TESTED: Urge Archi Enduro Helmet
Urge products have landed in Australia, bringing their range of helmets to our shores.
Urge products have landed in Australia, bringing their range of helmets to our shores. This is no mean feat, as we have some of the strictest standards in the world for helmet safety. Urge are based in Colorado… and Provence. That sounds odd, but it means they have a foot in both an American and French mountain bike hotspot, with direct access to the athletes they sponsor to develop their product. They set up in 2008, with the goal of making the best mountain bike helmets on the planet.
They also aimed to operate with some fairly green credentials. They use recycled materials where possible in their helmets, including recycled PET in the straps. Some helmets also have a Veggie option. They don’t come with a falafel in the box, but instead replace some glass-fibre in full-face helmets with a natural linen instead. This material isn’t just natural, but it produces far less waste during production in comparison to carbon-fibre.
We had an Archi-Enduro helmet sent in for testing, which is a slimmed down version of the Down O Matic, their DH lid. The Archi-Enduro is aimed at riders who are racing Enduro and Super D events, or all-mountain riders who want to make sure they have the best protection possible, in a light weight and well-ventilated package. Urge claim 820g for the helmet, but our L/XL model rang up 960g on the Park Tool scales.
The Archi-Enduro has a pretty striking look, with round vents and some fairly ‘euro’ graphics, but it’s good to stand out from the crowd. The visor is nice and large, and adjustable. Note that it’s more of a set-and-forget adjustment, than one to play with on the bike. The benefit of that is that it holds in place really well.
The padding in the helmet is comfortable, and the main pads are removable for washing. There’s an extra set of pads that are a little thicker so you can fine-tune the fit. While the buckles are two standard D-rings, they are covered, and have a handy locking strap for security.
The chin guard is pretty slim line, and the upper section is flexible, which makes it easy to drink from a bottle with the helmet on. It does mean there is less direct protection, but it really keeps the field of vision open. The back of the helmet is cut a little higher than some too, and trying the helmet with a range of backpacks I had no interference at all.
While this helmet was a bit heavier than claimed, it felt light on the head, possibly just because of the field of vision, which is excellent. While the vents don’t quite look like a standard helmet, the big round ports do get some good airflow over you head when you’re moving.
The back of the helmet is pretty flat to hold goggle straps in place, which it does perfectly. One catch was my Oakley goggles didn’t fit inside the helmet as well as I would have liked, lifting off the face a little, even with the strap extended. Getting your eyewear and helmet matched is pretty essential no matter what helmet you’re using, so this might be an excellent case of seeing how your goggles or glasses work with the Archi-Enduro helmet in store. The helmet worked really well with Adidas Evil Eye EVO glasses, which have a huge field of vision that is designed to mimic a set of goggles.
Without crash testing the helmet (thankfully), I was pretty impressed. The field of vision was really good, and it was comfortable to have on for longer periods of time – more so than other full-face helmets I’ve used sporadically in the past. The chin guard is minimalist, like many lighter full-face helmets on the market, but to me that was part of what made it comfortable. It was easy to drink, and even eat, while keeping the helmet on. But while it helps with vision and hydration, if I was relying on the supreme protection of a full-face helmet, I’d still look at a dedicated downhill helmet.
Hits: Comfortable, great field of vision
Misses: Check to see how it works with your eyewear
RRP: $317 ($369 for Veggie)
