Mountain bike helmets come in all shapes and styles. Riding fire roads and cross-country trails calls for a very different helmet than charging downhill at a bike park. Downhill and freeride mountain biking feature high speeds, big jumps, and tons of rock. A full-face helmet is critical for downhill and bike park riding. To hear about the metrics and testing process we used to determine the best DH helmets, check out our best downhill helmet review. If you are looking for a daily, half-shell trail helmet, head on over to the best mountain bike helmet review or our bike helmet review for all the head protection details.
Half-Shell Mountain Bike Helmets
Half-shell helmets are quite a diverse category in and of themselves. Some lean towards the lighter duty cross-country side of things, while others are burly and aggressive looking. Half-shell helmets are typically about 30-50% lighter than full-face helmets. They breathe well and help keep you cool on hot days. Just keep in mind that sometimes full-face helmets are warranted if you are riding super rowdy or fast trails. These trail helmets are usually certified by CPSC and CE EN 1203 standards that are not specific to a certain type of cycling but are required for a product to be sold as a cycling helmet in the US and Europe.
Downhill Full-Face Helmets
First-time full face users might feel they are too hot and it is difficult to breathe. This comes with the territory but it is also impossible to avoid given the extra coverage. Fear not, riders get used to them fairly quickly and the added protection is totally worth it. Full-face helmets protect your entire head by covering the whole occipital lobe, temporal area, ears, and jaw. Many folks will confuse a full-face mountain bike helmet with a motocross helmet. While they certainly share looks, they are different in size and the safety certifications.
Also similar to motocross helmets, full-face downhill helmets have large visors designed to shield the eyes from sun, rain, or mud depending on riding conditions. These visors can typically be manipulated up and down a few degrees for optimum placement. They can also be removed entirely, though we feel that they add a bit of style to the helmet and we prefer to leave them attached, even if they aren't helping us see better. Additionally, full-faces are the only type of helmet that should be combined with neck braces. If you don't know what those are, see Neck Braces below.
These types of helmets are certified by the same CPSC and CE EN standards as a half-shell mountain and road helmets, and usually, also meet additional standards aimed at downhill riding. See our certification section below for more on these standards.
Enduro Helmets
Enduro focused helmets strike a nice middle ground. These full-face models are typically lighter weight than the full-on downhill models and have more ventilation to meet the demands of enduro racers who pedal up the mountain between downhill stages. The emphasis is still on protection, but weight and ventilation are clear considerations in their design. They are generally sturdy enough to stand up to bike park use, although we'd probably reach for a dedicated downhill helmet if we were spending significant time riding the chairlifts. If you're an enduro racer, however, you'll probably be well served by one of these helmets.
Convertible Helmets
The enduro mountain bike race scene has driven innovation in a number of ways including the design of a new breed of convertible helmets. Convertible models are unique in that they have a removable chin bar and the helmet can be worn in either the full or half-shell configuration. These helmets are very versatile and are a good option of the light-duty downhiller who is looking for one helmet that can do it all. These are a good option for riders who tend to do a lot of climbing to earn their descents as you can remove the chin bar for the climbs and reattach it for getting rowdy on the way down. In general, this style of helmet is lighter weight and better ventilated than the downhill specific counterparts and not the best choice for dedicated downhill use at the bike park.
Motorcycle and Dirtbike Helmets
None of the full-face helmets in our test meet any DOT certifications. Whether or not DOT certified helmets make for more protective bicycle helmets, we will leave to the inter-web debaters, though a helmet designed for mountain biking is sure to be more ventilated and comfortable.
Other Safety Considerations
Certifications
All of the helmets in our test meet the CPSC and CE EN1078 standards for bicycle helmets sold in the US and Europe. These two certifications are not specific to full-face helmets. In fact, all of the helmets in our half-shell mountain bike helmet review as well as in our upcoming road bike helmet review also meet both of these standards. The majority of full-faces we tested also meet an additional standard that is specific to full-face bike helmets designed for more aggressive riding and potentially worse crashes. That standard is the ASTM-F1952. We think that downhillers should consider this as the minimum standard to look for in a full-face helmet.
You can read an interesting history of bicycle helmet standards in the US to learn more on this topic.
Neck Braces
Neck braces, like those made by Leatt or Atlas, are rapidly gaining popularity amongst downhillers. These braces work by redirecting impact forces away from, and by limiting the motion of, the vulnerable cervical spine. Neck braces are designed to be worn with full-face helmets only and work because during a crash the helmet makes contact with the table of the brace, preventing your neck from bending. Please remember YOU SHOULD NEVER WEAR A NECK BRACE WITH A HALF-SHELL BIKE HELMET.
While these braces are not perfect, we feel that they have the potential to prevent life-changing injuries, and we certainly wouldn't talk anybody out of wearing one for aggressive mountain biking. We have a few testers who never ride in a full-face without also wearing their Leatt neck brace.
All of the helmets in our test were worn with a Leatt DBX neck brace by a few of our testers to check for compatibility problems. While we wouldn't say that any of the helmets in our test don't work with the Leatt, we found that models with the least downward curve of the chin guard allowed for better range of motion while on the bike.
Fit
Fit is likely the most important single characteristic of a helmet that encases the entire head. Since head shapes vary from rider to rider, there is no way we can quantify fit for you. The best thing to do is to try on as many helmets as you can. A full-face helmet for downhill mountain biking should fit very snugly so that it doesn't rattle around as you bomb through rough sections. Since most full faces don't have a tightening mechanism around the back of the head like half-shell helmets, you should strive for a fit that is tight enough to stay put on its own.
Always remember to fasten the chin strap. We've heard more than one horror story of a rider forgetting to fasten the strap and having the helmet pop off in a violent crash. Chin straps should be worn as tight as you can handle without feeling as if you are choking.
Full-face helmets are sized by measuring the circumference of the head on a level plane just above the eyebrows using a flexible measuring device. Don't have a flexible measuring tape? Use a non-stretchy piece of string and then compare to a rigid measuring device.
Head Shapes
Back when we tested Ski and Snowboard Helmets we found that head shape affects the fit of a helmet that fully encases the head. We found that head shapes, when viewed from the top down, come in a range of ovals which we put into three categories: round oval, intermediate oval, and long oval. It's hard to use a tape measure to determine which head shape you have. Instead, we recommend trying on as many helmets as you can get your hands on. You can do this at your local bike shop, by grabbing a friend's helmet (hopefully before they've sweated a bunch in it), or by taking advantage of online retailers with liberal return policies that allow you to try things on.
Price
There are no two ways around it; downhill mountain biking is an expensive sport. However, we recommend that you find other parts of your kit to save money on rather than skimping on protective gear. Ambulance rides, CT scans, and dental surgery all cost many times more than any of the helmets we tested.
The helmets in our test varied from a mere $100 to a whopping $500. That's a 500% increase from the least to most expensive. Are the differences in price worth it between the models? Maybe not, but consider that a CT scan of your head costs multiple thousands of dollars at any American hospital, and you may want to reconsider how much you spend on safety equipment. Throw down a little extra cash on your helmet before you throw down on the hill, and you might not have to throw down at the ER. The bottom line is, we recommend you get a quality helmet to protect your head in the event of a crash at whatever price you feel comfortable with.
