Good winter helmet? 🥶 Experience with TSG Pass helmet in winter?

[Darrell Wesh]

2 hours ago, Unventor said:

I can add to my old post. I keep using my TSG Pass helmet despite it is cold. 

I found with visor a bit open of full open I prefer this over my MC helmet. 

I use a baklava (ski/"rubbers" mask) to keep warn. Today I just picked up 2 new baklava. One made of microfibers other of cutton. 

I have written to TSG I would like them to move from the dual D lock to a fidlock (magnetic system) and they make a visor that has pinlock. But never got any reply. But there are 3 things that makes the TSG Pass my preferred helmet. 

AerodynamicS

Field of vison

Light weight. 

This is how it looked today on my lunch ride. 

 

Do you ride motorcycles? That klim Carlsbad outfit and the rest of your gear cost more then your v11 !

[.....]

44 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Do you ride motorcycles? That klim Carlsbad outfit and the rest of your gear cost more then your v11 !

Still cheaper than 1 night in a hospital and I'd venture that his Klim suit will outlast 10 v11's. At least thats how Im fooling myself into justifying a $1500 MC suit. Of course, I ride bikes (as does Unventor) and its just a mere drop in the bucket.

[longjohnsally]

2 hours ago, Scottie888 said:

"In the deep freeze, one would sweat lots when even riding their sleds semi aggressively & venting is huge for comfort. The helmet do come with a windstopper liner for more heat retention on lazy rides."

Good point.  I thought the other advantage of a snowmobile helmet would be the breather box to keep your breath moving away from your goggles/face shield.  Have you had any issues in cold weather with yours?  I notice you live in Calgary so I would defer to your experience 

[longjohnsally]

5 hours ago, AtlasP said:

Nice helmet except for the lightning bolt front and center like a wannabe superhero. Looks like you can customize all the colors--wonder if selecting the same color for the base and logo make it completely disappear or how visible it would still be.

Ha!  I think the lightning bolt is fun.  The fact that you can completely customize the colors is quite a perk, and the rest of the helmet stylings are fairly clean looking.  My concern with the Avitar is more about safety.  It states that it meets the safety requirements of the International Downhill Federation (IDF), but when I looked up the IDF site I wasn't overly impressed.  Not sure how much weight this safety rating actually carries.  

[Scottie888]

1 hour ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Still cheaper than 1 night in a hospital and I'd venture that his Klim suit will outlast 10 v11's. At least thats how Im fooling myself into justifying a $1500 MC suit. Of course, I ride bikes (as does Unventor) and its just a mere drop in the bucket.

Don't know if its cheaper than a night's stay at the hospie (we get universal health care here in Socialist Canada) but for sure, its gonna be way less misery than any hospital visit. Unless one's dying, triage can be hours & hours & .... of misery. & No you're not fooling yourself with the Aero suit. Infact tis the opposite. FWIW to my eyes, the 'stich suit looks better than the Klim 😉

38 minutes ago, longjohnsally said:

Good point.  I thought the other advantage of a snowmobile helmet would be the breather box to keep your breath moving away from your goggles/face shield.  Have you had any issues in cold weather with yours?  I notice you live in Calgary so I would defer to your experience 

Hmmm honestly I have not used the F5 in sub zero weather as I found it too cooling. I use the Schubert C3pro modular FF moto helmet instead. Its got the pinlock antifog visor & almost eliminates fogging with a breather box. If you're planning to use a snow/mx helmet for winter, make sure you get snow goggles. The dual pan lens helps in this regard.

Back when I snowmobiled, I used a regular moto type helmet with an electric defroster visor. Now that works no matter the temp.

[Unventor]

4 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Do you ride motorcycles? That klim Carlsbad outfit and the rest of your gear cost more then your v11 !

Nope but as I sold my car I needed to be able to ride in any weather. I looked at the benafits to me using the mc suit and decided it is worth it to me. 

It is fairly fast and easy to put on my gear. And once in the mc suit I have all protection zones on beside helmet and wrist guards. 

I ride these days without wrist guards when wearing gloves. In summer time I mostly have a smal set of wrist guard on. 

But the real benafit of the klim suit is the goretex properties and how ventilation is made. So even in rain I don't get wet on the inside. Onlt when it gets really hot here I use a set of knee guard instead on the mc pants. 

By buying this gear I have all weather solution for all seasons. I ride geared up 100% of the time compared to be for it was maybe 80% of the time. Also I am more visual in traffic so cars behave differently. 

So bottom line is it works for me. So the 1250$ it cost me was worth it. I have had 2 accidents where I got injured but it could have ended worse if 3jad not geared up. But I also found that despite being geared up I could have done better and the luck I had with the outcome I might not have in the next accident. I hope it doesn't happen but I treat it as it will happen. Others might have their opinions. But I am sure @GothamMike understand my point of view. And weather in my area changes a lot and it is something wearing the right clothing it is a non issue. 

[.....]

4 minutes ago, Unventor said:

Nope but as I sold my car I needed to be able to ride in any weather. I looked at the benafits to me using the mc suit and decided it is worth it to me. 

It is fairly fast and easy to put on my gear. And once in the mc suit I have all protection zones on beside helmet and wrist guards. 

I ride these days without wrist guards when wearing gloves. In summer time I mostly have a smal set of wrist guard on. 

But the real benafit of the klim suit is the goretex properties and how ventilation is made. So even in rain I don't get wet on the inside. Onlt when it gets really hot here I use a set of knee guard instead on the mc pants. 

By buying this gear I have all weather solution for all seasons. I ride geared up 100% of the time compared to be for it was maybe 80% of the time. Also I am more visual in traffic so cars behave differently. 

So bottom line is it works for me. So the 1250$ it cost me was worth it. I have had 2 accidents where I got injured but it could have ended worse if 3jad not geared up. But I also found that despite being geared up I could have done better and the luck I had with the outcome I might not have in the next accident. I hope it doesn't happen but I treat it as it will happen. Others might have their opinions. But I am sure @GothamMike understand my point of view. And weather in my area changes a lot and it is something wearing the right clothing it is a non issue. 

I stand corrected. I wrongfully assumed you were also a motorcyclist. Apologies for that, however you're losing cool points by the minute bro!

Edited January 9, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Unventor]

4 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Still cheaper than 1 night in a hospital and I'd venture that his Klim suit will outlast 10 v11's. At least thats how Im fooling myself into justifying a $1500 MC suit. Of course, I ride bikes (as does Unventor) and its just a mere drop in the bucket.

I don't ride mc. But you are spot on about my line of thinking that it will outlast more wheels. So it was a long team investment for me. And there is so many details in this mc suit that fits my needs that once I decided cost wasn't an issue it was very easy choice to hit buy. At the time it was 10% discounted too. 

[Unventor]

3 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I stand corrected. I wrongfully assumed you were also a motorcyclist. Apologies for that, however you're losing cool points by the minute bro!

I don't ride mc because of the cost combined with weather and honesty I don't have the ball to ride at those speeds and have that amount of power. I don't have anything against mcs. But my needs are solved on my EUCs. It has been transforming going up to and after I decided and sold my car back in October. Any right not is the test if I can do all year only on EUCs. Here is my feedback to TSG an important part too. Because this is where I miss out in my gear. 

As for cool points. It isn't a driver for me. But let's just say I have people approach me with questions about EUCs because they got the impression it is serious yet they view it as risky. And many are mc rides. They dare not do what I do. Riding now in snowfall and sun zero C temp adds to the risk factor in many ways. So far it works out pretty good with the V11, klim mc suit and TSG pass helmet (and this last bit is what the thread is all about) this in my 2nd winter using TSG Pass). Now should it get below - 10C I will switch up to my mc ff helmet I mentioned above as it is warmer and the pinlock system is so much better for anti forging system on the visor. 

[Dreygun]

11 hours ago, longjohnsally said:

Good point.  I thought the other advantage of a snowmobile helmet would be the breather box to keep your breath moving away from your goggles/face shield.  Have you had any issues in cold weather with yours?  I notice you live in Calgary so I would defer to your experience 

I was thinking of ordering a breath box to see if it fit inside the tsgpass, but they're all so different in size and shape. I didn't want to get stuck not being able to return afterwards. I think the problem with the tsgpass antifog design is that the helmet fits comfortably when the chin is lower, just where it tends to go to. So your mouth is above the breather trap strip of foam. I also notice in a lot of youtube videos, guys are wearing the helmets way too large where almost their full mouth is exposed theough the visor opening 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Dreygun

[AtlasP]

 

9 hours ago, Dreygun said:

I also notice in a lot of youtube videos, guys are wearing the helmets way too large where almost their full mouth is exposed theough the visor opening 

I always hear about TSG Pass fog problems and yet have never had it happen to me a single time. I guess I got lucky and my size fits me & my head shape well and/or I'm wearing it correctly such that the foam breath trap works? I've definitely seen a lot of people wearing what is clearly not the right size for them and/or with the chin part of the helmet too far down/well below their actual chin (so they're breathing directly on the visor).

Edited January 10, 2021 by AtlasP

[Dreygun]

21 minutes ago, AtlasP said:

 

I always hear about TSG Pass fog problems and yet have never had it happen to me a single time. I guess my size fits me & my head shape well and/or I'm wearing it correctly such that the foam breath trap works? I've definitely seen a lot of people wearing what is clearly not the right size for them and/or with the chin part of the helmet too far down/well below their actual chin (so they're breathing directly on the visor).

Yup exactly. I ordered a large because the measurement on site was correct, but I think I could fit into a Medium and have the breath trap sit more where it should. Could be headshape as well, cos I can lift chin up and breath trap is in correct spot, but it just feels more comfy a bit down, I don't know lol

[Unventor]

9 hours ago, Dreygun said:

So your mouth is above the breather trap strip of foam. I also notice in a lot of youtube videos, guys are wearing the helmets way too large where almost their full mouth is exposed theough the visor opening 

Well it is partly true. But it is designed to go faster than I do most of the time. And mostly for summer time as it main target user is DH longboarders. 

[Tryptych]

As mentioned earlier in the thread - almost any helmet is good in winter if you add a Balaclava underneath:

I ride in -10c weather with my motorcross helmets and one of these. It's warmer than just a motorcycle style helmet.

 

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Tryptych

[Skeptikos]

On 2/2/2019 at 7:48 PM, litewave said:

The Pass design has one major flaw, however: fogging. Despite the anti-fog coating, there is no way that I have found to prevent it (including balaclava, 3rd-party anti-fog treatments, shaving cream, incantations, etc.). The Pass design is so snug that airflow from your nose or mouth, even when directed downward, still circulates in front of the face leading to condensation, fog, and even frost. When the temperature difference is 5-6deg C (40deg F) or more less, I am forced to open the shield all or most of the way. The only solution in my opinion would be rigging a heated visor, which would be too much trouble and expense

I found a way to prevent it.

Just use a Fog City Anti-Fog Insert Lens. It's the same thing as Pinlock but without the pins. The "enduro" size matches the visor shape of the Pass. (Ignore the negative review on RevZilla, the guy is a moron who didn't peel off the back layer.)

At 15°F it reduced the fogging by something like 90%, enough to make it usable again at that temperature. Here it is on my size medium helmet:

 

For the record, though, I had very little fogging issues with the Pass until it got super cold and I added a chin curtain and put on a balaclava, which both keep my breath from escaping downward. In my experience, without modifications the design prevents fog pretty well.

[superox]

One option I've been looking at is this helmet, AMOQ Adaptor, for snowmobiles.

It's got an optional heated visor, which could potentially work for EUCs using a portable 12V battery pack. The neatest thing however is the nose curtain, which can be pulled up right up to the eyes, like a medical mask we're all now familiar with. It even has a malleable metal bit inside of it to adjust for nose shape. With the curtain up there's never going to be any breath on the visor or the internal visor/glasses in the first place. I'm sure there are other similar snowmobile helmets, but this one happened to fit my head well, too.

[sbb]

3 hours ago, superox said:

With the curtain up there's never going to be any breath on the visor or the internal visor/glasses in the first place.

Not quite correct. It will be reduced.  In practice, the curtains work well if you are above some minimum windspeed. The instant you go below that windspeed, expect fogging unless you crack the visor.

You'll notice, for example, that the sample helmet image includes a heated visor with that curtain. That'll tell you how well the curtains work.  In addition, none of these things do anything for people wearing glasses.  Cracking the visor is pretty much all that works, unless you start diving into fitted breath management.

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by sbb

[superox]

The curtain did seem pretty tight fitting, and the helmet has no chin curtain, so breath is free to go down and out. Another neat thing is that the helm has air vents inside, behind the inner visor even, so the air moistured by breath and eyes has somewhere to go. That's something I've noticed with my current road helmet, it has a chin vent that lets in loads of air, but it doesn't go anywhere. Also: CO2 buildup.

Fuck it, I'll just buy it and report back how it is. For Science.

[superox]

As promised, a little review of AMOQ Adaptor. Didn't feel like taking much pictures, but here's my impressions, in the order from better to worse
 

• The breath curtain works quite well when it's up and sealed nicely against the face. Not perfectly, but certainly reduces fogging by around 90% by my estimation. In the mild 3-5C spring weather I almost couldn't get my glasses or visor to fog up at standstill or even when I tried. And that's without Pinlock present.
• The ventilation is good, particularly as the chin holes deflect the air upwards, across your face and eyes, and into the vents inside the helmet above your eyes. That airflow also really seems crucial in avoiding fogging. I noticed that the much more expensive Schuberth E1 does a similar thing with the chin vents, but there that air doesn't go anywhere.
• The helmet looks pretty cool with its blackout scheme and shiny-on-matte black lettering.
• Chin strap has double-D ring connection, which is harder to manipulate with gloves, but more secure and comfortable to wear, so overall a positive. Nice silky chin strap material.
• Sizing is actually a little bigger than stated. XL fit me pretty well and XXL might be just a tad on the large side for my size 62-63 head.
• The interior padding seems fine and on par with its ~250 euro price range
• The beak, while on the smaller side, seems sturdy and should allow attaching rear view mirrors.
• There is a fair bit of wind noise and it's not as quiet as some higher quality moto helmets. Not a big deal for EUC riders, some do prefer being able to hear oncoming cars.
• There's an integrated blue sunvisor, but I'd prefer it went down lower than it does
• Visibility is average. There's a "frame" around the seemingly Pinlockable viewport of the visor. Field of vision downwars is not as great as with some other helmets. You can see your wheel and the display on it, but have to bow more than with some others.
• Weight for XXL is 1750 grams, which is quite a bit, although it doesn't feel heavy
  
  Didn't test the heated visor, or in actual freezing cold, but we might get snow and subzero temperatures next week, so might be able to give it a try in real cold then.

[superox]

A little update now that I've tried the helmet in some mild subzero (Celsius) temperatures earlier this week.

The chin curtain does work pretty well even in freezing cold. Around 90% reduction as promised. Definitely a big improvement over my regular visored helmet, in which in subzero temperatures I had a lot of trouble, especially with my glasses more than the visor. The vertical airflow across my face in this helmet does help.

At the same time, the same airflow going to top of the helmet kinda chills the top of my head, too. If I were using the heated visor, then that air would've probably been heated a bit, and made it cosier. So I noticed it's cooler in this helmet. In any case, I don't intend to ride in very cold weather anyhow.

Tried a little helmet mirror attached to the beak, and it worked fine, with the only small issue that the visor tab is on the left side, where I may touch the mirror stick.