I’ve managed to convince some daft buggers to pay me 75 percent more than what I was on in my last job, so I thought I’d treat myself to a new helmet – the other helmets that I own are a Bell S2R and an ageing One Industries full facer – a few people in my family have Troy Lees so I have experience with those as well.

Aesthetics – First, it was bigger than I was expecting – to reach the full DH certification with the massive air vents they are using, they have had to use quite a lot of EPS – in some places it must be double the thickness of my S2R. The EPS around the temple looks to be almost two inches thick. The helmet has deep internal channelling to create a lot of airflow – but again the downside of this is that the helmet is essentially raised off your head more. There is a large gap between the helmet and the face, to channel air towards the ear area as well – basically this all combines to create a lid that is a fair bit bigger looking than a D2.

The chinbar is raised off the face a lot more more than a D2, my S2R and my one industries helmet. There is more peripheral vision and the chinbar comes down further than all of them (I think the EU have made it mandatory to lower the chinbar to increase the field of vision?).

Fit – I have a narrow, big head – no helmet manufacturers fit me well – so this section won’t be useful to most. Needless to say, after I removed the brow foam, replace it with cloth and used the brow pads to line the sides of the helmet – it was the best fit I’ve managed to get from a helmet. All helmets suck for me, so this section won’t be that helpful. The helmet also fits goggles better than my S2R. MIPs – as usual, sucks balls and detracts from the comfort – the brow part of the mips had to be lined with a bit of cloth even with a brow pad to stop it from digging into my skin. The S2R suffers from the same thing, but not quite to the same degree – I’m half tempted to rip the MIPS out entirely. I’d have rather have a more comfortable, smaller helmet than one equipped with MIPS.

Ventilation – it feels better vented than my S2R on the forehead, the top of my head, the back and around the chinbar area. The sides aren’t so well ventilated, but in terms of breathability it blows the S2R out the water. This is the area that really shines, and the reason why I’ll keep it.

Safety – I can’t really comment much on this, other than it uses dual density EPS cone technology like Kali and Leatt – and MIPs. So it’s cutting edge in that regards, the EPS extends much further down the sides and back of the helmet than the S2R – as far as a standard DH lid. Fox have also clearly paid a lot of attention to prioritising those areas that are especially vulnerable to strikes that cause head injuries – the temple areas are ridiculously thick, as is a section just above the brow and underneath the visor. The chinbar is heavily rubberised (with either rubber or some soft armour), more so than some conventional downhill helmets.

Overall, I’m happy with the helmet and will be keeping it – I just wish Troy Lee would attempt the Enduro lid thing and come out with something a little less bulky looking and slightly better attention to detail when it comes to comfort (eg in regards to the MIPS liner issue).

Also, a helmet that fits out the box for people with a narrow but big bonce would be nice for once.