A lid that is nice, lightweight, comfortable and with a number of nice little touches you wouldn’t normally expect on a budget helmet.
- Brand: O’Neal
- Product: Trailfinder EVO helmet
- Price: £81.00
- From: O’Neal Europe
- Tested by: Aran Francis
One of the more reasonably priced helmets we’ve encountered of late, the Trailfinder EVO lists these features: PC-Inmold technology, 2-shell construction, 12 ventilations, Fidlock buckle, extended protection on the back of the head, Quin ready. Eh? Quin what now?
Our rating
Helmets are not somewhere where most of us would usually consider going for a budget option, after all the most important piece of protection warrants more investment. However cheaper helmets have their place, especially at entry level. It’s no good telling kids to get a helmet if all the options out there are £100 or more.
Perhaps for ‘budget’ lids, style is especially important because, speaking as an ex-kid, that’s what would’ve mattered to me most. Here the Trailfinder EVO has things covered; aggressive shape, a cool colour scheme and the 2-tone design all work well together to make a stylish looking lid (well, in my opinion).
It’s not all looks though, most of the classic stuff you expect to see has been packed into this helmet. A 2-shell construction, extended coverage at the rear and some pretty decent venting help the Trailfinder begin to fit in with the rest of the helmets on the market.
What is missing however, is MIPS or an equivalent rotational protection system.
MIPS is a big thing to be missing out on, but on the flipside there are some more subtle additions that aren’t so common on cheap helmets. Most notably the option for attaching a Quin device (see below). Albeit less exciting, but still a nice touch, the chin buckle is a Fidlok magnetic fastening, something that isn’t so commonplace on cheap lids.
As for comfort on the whole the Trailfinder EVO does well. It is nice and light and O’Neal haven’t been too stingy on the interior padding. Some have mentioned it can be a slightly odd shape but it fits my head mostly fine, again this is something you’ll figure out either in the shop (or within the return window!)
What I will say is that I didn’t particularly get on well when pairing the Trailfinder EVO with goggles. For short runs it’s okay but on longer descents (3 minutes+) I found that goggle straps seemed to pull on the back of the helmet digging the adjustment wheel into the back of my neck.
The Trailfinder EVO feels robust and simple. The peak doesn’t feel like it will fly off or snap if you breathe on it funny, instead it has a nice and tolerant breakaway system. The adjustment is good, offering three positions which it clicks firmly into and it is a decent enough length to actually do its job.
Overall
As a ‘budget’ helmet the Trailfinder does what it needs to do and is a decent do it all lid for a good range of riding. It is nice and lightweight, comfortable (for me at least) and has a number of nice little touches you wouldn’t normally expect on a budget helmet. No MIPS-type feature is perhaps the biggest complaint: plenty of similarly priced options do still come with MIPS or similar rotational impact protection. Having said that, you can usually find O’Neal helmets in decent sales very regularly with a price circa £50.
Oh yes, the Quin stuff…
O’Neal Quin Pro Smart Sensor
- Price: £116.00
- From: O’Neal Europe
Meet Quin. This is a little dooberry that goes in certain O’Neal helmet cavities for recording and transmitting accident data. Emergency functions, including automatic accident detection in the event of an impact. Manual SOS beacon to call for help. The ‘Apex’ app for configuration and security management via smartphone.
I hate how peaks are no longer where peaks are supposed to be.
It’s adjustable. Check the review (and the other photos in it).
I prefer my peak lower down to actually keep the sun out of my eyes (like the second picture) as it looks less stupid, I don’t wear googles with a half shell and I actually like the sun shade it providesÂ