I picked up a 661 full face helmet at a good price but its a bit constrictive and hard to get a full lungful of air on climbs. Overkill for my non-DH riding. The MET Parachute looks OK but there must be a more recent design out there.
Anyone tried a XC/AM FF helmet?

Anything with a removable jaw piece does not look ok IMHO they’re ghastly.
Specialized Deviant?

It’s not about looks.

Imho the parachute is a good lid. Had one and it was well used and abused and did it’s job without failure. Light and breathable

A mtb guide I knew in the USA referred to the Giro Switchblade and the Razorblade, due to the effects the chin guard had on one’s face in the event of crashes, crashes he had witnessed.

The Urge Archi-Enduro. Basically a proper DH full face, but with a smaller jaw protector to allow better ventilation/breathing/visibility.

Ouch

ive just bought a THE point 5 very very light aint used it yet hopefully cool for the type of riding i want to do this year

Question is, do you really feel a FF is justified for XC/AM?

Not taken with jawpiece stuff. Don’t see that they protect anything but also provide a convenient piece to ram a hole in your face.

It’s a new law of the internet that nobody can mention the Archi-Enduro without that being posted. Man has big crash, gets unluckily hurt, throws together wild conjecture which is taken as gospel…

FWIW I don’t see the point in it, I’ve got a Down-o-Matic and it’s got the same main venting round the head, and fits fine with every backpack I’ve got so I’m not sure what the cut-out at the back achieves. And the front grill thing, well, the Down doesn’t restrict my breathing at all so what’s it all about?

I saw a photo of someone being airlifted in the alps … all that was left of their Met Parachute was the strap around their head! They were also blue.

The bloke in that Archi Enduro thread should count himself lucky. sounds like he had a massive crash and got injured appropriately. I bet it would have been worse with some other FF helmets.

A thread must come up like this every few months

If you think your riding is going to get you into a situation where you might end using your face as a brake, wear a full face helmet, take it off and hang it off your bars or camelbak when climbing if you’re getting hot.

If your riding doesn’t get you into these situations and you”ve never had a face plant why bother?

I own a number of helmets and just wear what I feel is appropriate for the type of riding

Spesh deviant might be for you if you want a FFH but youre not doing DH

I have the urge and had avery high speed impact …the visor shattered, the chin piece stayed intact (but cracked) and i had some dirt in my mouth….but thats all, without, it would have been a lot worse.

You do lose some protection on the front but gain better breathability.. and it does help…. I am getting ane one in a weeks time!!

THa said i only use it when i do shuttle runs and not for general xc/am

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mobile/MobileModels.aspx?ModelID=88214

I took my full face up lee quarry yesterday morning for no other reason than it kept my head warm 🙂

I just slung it over the bars when climbing up the main drag and up to cragg so not seeing what the worry is, just get what you like and fits.

My helmet is an O’Neil AT-1 airtech.

Good discussion; cheers all. I’m clearly getting cautious in middle age. The breathability seems to be a personal experience.

“The bloke in that Archi Enduro thread” – the main jaw damage (ouch) was from the stump or branch wasn’t it? Full DH MIGHT have blocked that; might not.

Like the look of the Cratoni on the CRC link. Light too.
Both the Urge models are options then. (its got most of my surname across it too, but we only make rational choices on this forum, don’t we?)

I’ll take the Xen & the 661 to Stainburn this PM. I usually manage an off or two there…

I’m getting a Cratoni delivered in the next couple of days. Ill let you know what I think of it.

That’d be really good. I’m sure others will be interested too. Cheers.

Had it a few days now and done two rides. Overall a good bit of kit, looks good and a bargain at £54 (2012 model).

Build – Its basically a dirt jump style hardshell with a detachable chin guard. There are 4 allen bolts so its quick and easy to take the chin on or off. Comes with a spare set of liners.

Venting – Wore it up a 750m climb today (20 degrees and sunny) and it wasnt too bad, chin guard off. From May no doubt it will be off for the climbs (but then so is an XC lid). The visor scoops air into the two front vents which you can feel when you pick up speed.

Protection – Because it fits round your head like a regular full face (when the chin is attached) it stays put and cant slide off or around your head. Being a hard shell (ABS) it shouldn’t crack open in a bad stack. With the chin off there is still more protection round the back than a regular XC helmut.

Worth mentioning that the chin guard has a fair amount of flex to it. Good in one sense in that it will absorb shock but bad in a sense that its possible if you take it beyond its limits you could flex it all the way back to your face (only really in a massive neck breaking crash tho). Its obviously not for full on DH.

Warranty – Discount on the next one if its crash damaged (forget how much)

IMO the best thing about it is I can use it open face or full face on the same ride. Just bolt the face on as part of the padding up routine at the top of the more g-nar DHs. Makes it very versatile.

If they could make it tool free for fitting/removing the chin guard that would be good.

On the subject of flexy chin guards I’m in the “so what” camp. It’s not designed to take the full impact of a 40mph tree-hug, it’s designed to stop your face being mashed into the ground. That pic from MTBR of the Urge just makes me think what the stump would have done to his jaw if the guard hadn’t been there, all the guard did was get stuck between stump and face.

The odds of a better outcome without the guard are simply that he might have just missed the stump rather than catchign it. The more likely odds of a worse outcome are surely his jaw and teeth taking the brunt of the impact and being even worse off.

Exactly. Its also going to absorb some of the force as it flexes and not just transfer it to your neck.

Is yours this one?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=88214

Yes. Looks like I got the last large one.

Although it says 2012 mine was manufactured in 09/11.

AMV: Cheers for your comments.
Yes, no more at that price in Large but full stock of 2013 models at £80 though:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=73031

Still tempted by Urge Archi Enduro….

Deviant II looks like breathablity is OK:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftr/helmets/gravity-helmets/deviant-ii