Mattvanders wrote:
Right then, after my first impressions and set up of the helmet Monday i have been out in it twice now (one 16 miler as an open face over Thorndon and one play night as a full face over Danbury). As i already said it feels completely different to my urge helmet with its lack of adjust meant, small overall size and less air vents. After the first set up i found that i had to have another play to find the perfect fit while out ridding, this is more due to different helmet design, but once done it feels brilliant. Would not say it felt more airy or cooler than the urge but i don't seem to sweat as much as others. As a full face even with a sprint up from the bottom car park to top of Danbury common i did not find the helmet as hot as tradition full face downhill helmet.
Had to show off the helmet a few times to people and how to remove or replace the chin guard, defiantly far easier to do it with the helmet on your head. Expect to take 30-45 seconds at the very most to do it, its very easy to do once you know the nac, but the first few tries i did not get the side clips in the correct position (so while closed they were not attached to the helmet, i started to give the chin guard a quick push into my face to check it was attached properly). Another feature i quiet liked was the go pro attachment, It's a small plastic clip with Velcro strap. While it does not sound that robust it is, there is a small dimple on the helmet/lump on the plastic clip that helps to keep everything in place. While i don't have a go pro at the moment it would help to swop the camera around between friends. The check pads can be removed if you want more airflow/ breath-ability with the chin guard on or a part of the pads removed to make the fit better but i'm happy enough to leave them in place for comfort/helmet stability.
Final thoughts are good, for what i do i would recommend it. It is a perfect helmet for trail / all mountain / enduro market where you are more likely going to come off because of speeds than crashes though big features (if that makes sense). It does not feel like a dh helmet when wearing it, the chin guard feels closer to your face and there is not the same sort of padding arrangement as a dh helmet. While a dh lid could take a couple of small off before needing replacing i think the bell would need replacing straight away (the same way as a regular helmet would), i don't see this as a problem, just part of its design to make it a light weight full face. Will post up some pic to show off the details of the helmet
Nice write up - have tried one on at a trade show and would concur with what you say - with the limited time I had it on. Oh and the red is actually a bit pink!