[rmac]

Crashed on CO's Green Mountain last night and bounced the back of my head off some rocks in the trail (no discernable affects yet ). Completely split my Giro Switchblade helmet in the back (need to post a pic!). Reeaaally glad I had the full face lid with rear head protection (even for simple XC trails!). Since Giro has discontinued the Switchblade, I just bought a Bell Bellistic full face (for half the price of the Switchblade) and wonder if I will fry my brain for lack of vents. I tend to ride at 6:00 am in the mornings when it is cooler (or cold) so may catch a break there. What is the rest of Homer-land doing with helmets and are you concerned about your head protection? It seems like TS was full-faced when he assaulted that little defenseless tree.

Posting here because I have a good idea of what types of riding most of you regulars do.

PS - the Burner appears unharmed.

 

[kidwoo]

I wear a $40 pro-tec skateboard helmet for everything but full on DH. I fall on my head a lot and got sick of spending about $60 a crash. It's not terribly hot where I ride xc so it doesn't really bother me that much that it's lacking vents.

 

[KDK]

PS - the Burner appears unharmed.

Pfewwww !!

I wear a MET Parachute which is similar to the Switchblade.

.

I would not call it a full face though. It is not sold as a DH helmet either. It is quite light and seems to be very strong. Ventilation is excellent and I can still use my camelbak easily.

The jaw protector is removable by unscrewing 4 screws and in theory you can use it as a normal helmet on the uphill and convert it into a "full-face" on the downhill - I do not bother with that though !!

 

[slowrider]

Ouch

Yeah in 12 years of riding I've only replaced a worn out helmet a couple times, I usually break them long before that. I have a ballistic and that thing is much heavier and hotter than a switchblade, That other helmet was much closer looking to the switchblade but I've never heard of it.

 

[Renegade]

I haven't seen many "xc" helmets that have much back of the head protection. I too owned a switchblade for a while, and I recall it had a little more back there than the xc'ers. But any real full face helmet is gonna be WARM for climbing. Even the giro mad max that I currently have, which has lots of vents, is a warm helmet. I don't know what to recommend to you.
On another topic; where is green mountain? I'm up here in Boulder. What's the riding like?

 

[Roostalee]

I'm a cheapie but I hate cheap helmets. That's why I always get Giro E2s (used to get the Giro Exodus) from Pricepoint.com. They're not full-face, but I think they're Giro's best helmets, and the price (around $60) is awesome since the damn things normally cost about $120. So what if they're last year's colors. They fit my noggin well (but everyone is different, I know) and they breathe better than anything else I've tried. I live in Texas and in the summer, skate helmets are just too hot.

Pricepoint also has some full-face helmets, but I've never tried them (Bell, 661, etc.)

 

[rmac]

On another topic; where is green mountain? I'm up here in Boulder. What's the riding like?

My 'every day' ride is a figure eight Green Mountain (GM) - Zorro - Dakota Ridge (DR) - Matthew Winters - Dakota Ridge - Zorro - Green Mountain.

Maybe 2000 ft of climbing (not all at once) over 18 miles.

GM is tame rolling single track with lots of choices; some steep rocky descents some long fast rocky descents. No Freeride. Think 'work-out'!

DR is where you want to be with your RFX. More continuously technical than The Devil's Backbone (Squeaks is gonna flame me for that!). These are the best winter/Spring trails (along with the Backbone) since they dry out very quickly.

Lots of trail reviews on all of these in the MTBR section (GM is universally panned!). I rode most of them late Tuesday and they were pretty much dried out from the week-end down-pour.

 

[rmac]

Pfewwww !!

I wear a MET Parachute which is similar to the Switchblade.

.

I would not call it a full face though. It is not sold as a DH helmet either. It is quite light and seems to be very strong. Ventilation is excellent and I can still use my camelbak easily.

The jaw protector is removable by unscrewing 4 screws and in theory you can use it as a normal helmet on the uphill and convert it into a "full-face" on the downhill - I do not bother with that though !!

That looks great - a quick search only shows European currency sales. Hopefully there's a US distributor...

 

[El Beastro]

Protec Pro-Carbon....the ultimate

Personally I think the Giro Switchblade is crap. Talk to any one of the folks that have face planted with it only to get dental surgery and stitches in their face when that front guard snaps and digs into your pearly whites.

I ride with a Protec carbon kevlar full face and it's the lightest, strongest FF helmet I could find. It's toastier than the Switchblade and other MTB specific foam hats, but on fire roads I'll just take if off for the climb. I've stacked it up a couple times HUGE only to walk away with a headache and nothing more. $150 will get you one special order from your local snowboard/skateboard/Protec dealer shop.

Glad to hear your Switchblade saved your noggin......

 

[rmac]

QUOTE]

I recognize that Backbone shot!

 

[Renegade]

Ah, okay; I've ridden dakota ridge and matthew winters once, years ago. I recall some decent sized steps on a descent. I don't "get out" much, usually I ride near my home, near Nederland, but that's not quite possible right now. Two feet of snow happened last week on top of a foot and a half two weeks before that; it's like fricken winter up there.

I trail ride [all mountain ride, whatever is the politically correct term this week] more than freeride or dh [which means, to some folks, that my bike is overbuilt for my purposes, to those folks, screw you!], so I'm looking for some dry spots to recreate for a while before I go nuts. That sounds like a much shorter ride home for me tomorrow night than going up to loveland.

 

[rmac]

That sounds like a much shorter ride home for me tomorrow night than going up to loveland.

Yep, and here are some recent shots to get you going!

 

[Renegade]

Yep, and here are some recent shots to get you going!

Ooooooooo, I'm there!

 

[TR]

That looks great - a quick search only shows European currency sales. Hopefully there's a US distributor...

Pretty sure you will find that Met does not import to the US.
I read a previous thread which said it was due to liability issues with US laws.
The Parachute is not approved for use over here in Australia either.

 

[mtnbikerx]

Xen

I've used the E2 but wanted a little more substance than the typical "tiara" helmet. I have a large noggin and the XC type lids seem to perch on top rather than cradle. I got my closeout Xen last year for about $89. For more challenging crashes, err riding, I wear a 661 FF, less venting but higher airspeed keeps things cool.

 

[rmac]

I've used the E2 but wanted a little more substance than the typical "tiara" helmet. I have a large noggin and the XC type lids seem to perch on top rather than cradle. I got my closeout Xen last year for about $89. For more challenging crashes, err riding, I wear a 661 FF, less venting but higher airspeed keeps things cool.

Tried on an Xgen today - certainly more coverage than most. Not enough for me though!

 

[mtn hack]

That looks great - a quick search only shows European currency sales. Hopefully there's a US distributor...

From MET website

Madam, Sir,

we have to inform you that MET S.p.A., producer of the MET helmets, have decided not to export their helmets to North-America (Canada and United States of America). As a supplier of helmets throughout the world, MET have to ensure that their products pass the different safety standards that apply in the countries in which they are sold. MET helmets do not meet just one of these standards but all of them, whether it is Europe, Japan, or Australia, for instance. Nevertheless, we have noted that some court decisions about product liability in some countries, especially USA and Canada penalize manufacturers for damages that may be suffered by a consumer involved in an accident. This, sometimes, occurs regardless of the quality of the product, and the safety it actually provides. Moreover, judicial costs and attorney's fees are very burdensome in North America.

 

[bogmonster]

giro semi mx

check out the giro semi, kind of a cross between xc and skate, good back of the head potection, can find cheap too for about 39.00. But also have a giro mad max 2 for the knarly stuff, not vented to bad for a full face, have done a few climbs with it, as long it isn't 90 degres out!!!

 

[CrashTheDOG]

Pretty sure you will find that Met does not import to the US.

They show up on eBay from time to time.

 

[sflett]

i once had a giro xen... about 2 days ago to be exact. chain skipped on a dj so i lost power and i cased sending me over the front of the bike. hit head good enough to break both my tooth, and my helmet (in 4 places). neck is sore head is fine. nice work giro! now looking for a FF for better protection.