Think it is about time I got a new helmet, my bluegrass Golden eyes dates from 2015 and my poc trabec a few years before that. I keep looking at removable chin guard helmets but I’m not convinced I’d use the bar enough to justify the extra cost. Feature wise I’m after;

• Mips (ideal the newer variety)
• Extended coverage
• Sweat channeling (my golden eyes has a silicone front pad which is very effective at making sweat drip by my temples rather than into eyes.)
• Magnetic buckle
• Large Central front vent extending into visor (I like mounting my lights out of the way in the channel)
• Not stupid money (around £100-£150)

So far come up with Bluegrass Rogue MIPS, Met Roam MIPS, Oakley DRT5 and maybe the Fox speedframe pro. The current POC MIPS offerings are nice but £220 for a helmet is a no from me.

Any others worth considering?

I’ve got a Giro Source (thanks STW advent calendar)

No magnetic buckle, not sure quite what you are describing with the light mounts, but there is a central line of vents where I mount my exposure joystick.

Meets all your others and as a fellow sweater, can confirm it keeps my eyes dry.

I have come from a golden eye, now on an endura mt500 helmet. Cracking lid.

Also bought my wife, a brand x lid recently. Awesome value for the money.

I’m weighing up the same choice, though I’m less concerned about the magnetic buckle.

I’ve got a Sweet Protection Trailblazer in front of me and I’m waiting for a Troy Lee A3 to arrive for comparison. The Sweet Protection seems like it’s going to be a good choice though.

100% Altec.

Huge central vent, I forget I’m wearing it and it has their MIPS equivalent.

No magnetic belt buckle though.

I got a met roam at Christmas, mainly as it was the only helmet in large I could find. It’s comfy and pretty light compared to the bell I had before it .

The mt500 and sweet protection look like they would do the job. Think I discounted the Troy Lee on cost. Giro is out as I don’t think the light will mount how I want. Not sure about the 100% altec, need to look into that more.

The magnetic buckle is a nice to have rather than key. I have it on a snowboard helmet and like the fidloc system.

I have a feeling I may be ordering a selection to try.

I bought 6 planet X enduro whenever the sale was near XMAS (though for me and kid) £15 each if memory serves which probably doesn’t due to crashing in cheap helmets 😉
I’m on the 2nd so far this year and 2nd cheap (whatever is discounted) certified DH FF just wrecked an Urge. Got a 661 already (on sale)

Probably best not to listen to me as I’m brain damaged due to preferring a helmet that’s not crashed in vs a fancy one.

Usually carry at least one spare helmet in the van, usually more. Expect to get through a few per year.. Jnr holds our record wrecking 2 in a single weekend … both smashed open foam everywhere (Both Bell).. and had to buy a new one or the weekend would have been ruined.

I don’t hit my head that often fortunately. I have had concussion though while in a cheap snowboard helmet. Fwiw I stick to more established helmet suppliers now.

Kali maya

Not come across Kali before. Some nice lids there. Don’t think I’ll be going for the Maya due to light mounting but their road helmets do look nice.

I’ve ordered a sweet protection trailblazer for now. Will see what that’s like once it arrives before maybe ordering anything else.

I’ll just leave this here……. Leatt Mtb 4 All mountain..
Just go buy one…you won’t be disappointed.

+1 on Leatt.

We’ve 3 All Mountain and it’s a really nice helmet.

I’m buying one for me when mine needs replacing.

Just got one of these:

https://www.biketart.com/accessories-c5/helmets-c8/smith-session-mips-helmet-matte-gravy-p47216/s134882?

Seems pretty nice for price but haven’t given it serious hours in the heat yet.

Sweet protection, Leat and Troy Lee all looked nice to me too. Just got the one on my shortlist that was in the sale…

I’m on the cusp between M and L sizing. I currently have the Sweet Trailblazer in L/XL and the Troy Lee A3 in M/L to try and make a decision.

Compared to the Trailblazer I’d say the A3 is slightly more comfortable and has some nice extra features but overall it’s not worth the extra money especially considering the Trailblazer can be had for £119 at Stif right now.

The Trailblazer seems to have better ventilation and a few different options for places to stash glasses plus it has a nice flat-ish area on top to mount a light. I also prefer the looks of the Trailblazer but that’s subjective. In contrast I prefer the less wobbly MIPS liner in the A3 and I’m pretty interested in the sweat channel thing.

I think a big reason I find the A3 more comfortable is sizing (M/L vs L/XL) so I’ve ordered another Trailblazer in M/L to compare. Assuming it fits comfortably that’s what I’ll be keeping and I’ll return the A3 (and the L/XL Trailblazer). I might also try to DIY a sweat channel pad into the front now I’ve seen how the A3 does it.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m also on the size boundary between m/L and l/XL. One of the things that made me order the trailblazer (from stif) was the m/l going to 1cm bigger than most other brands. My poc fits fine at the m/l size where the bluegrass is ever so slightly too short (but close enough that it was usable).

I will definitely be trying to retrofit a silicone front pad if the trailblazer fits nicely.

I was going to order the bluegrass for comparison but Rutland cycles are the only place with the black in my size. There returns policy excludes safety equipment (though I think distance selling laws trump it I cannot be bothered to argue the toss).

What about a MET parachute, the older non MIPS is a very breathable FF. I’ve had some big crashes on mine, and picked up a new one last week for £140. Face protection beats MIPS for me.

I’ve had a few and currently got an TLD A1 and A3.

Seem to fit me very well with no tight contact points however neither stops sweat dripping into my eyes forcing a stop at least once a ride.

Maybe I should look at the pads on the front a bit more !

I don’t hit my head that often fortunately. I have had concussion though while in a cheap snowboard helmet. Fwiw I stick to more established helmet suppliers now.

If it was a genuine certified one there is no need to connect the two.

How do you know who made which helmet? Most decent certified ones are made by YEU CHUAN composite co., Ltd in Taiwan.

That’s the issue though isn’t it. The design may have been certified but I’d bet there is more chance of a bigger brand (be that a major helmet supplier or someone like decathlon) having better processes in place to ensure that the entire production complies. Yes I’d be wrong to connect a helmet being cheap with getting concussion. I’d bet without any helmet I’d still have got it and probably worse since the back of the helmet disintegrated from the impact. Guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve rightly or wrongly come up with a risk profile in comfortable with. As part of that for example we prefer to buy rather than rent kids ski helmets.

I will definitely be trying to retrofit a silicone front pad if the trailblazer fits nicely.

TLD sells a set of a few different thicknesses for £40. From offering them up to the sweet helmet I can see that they’d fit just fine but it would require the Velcro pads to be moved.

£40 Seems a bit step for three bits of silicone but we could go halves and split the set if you fancy? We’d just need to agree who gets the thin, medium and thick one.

Yes I’d be wrong to connect a helmet being cheap with getting concussion. I’d bet without any helmet I’d still have got it and probably worse since the back of the helmet disintegrated from the impact. Guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve rightly or wrongly come up with a risk profile in comfortable with. As part of that for example we prefer to buy rather than rent kids ski helmets.

I’d certainly never rent a helmet, you have no idea what’s happened to it.

The design may have been certified but I’d bet there is more chance of a bigger brand (be that a major helmet supplier or someone like decathlon) having better processes in place to ensure that the entire production complies.

A bit of swings and roundabouts … for example my Urge Helmet is popular in France (and Europe) but not so much in the UK so when a €200 helmet gets discounted its often very significantly.
If you believe the marketing (yep..) it’s designed “by riders for riders” so I dunno… is that better than a corporation like Bell?

I guess rather than tying myself in knots with that corundum, I’m more of the opinion my risk assessment is based on “can I afford to chuck the helmet if I’m unsure” and so far the Planet X ones (for example) have stood up rather well in terms of me walking away and if I have any doubts at all I just chuck it. The Urge was just hugely discounted and the 661 replacing it similar…

I don’t (and I don’t think many people do) really remember accidents properly … myself and mates have swore blind we didn’t hit our heads then you see the video…