[fitek]

WHere are you reading ANY journalist reporting that heavier helmets are safer? I have been in this industry for 30 years, never heard that.

Thanks to the broken hand I wont bother digging up links but Ive read a lot of lightweight FF reviews in past week and most seem to say if you want real protection, go for a burlier helmet. The degree of protection is not necessarily proportional to weight and size. As has been pointed out in this thread, dual density foams and MIPS like tech may be helpful... wont add significant weight. At some point going for lower weight will reduce the amount of material compromising efficacy but its impossible for one dude just looking at a helmet and writing something in a bike mag to know when that is.

 

[fitek]

Curious on your allure with the Tyrant? have you had impacts to your ears? this tiny trend of ear coverage is super strange to me. Half shell or Full face, take your pick-why 3/4 shell?

As for your experience with the STAGE helmet, 'fiddling' with pads? that helmet comes with the most amount of customization by way of all the included pads, for OPTIMAL fit, once you dial it in, you are golden-for good, the 'fiddling' is a one time thing ya know? To put a retention dial in a helmet like that, would create discomfort on the neck...I know because we tried.

Tyrant - no allure just FF helmets in stock are hard to find and it has the same MIPS spherical system as the Bell Super DH and Air R. I dont get 3/4 either in terms of coverage-- its popular in BMX, guessing style points in some circles.

My experience was w the 100%. I have not tried other helmets besides the 100% Trajecta and Super 2R. My beef w reviewers is that some are making statements re: efficacy without any basis for doing so-- why bother printing complete conjecture? If a mfg did the same theyd be in regulatory hot water. Reporting on fit and airflow etc is still useful information. I am likely to order TLD Stage, SuperAIR R and Super DH and return two of them. I was told by several local shops that new shipments wont arrive until March-April and I will be back on a bike before then.

 

[fly4130]

I watched a very competent rider have his wheel slip off the edge of a pump track, turn his bars 90 degrees and slam his knee, shoulder, and head right into a good sized roller at what was a very high rate of speed. He was wearing a quality helmet of a brand I cannot remember, but still showed signs of a moderate concussion. Another rider and myself stayed with him and made sure he got to the ride he needed to call. He had severe short term memory loss and was repeating questions over and over. Thankfully his extended family that picked him up were health care professionals and he amazingly had the wherewithal to not try to drive himself.

His lid did not look to damaged at all as we assessed the severity of the situation. Due to the angle of impact his head hit the roller in a few places, with his lower eye socket taking a very large percentage of the hit. I believe that impact is what did the most damage to his brain and a full face would definitely have prevented the direct impact to the face and mitigated some of the forces.

I had a big crash earlier in the week that had me hit the deck unexpectedly and very hard but somehow did not involve my head. After that and the above incident at the pump track I decided it's time for a full face myself and ordered a Stage just today.

Point being, it is not just what is inside the lid that matters if the helmet itself is not taking the forces of the impact.

 

[stiksandstones]

Tyrant - no allure just FF helmets in stock are hard to find and it has the same MIPS spherical system as the Bell Super DH and Air R. I dont get 3/4 either in terms of coverage-- its popular in BMX, guessing style points in some circles.

My experience was w the 100%. I have not tried other helmets besides the 100% Trajecta and Super 2R. My beef w reviewers is that some are making statements re: efficacy without any basis for doing so-- why bother printing complete conjecture? If a mfg did the same theyd be in regulatory hot water. Reporting on fit and airflow etc is still useful information. I am likely to order TLD Stage, SuperAIR R and Super DH and return two of them. I was told by several local shops that new shipments wont arrive until March-April and I will be back on a bike before then.

Thanks for the clear response, I understand your viewpoint. As I think I said, I am a TLD guy, I do love my stage and I should have worn it 3 weeks ago when I crashed on my face!

Did a 6000' elevation day, 4hr eMTB ride, rode all the gnarly descents and my front wheel washed out on the easy fire road, face to a rock! I was wearing our new proto trail helmet (comes out in feb 2021) and suffered zero concussion, my smith glasses saved my eye socket I think. I think, "Would have one of those Ear protector helmets been more protective?" hell no, only a full face. So-Stage for me from here on out! Part of me wishes I got a concussion from a crappy helmet (big dent on front of helmet and visor) because I can vividly remember the crash, like a slow motion replay, so now every left hander I hit, I see myself doing that same crash again, PTSD of sorts? haha the perils of a good helmet haha.


Good luck with whatever you end up with, fit and comfort are king-no matter what the marketing tells you.

 

[Nurse Ben]

IXS Trigger FF

Lightweight
Breathable
Meets DH crash standards
Simple padding system
Adjustable retention system
Not expensive

I wear mine all the time, it’s hotter than a half lid, on big climbs I wear a sun hat and strap the helmet to my pack.

Got a full face when I finally recognized that my face is not well protected in a crash and the full face design is more crash worthy than a half lid.

I also wear leg armor and a pack with a back protector.

 

[fitek]

I found a TLD Stage at REI this past weekend-- a small, the only FF left at the store in Bham. So unfortunately could not try it on. Fit and finish on par with the 100% Trajecta , which is v. good (EDIT: on second thought, the Stage looks better). Nurse Ben, I know the IXS Trigger is light but I was not impressed w its fit and finish-- and it did not fit my head well.

More traditional looking MIPS system w the yellow liner. Visor is adjustable unlike the Trajecta, and the retention mech looks better than Super 2R... 2x pivots at the side and a lock knob at the center of the visor. My 2r, the visor knobs on the outside rub on stuff and sometimes unthread and fall out... my son lost one on the trail.

stiksandstones, dunno about you, but I rarely hurt myself doing dangerous things... it's usually when my attention is elsewhere, so at the end of a ride or on some "safe" piece of trail. With these helmets you may as well always keep them on unless you are in Texas or Florida and its ungodly hot and humid...

 

[Nurse Ben]

You sure write an awful lot for a non expert.

I agree with the earlier poster ... the one with the broken caps key 🙄

The best helmet is the one you will wear, more than likely a full face or remiveable chin bar is better than a half li

In a serious crash, no helmet will prevent blunt trauma, hitting your head is hitting your head. The higher the velocity at impact, the faster the stop, the greater the likelihood of brain injury.

I started wearing a full face after watching a few face shots on Pinkbike’s Friday Fails.The funny thing is that I always wore a full face riding motos and I wore a face mask when paddling whitewater, but I just started wearing a full face for mountain biking.

I have a few patients who are post concussion, impairment varies, most common impairment is in memory, impulse control, and mood. I have had a few who lost a chunk of cognitive function, one teen had a concussion playing football, went from above average IQ to below average IQ.

Avoid crashing into things with your head.

 

[Gurpil23]

Have been following this thread for a while now, and it has been helpful, so I thought I would share my own experience. I had two falls in the last two years with head impact.

Last year I had a slow speed silly washout on the easiest trail around. I was wearing a Giro Chronicle MIPS. The way I fell (by complete surprise, with my hands still in the bars), my temple got the main impact resulting in a concussion. It did not feel like a strong impact, but it really ringed the bell. Symptoms lasted for five weeks, and that scare set me in the path of searching for better protection. The Giro helmet was a very comfortable fit, but for a low speed impact I felt it did not absorb that much energy. So after that first hit, having a helmet with some sort of low energy impact absorption became a priority. I also wanted to have MIPS as the concept of avoiding rotational/shear forces makes sense to me (on my first hit the force was mostly perpendicular to the helmet on the side, so I think MIPS would not have helped on that case). After much research, last year I ended up buying a Smith Forefront 2 MIPS, mainly due to the Koroyd technology. I recently read this crash report (Crash Tested: Smith Forefront 2 Helmet Review | The Loam Wolf ). Overall think that is one of the best options up there for a half lid.

Around the same time I also got a Bell Super 3R MIPS Medium. I wasn't looking for a convertible helmet, but found one for $49 at Sierra and since it was a good fit I decided to give it a try. I have been happy with the Bell, and have been using both the Smith and the Super 3r over the last year. Even it didn't have a system like Koroyd or dual density eps, the Super 3r was so comfortable and felt more solid than the Chronicle with the extra face protection, that I would use the Bell on some of the more difficult trails. A couple of months ago I finally got to test it, I went OTB hitting my head and left shoulder. This time the impact was much bigger than the last time, but I think the helmet (and MIPS) did their work. Had very mild nausea for 3-4 days, but overall got a much better outcome than the last time (and also avoided me a visit to the dentist).

So after that second fall I went back again to the search for a new helmet. This time I knew I wanted a full face. I did try the Bell Super Air R (as I was hoping for a lightweight helmet with a similar fit as the 3R with MIPS spherical, but it had a weird loose fit around the jaws) and the TLD Stages (not that great fit for me), but I ended up getting a Smith Mainline (20% discount at REI), and also a cash replacement Super 3R MIPS. So right now I have three options that I use depending what I am riding that day and the conditions. You can see below a side by side comparison as well as weights for the Smith Mainline, Bell Super 3R and Smith Forefront 2. All of them Medium (my head circumference is 57cm).

Overall the Mainline has become my new favorite, at almost the same weight as the Super 3r (with light support), it feels so much more solid in the head that I have been using it even on easier trails. It is so comfortable that is hard to find a reason not to use it. Sometimes I do feel silly wearing it on easier stuff, but with a history of concussion, questionable skills, and in the middle of a pandemic, it is a no brainer. As it was mentioned before, the best option is not to fall, but as long the risk is there, it is going to be the Mainline most of the time for me, the Forefront 2 for hot days or longer less technical days, and the Super 3r on those few cases where a convertible would make sense.

PS. I also considered the IXS Trigger Full Face, but the lack of MIPS was a no-go for me. Just got an email last week that the MIPS option is now available.

 

[Nurse Ben]

PS. I also considered the IXS Trigger Full Face, but the lack of MIPS was a no-go for me. Just got an email last week that the MIPS option is now available.

MIPS is a gimmick, there are lots of gimmicks, the only non gimmick is buying a quality product that protects your face AND your head, then wear it.


Before you all go ballistic and threaten to lynch me, I agreed that MIPS is a good thing, but considering how a head and helmet work in concert when a head strikes another object, it would be pushing it to say that that little bit of movement with MIPS is gonna make or break an impact or subsequent injury.

Just think about it.

I ride the IXS Trigger because it is a solid, well made helmet that is lightweight and breathes well, so I wear it on every ride. Best gear purchase I have made.

Edit: Just saw that they added MIPS, nice call, I'd get that helmet, it's a great choice, just about as rideable when it's hot as a half lid. I do pull it off and don a sun hat on long climbs in the summer.