutral.

Amazing day to day scent, good blind buy. Gets even better when maserated for a while. Worth every penny.

I get citrus and pepper. Lots of pepper. Once the citrus fades, it becomes pepper and woods. Definitely has a spot in my collection. Could become a favorite, but for now it is "like".

Not the biggest fan, but got a couple compliments It does smell decent on paper so maybe it just doesnt pair well with my skin cause I end up washing it off often The most accurate way I could describe this is if you left damp lemon scented wipes or diapers on top of an old wooden table.

This has been my go-to ever since my wife got it for me! Fantastic and masculine fragrance, the sparkly citrus opening is a solid pick-me-up before transitioning to a nice woody scent. It's not a super smoky wood to me, though, it has an airy feel to it which is awesome in the heat.

So I obviously sampled Aventus first, and while I liked the smell, the smoky aspect was just too much, and it pushed hard and would give me headaches. The explorer removes most of that smoke and doesn't push quite as hard, just a little smoother and easier to wear. At $30 bucks its an easy buy for your collection, it doesnt get worn as much as some of the others but i still enjoy it as a good changeup every now and then.

This is the pinnacle of a daily wearer! -"simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". Smooth, fresh, clean, citrus forward Ambroxan beast. Daily wearer, dumb reach that feels super classy. It honestly gives me so much joy and confidence heading out the door in it. This thing is classy, obviously inspired by Aventus but not the same. After finally being able to smell both side by side in store my happiness in having purchased Explorer went through the roof. This is 90% there, but with its own thing, to me it feels more citrus or "green". Modern day Aventus is unjustifiable while this exists. Out of my 10 fragrances, this is the one I still stick all the way up my nose and try to inhale, even after owning the 150ml for 8 months and having gone through over half of it. Dislikes: Longevity can be difficult to perceive, as the ambroxan can send you nose blind, but it is still there after 4-5 hours. But thats part of the beauty with a freshy, it leaves you alone eventually. Compliments wise: I think it garners more attention from men than woman, having had a couple friends ask about it. My girlfriend initially found it okay, but with time has grown to appreciate it a lot more. I think thats somewhat due to its simplicity or linearity. I love this thing, it will always have a place in my life. Fresh, clean, classy!

The dry down is all leather. It's a very smooth realistic leather though. It literally smells like a jacket.

Good pineapple scent after spraying. But then abysmal dry down afterwards. Typical of all Montblanc fragrances I have tried.

A great fragrance for daily wear, I've had people compliment it, comparing the smell to scented skin product (in a good, fresh and clean way). The bottle is also really high quality with a lovley heavy metal cap. Great value for money if you can pick it up at a discount like I did (50% from justmylook) but still good value at regular price.

To me, its an okay perfume. Its not good nor bad, and the blending is smooth. There is a pineapple-ish accord in the opening and the dry down is woody and leathery not smokey. Performance is okay, It projects for about 1.5 hours and has about 5-6 hours of longevity. Overall, Pricing and presentation is good too for what you're getting. However, I would rather buy Afnan Supremacy SCE than this one, but thats just my opinion.

Beautiful fragrance and amazing for the price. Way smoother than any middle eastern fragrance which matter to me more than accuracy

I have no idea how close this is the Aventus, and I do not care. All I know is that I love the dry down of this fragrance. The bright opening is sharp for sure, but the woody, smoky base is addictive and so masculine. I always thought it sounded silly that a fragrance could give you confidence, but I get it now. I find it great for work or play, and in the summer heat I think the opening gets even better, enhancing the fruitiness and almost juiciness of the Bergamot. I love it and my wife compliments it a lot as well. This is a huge win in my book.

Disclaimer: I have never tried Creed Aventus. I was looking for a good office fragrance and all these influencers were hyping about Creed Aventus. But I was hesitant to blind buy such an expensive perfume. Then I stumbled upon a video about Aventus dupes i.e Armaf CDN Intense man (edt) and Mount Blanc explorer (edp) and I got them both. If this is the what Creed Aventus smells like I am not impressed. I prefer Versace fraiche DNA over Aventus DNA. But these two are worth for their prices. It feels fresh, fruity, energetic on a sunny day, but when it's cloudy/rainy both of them feel too strong. I even had headaches if I sprayed more than 5 sprays on a cloudy day. CDN edt has same longevity as Explorer edp, which is about 3-4 hours. Everyone says both are compliment getters, but was not the case for me. I am also not sure about the versatility either (as claimed in the videos and other comments). Like I can't imagine someone wearing this to the gym or for going out. Overall both are good for daily wear to the office on a hot sunny day. I would go for less fruiter for physical activities and designers for special occasions.

Compared to inexcusable evil this is a lot fresher. 7/10

smells like Vince Camuto