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By Sue – July 09, 2019 – in Mountain Bike Product Reviews

Hi, I'm Sue!

Some of you may know me as "Suey Cide DH". I'm an ambitious downhill mountain biker and am privately involved in the IXS Downhill Cup and Maciag Offroad is one of my supporters. I ride a lot of downhill and park with my Transition TR500 or roll a lap with the Wethepeople BMX at the local skateparks. Some time ago my fleet was extended by a hardtail enduro, since then enduro tours also belong to my training. With my OnOne Dee Dare it's really fun to explore small trails in the forest!

For a long time I rode with my full face helmet. On enduro tours, however, it quickly reachesits limits in terms of field of vision and wearing comfort. Not without reason there are special half-shell helmets especially for the MTB enduro use. With a half-shell helmet one sweats of course clearly less and also the better view is an important factor. Nevertheless I asked myself the question: What features does a good enduro helmet need to have? For me it's important that a helmet fits well and safely. Sunglasses or goggles should be comfortably compatible without pressing. it should be well ventilated, protect my head optimally and have a bit of style!

GIRO MONTARA MIPS TESTED

ADVANTAGES OF A HELMET FOR WOMEN

I decided to test the Montara MIPS women's helmet from Giro, the female version of the Montaro helmet. The biggest difference between those two helmets is the shape of the shell. The Montara is specially designet for smaller women's heads and is less bulky, so it adapts better to the shape of the head. A big plus: You can adjust the helmet so that you can wear it with a braid or ponytail without getting uncomfortable. Thanks to the recesses next to the ears you don't ned to take your earrings or piercings out while riding.

WEIGHT

The Giro Montara MIPS weighs 350 g in size S according to the manufacturer. So about 3 1/2 chocolate bars, which isn't much in itself. Nevertheless, I weighed the helmet again myself and the scale said only 340 g. The lighter, the better, I thought. Because the lower the weight of a helmet is, the less the neck must support.

HELMET SHELL

The helmet shell is adapted very much to the head-form and pulled deeply into the neck in order to protect the head optimally. This gives you an additional feeling of safety when wearing the helmet. The Roc Loc Air System of thehelmet also contributes to this. It can be adapted with the adjusting wheel on the back exactly to the own head form. You can also adjust the height and pull it further down the neck. This also creates an extra recess through which you can carry your braid. Thanks to this setting, the helmet almost completely surrounds my head like a cap and sits incredibly secure on my head.

CHIN STRAP

The chin strap is very smooth, so that it slips quite quickly if I hang the helmet on my handlebars, for example. However, this is a shortcoming I can live with, because the adjustment of the strap itself is still very quick and easy.

BRAKEAWAY MOUNT

I love the integrated BrakeAway mount for a helmet camera or lamp. It's included in the delivery and can be clicked into the middle ventilation opening of the helmet. I have to admit that I haven't used it yet. Among other things also because it's still relatively difficult to attach. But I think the more often you use the bracket the easier it will be.

HELMET PADDING

The padding of the helmet is antibacterial and hydrophilic. According to Giro, they can absorb 10 times their weight in liquid. To test this, I first weighed the pads and came up with 0.5 g. So the pads should be able to absorb about 50 ml of liquid which is quite a lot, I think. So I filled a cup with exactly 50 ml water and put the pads into it. After a few hours the water was almost gone. About 10 ml were still left. That's a pretty respectable amount.

The helmet itself has quite little padding - two triangular pads in the middle and a large forehead pad in the front - which made me suspicious at first. But now I think it's good, because only a very small area of the helmet lies directly against my head. In the gaps the air can circulate freely. Its protective function is not compromised, because the padding only increases wearing comfort.

CRASH TEST

I can't deliver a crash test. However, the helmet was tested according to the CPSC standard. Therefore the helmet must survive a fall into the flat from 2-3 meters height. Fortunately, there were no comparable soil samples for me so far, where I could have tested that. According to the standard the helmet may not slip if one pulls in front or the back at it. I can definitely confirm that.

GIRO MONTARA MIPS CONCLUSION

The Giro Montara MIPS is a rather chic and comfortable half shell helmet with many features that leave nothing to be desired. One notices that Giro understands its craft. I have ridden with him (or should I rather say "her") now for almost 3 months and am very satisfied. I thought such a half shell helmet would disturb me or be unpleasant, also beause I always think about how stupid I look. But already during the first test ride with the Montara, I had completely forgotten what I was wearing a helmet at all!

Even though I had to get used to wearing a half shell helmet, I'm now even on the road with it in everyday life. Due to the good ventilation of the helmet, I sweat so little on my head that the hairstyle is still in place after I have taken it off. Thus the helmet is also suitable for everyday use, which for me is an additional argument for the investment.

Its absolutely stylish look is always an eye-catcher. I already got some curious glances thanks to the Montara. I always treasure my helmet but you can't avoid scratches due to the realtively sensitive outer shell.

AT A GLANCE

STRENGHTS

  • high-quality workmanship
  • deep-drawn helmet shell
  • MIPS system for high protection
  • very well ventilated
  • attention to detail design
  • BrakeAway mount included in delivery
  • specially adapted to women's heads

WEAKNESSES

  • slippery chin strap
  • outer shell sensitive to scratches
  • relatively high price



This way to Sue's Instagram profile

Pictures by Kevin Czichy