First Look: Endura MT500 Helmet

First announced at Eurobike in September of 2016, the Endura MT500 helmet has been a long time coming. We were then teased again at Core Bike earlier this year with some fresh helmet samples that showed the design was progressing towards production, but the MT500 still wasn’t quite ready.

Now however, it is, and we’ve got one in the office to give you a good ol’ stickybeak at. Introducing the brand new and available-to-purchase, Endura MT500 helmet. TA-DA!

Endura MT500 Helmet Specifications

• Enduro style mountain bike helmet
• Integrated Koroyd liner for lightweight, breathable protection
• Large vents including top “air intake” zone for increased airflow
• Fully goggle compatible including rear strap clip
• Front eyewear dock
• Clip on accessory mount, accessory clip and light mount included
• One-hand micro-adjustment fit system
• Antibacterial fast wicking padding
• Covered by Endura’s Crash Replacement Policy and Endura Product Guarantee
• Certified to CE standard EN1078:2012 + A1:2012
• Available sizes: Small/Medium (51-56cm), Medium/Large (55-59cm), Large/X-Large (58-63cm)
• Colours: Black, Navy, White
• Claimed weight: 320 grams (Small/Medium size)
• RRP: £149

Of course the Scottish mountain bike brand already offers helmets, but it wanted to step things up considerably with the MT500. The result is a premium trail helmet that’s equipped with Koroyd technology, a large adjustable visor, and compatibility with goggles, glasses and other accessories such as GoPro lights and Exposure helmet lights.

Like other trail-style helmets, the MT500 offers deep coverage with a large amount of coverage around the back of the helmet to better protect the rider’s skull in the event of a rearward take-down style crash. Endura’s tagline with the MT500 is along the lines of “taking risks has never been safer” or something similarly epic like that, so it stands to reason that the MT500 offers more protection than your typical XC/roadie helmet.

More features that point towards the MT500’s enduro friendly design include a goggle strap clip that pairs up with a goggle-friendly adjustable visor. For those who prefer regular shades, there’s a “front eyewear dock“. Unfortunately this isn’t quite the Star Trek inspired mechanical cargo bay doors that I was hoping, but rather just a convenient way to fit your glasses into the vents on the helmet. *Sigh*

The top of the helmet is doesn’t feature that many vents, though there is a top air-scoop to help with ventilation. A small clip is included in the box with the helmet, and that allows you to stick on a GoPro camera or an Exposure Light.

The MT500 uses an EPS foam core, with a polycarbonate shell that’s fusion molded to the foam core under heat. The hard plastic shell is what protects the foam core underneath, and it’s why Endura has wrapped the shell all the way underneath the rim of the helmet.

Inside is where you’ll find the real magic however. Employing the unique Koroyd technology first debuted in the Smith Forefront helmet back in 2013, Koroyd is a solid plastic panel made of small plastic straw tubes joined together in a honeycomb-style lattice. In the above photo, you’ll be able to see the grey Koroyd panels used throughout the inside of the helmet.

Why Koroyd? We’ve been over some of the benefits before, but essentially it’s about producing a protective layer that’s light and breathable, while also offering superior energy absorption capabilities. Those plastic straws don’t just provide a home for bees – they also serve to compress in a linear fashion that helps them to soak up those hits when your head goes to ground. It’s clever stuff, and it certainly looks unique too.

The fit system itself isn’t too dissimilar to what you’ll find in a Smith Forefront or Rover helmet either. A small adjustment wheel at the back offers simple tension adjustments, which along with silicone detailing on the inside of the harness, helps to keep everything in place. You can adjust the height of the rear harness and where it sits on the back of your skull via a 5-way vertical ladder system inside the helmet shell.

The harness can also be adjusted back and fourth, depending on how long your weird-shaped noggin is.

Weight-wise, the MT500 comes out to an impressive 340 grams for the Medium/Large size. That’s pretty darn good for the level of protection and coverage afforded by the deep design of the MT500 shell. The Koroyd liner likely has a lot to do with the low weight.

While it’s a good-looking helmet for sure, we’ll be keen to see how the MT500 helmet stacks up in the comfort stakes, though hopefully we won’t have to test out its safety credentials…

For more information on the new Endura MT500 helmet, head to the Endura website.