This is for my eldest, now sixteen to start hitting the trails.
He has not really ridden anything, even a blue after a few years of knee problems, broken collar bone, and more recently a serious illness that has involved some facial surgery.
One thing I cannot risk under any circumstances is a face plant.
Is the parachute really cool enough to ride all day in, or is that bobbins.
Or is the Bell better?
It’s really expensive and I don’t know if he will ride regularly.

What does riding all day involve for him?

I wore one for a summer biking trip to Italy when I’d just broken my nose, so wasn’t allowed to land on my face.

It was alright for steady climbs but not so comfortable if making a hard effort uphill.

If the Bell had been available at the prices I’ve seen it recently I’d probably have got that instead. No regrets about the Parachute though, I did land on my face once and it saved me from an embarrassing trip back to the hospital.

I really like my Parachute. Tried other full faces and its so much lighter and I don’t feel like my breathing is restricted ‘as much’. That being said, I’ve only ever ridden it on uplift days. Rode the Mega last year in it and some heavy pedally parts were ok from memory but quickly into the flow usually. If I was just trail riding, I’m not sure I’d be keen to wear it for a days ridings however. There’s also the Giro Switchblade as opposed to the Bell Super

I rode one for a few months comfy but a bit warm though a bit cooler than the super without a chin bar (non mips) in the end it didn’t fit my head and got the switchblade, prefer it and would say chin bar off for climbing is great though a bit warm and tight on the ears.

very happy with the ones I’ve had although I hate the DD buckle.

New feature. Double posts!

My fox proframe has eclipsed my old parachute in every way. So much more comfortable and breathes better and the fidlock buckle ftw.
Edit but if you say the met is pricy then don’t look at the fox.

Wore mine at Ard Rock this year and it was ok really. Not far off as light as my usual open faced helmet and doesn’t feel particularly claustrophobic, unlike other full face helmets I’ve tried. A bit warm on some of the big climbs though, so I wouldn’t use it for my day to day riding unless I was forced to.

Our daughter has competed in Enduro using one for the last couple of years. They are light, and airy. She had a crash in Aspen and damaged the chin guard, finished the race but didnt feel like using it again due to the damage. She tried a Bell one on but it didnt feel right. She needed a new one to race in Whistler and managed to try on the Gyro Switchblade which she bought at their outragous prices. In her opinion it feels alot better for all day use even with the chin guard attached. So much so that Ive put one on my Christmas list.

Wiggle and Chain Reaction have some deals on certain colours at the moment.

She needed a new one to race in Whistler and managed to try on the Gyro Switchblade which she bought at their outragous prices. In her opinion it feels alot better for all day use even with the chin guard attached. So much so that Ive put one on my Christmas list.

I finally decided after a day of practice ar EWS Tassie the Parachute didn’t fit, thankfully there was a 25% discount available on Giro at the time and my mate was selling them 😉

you wouldn’t want to ride uphill for long, on a hot day in a Parachute. It’s much airier than a usual full face, but a cross country/trail lid it’s not. It comfy and quite cool on ‘Enduro’ type trails or uplifts…..

They come up a little on the large side compared to Giro sizing tho. My M/L was a little loose and i’m a snug Large in a Giro lid.

Thanks all, I’ll see what deals I can find.

Tracey, the switchblade looks good, could you in theory keep the chin bar off until you hit the gnarly bits?
Looks quick to put on and off.

Get him one of the 100% status bundles from chainreaction

could you in theory keep the chin bar off until you hit the gnarly bits?
Looks quick to put on and off.

It’s easy ish…. takes some practice in front of the mirror and locating it can be a little fiddly so I do end up taking it off more often.

Yes you can although Abigale has left hers on all the time when racing, even on the long climbs. She has shown me how it just clips in and out very easy and goes on the outside of her back pack.
Im having one on the back of my face plant on the last day of our Alps trip.

Review of Parachute on my blog HERE if it’s any help

Went for the switchblade, £150 from crc
Thanks all

I rode all day in Spain in July in mine for a week a couple of years ago and used it as my only MTB helmet most of that year.

If anything it’s over vented for cold weather (add buff) but not a problem in the summer. I didn’t find it affected my breathing, camelback works with it but eating can be problematic and shape/size of item dependent. You could eat a gel with it on no bother.

I subjected mine to some serious crash testing before deciding it was written off after I scraped myself off the bike with an unseen low tree to the head at speed. The guides were surprised it was even still the same shape after that particular crash.

I’ve replaced it with another. No hesitation recommending this helmet, particularly as you can’t unluckily have the chinbar removed when it would have been useful.

Better fit with a stronger chin bar than the Bell, light and breezy. I use it for all day rides inc overseas in the heat and have no issues. In a perfect world I’d take the MET Parachute with the insides of a Kali!

So, the small/medium fit the boy perfectly, he found it comfy and not hot (although it was pissing down).
I also got him some enduro knee pads, which were fine as well.
Started off doing the blues, and then Big Doug, which was a mistake, as it is one of the most difficult red sections.
Next day we warmed up again on the blue, and managed 18 miles of Dragons Back.
He coped really well considering he hadn’t really ridden the bike at all before, and his opening line was ‘right, explain how to work these gears).
He loved it!
Looking for some cheap five tens now for him.