How much should you spend on a mountain bike helmet? $100, $200 or even $300?
No one wants to put a price on their head. But price still plays a role for most of us when shopping for a bike helmet. So, what’s the difference between a $100 mountain bike helmet and a $250 one? Aside from obvious design features like a full-face shell versus a traditional open design and non-safety features like venting, adjustability and weight, the difference comes down to higher-tech crash protection technology.
The Smith Engage MTB Helmet $130
While we can’t test a helmet’s safety (we have faith in the safety standards), we can look at the different helmet safety techs and where they fall on the price spectrum.
With price and tech in mind, I’ve been using the Smith Engage mountain bike helmet for several months, and I believe it offers a great balance of crash protection and non-safety features for a great price. Understanding the details that set it apart from other helmets requires a closer look at modern helmet tech.
Bike Helmet Crash Protection
When shopping for a bike helmet, it’s essential to understand that every helmet sold in North America passes the same safety standards (aside from special certifications for downhill and e-bike-specific models) regardless of the various technologies it may or may not have. That said, crash protection technology varies by brand and model.
Bike helmets are primarily built around the crash protection of EPS foam, and many helmets rely entirely on EPS foam for their crash protection (and pass the national safety standards). However, helmet design has evolved to include crash protection techs that add to the protection of traditional EPS foam. These techs are not necessarily required to pass the North American Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards, but they do offer potential safety advantages over straight EPS foam helmets.
Mips Bike Helmet Safety Tech
The most common of the newer bike helmet safety techs is Mips. Mips is a low friction layer built into a helmet and complements the standard EPS foam impact protection. It helps reduce rotational motion to the head in oblique impacts. Here’s a video that explains Mips in 90 seconds.
Mips is widely available on helmets for bike, ski, moto and climbing. It weighs very little and does not influence fit or airflow. Mips has quickly become a standard issue on mid and upper-price range helmets.
Koroyd Bike Helmet Impact Protection
The most recent crash protection innovation to come to bike helmets revolves around using a layer in addition to the primary APS foam material that absorbs impact energy. Think of it like a bumper on a car that absorbs energy and crumples (before your head does) upon impact.
In the case of a helmet, it’s a layer sandwiched between the EPS foam and the Mips layer. One such technology is called Koroyd impact technology. It’s a honeycomb-like material that absorbs crash forces in a controlled manner to minimize the energy transferred to your head.
There’s no significant weight or air flow penalty associated with a Koroyd. And like Mips, it’s available in a range of helmets from various brands.
Smith Engage MTB Helmet
Back to the Smith Engage Mountain Bike Helmet. I’ve used the Engage as my go-to mountain bike helmet for most of the summer. It’s a mid-range helmet in the Smith lineup with a $130 price tag. It features EPS foam, Mips and Koroyd as well as many of the design elements and features of Smith’s top-tier helmets. It offers a great balance of tech, features and cost.
Smith offers two levels of Koroyd coverage in their bike helmets: zonal and complete. The Engage uses zonal Koroyd, which means the Koroyd is strategically positioned in the most probable high-impact areas. Zones without Koroyd rely on traditional EPS foam and Mips for impact coverage.
In addition to the extra safety tech of Mips and Koroyd, the Engage has many of the features found in Smith’s higher-priced Forefront MTB helmet, including dial-adjustable fit, an adjustable visor, integrated sunglasses storage, plentiful airflow and easily adjustable straps. It’s also really light and comfortable.
Bottom Line
The Engage checks all safety boxes with the addition of Mips and Koroyd impact protection, but the best aspect of the Smith Engage mountain bike helmet is its fit and feel. You can forget it’s on your head. Thanks to its dial-adjust fit, lightweight feel and easy-to-adjust straps, it disappears like a great helmet should. Add the integrated sunglasses storage (which works great with most shield-style glasses, not just Smith sunglasses), 21 vents to keep the air flowing and a nice robust outer shell for general durability, and the Smith Engage is a solid choice that balances the latest safety tech with a mid-range price tag — not that any of us would put a price on our heads . . .
Check price and availability of the Smith Engage MTB helmet straight from Smith Optics.
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