MacPara Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Inspired by the full face helmet comparison between the Bell Super 3R and the Giro Switchblade, I almost bought the Switchblade. That was until I found a report from a downhill MTB rider in the UK who had a fall and a pretty bad face impact with a rock that caused the chin guard to separate from the helmet. That was my major concern about helmets with detachable chin guards. I don't see a reason why I would ever consider taking the chin guard off anyway but it leaves a systemic vulnerability to the helmet. So I went on trying to find something that was airy as the Bell Super 3R (I am riding in Southern Arizona and in the summer you need every bit of cooling you can get!) but had a solid chin guard and possibly an MTB downhill certification. And I found it. It's the Proframe from Fox Racing. At $250 in the same price range as the Switchblade and the Super 3R, features an integrated chin guard in a skeleton configuration that allows for lots of air to come through and the whole helmet is designed to funnel air through the skull cap and keep you cool. Oh, and it has MIPS. The size adjustments happen by replacing the liner pads in the cap and with 3 sizes of cheek pads. The strap locks with a glove-friendly magnet-assisted locking mechanism. Pretty cool and easy to use. I spent around 5 hours in the helmet on Saturday's ride and am really happy with it. The weight is so low that you hardly feel you are wearing a helmet (the shell is Polycarbonate) and the visibility is excellent. I had no issues with wind noises up to my KS14's max. speed of 30 km/h. Hearing was not impaired while wearing the helmet. I could easily hear everything around me and detect the direction of sounds as if I wasn't wearing the helmet. This thing gets a big thumbs-up from me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoother Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Welcome. Good info, especially the ventilation issue. Couldn't you find a brighter one? Soooo @MacPara how much paragliding do you get up to these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacPara Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 :-) I replaced the inflatable wings with a solid fixed wing about 4 years ago. The name stuck though ..... I am cheating death in a Van's RV-12 for now. And I love to be visible, particularly on an EUC in city traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoother Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 9 minutes ago, MacPara said: :-) I replaced the inflatable wings with a solid fixed wing about 4 years ago. The name stuck though ..... I am cheating death in a Van's RV-12 for now. And I love to be visible, particularly on an EUC in city traffic. 1 Nice. Arizona must be a great place to fly. So much good weather, so much open space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacPara Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 On 3/18/2018 at 10:44 AM, Smoother said: Nice. Arizona must be a great place to fly. So much good weather, so much open space. Lovely weather but not much to land on if your engine ever quits .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoother Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 12 hours ago, MacPara said: Lovely weather but not much to land on if your engine ever quits .... Oh, there's always something to land on, it's the aftermath that might be problematic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 On 3/18/2018 at 12:58 PM, MacPara said: This thing gets a big thumbs-up from me! nice review. mines otw and hopefully here tmrw. i bought a couple of skull caps but didn’t seem like they’d do much if i needed them. if i’m gonna bother with a helmet, it better work when needed. glad this design works in arizona. never been there, but if it’s like vegas, ur comparable to florida. call me superstitious, but i probably won’t ride a wheel until it shows up. i’m not even gonna ride a wheel to my gate to go get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I'm considering this helmet, and wondering how it would fare in a faceplant. I'm not looking for a helmet that saves my skull from cracking in a catastrophic situation primarily. First of all, it should keep my nose and teeth (and neck) intact in a faceplant or faceplant-like situation. Doesn't have to be an extreme crash, just falling forwards, even just lightly. How does this one actually stop your face from ramming forwards into the helmet? The forehead and cheek pads? Kind of my problem with full face helmets, they are all are nice and cushioned if you fall on your back or side, but what about directly onto the face? They don't seem to have much cushioning in the front. Any ideas or insights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 38 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: Kind of my problem with full face helmets, they are all are nice and cushioned if you fall on your back or side, but what about directly onto the face? They don't seem to have much cushioning in the front. Any ideas or insights? All of the full face helmets appear to be constructed with only a slight thickness of padding across the forehead. I received a cut above my eye from the Bell Super 3R during my accident but the helmet did it’s job and protected me from any facial/ jaw fractures and most importantly a closed head injury. The Proframe appears to be of compatible quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I'm mostly worried about small crashes (like a bloody lip or so, and other minor injuries in the face, your cut is a good example) and the helmet simply being soft and cushioning in the front (not caring so much about worst case crashes, then other things matter). And specific to EUCs, aka you do not hit anything else so much, you simply fall face first. It has to be "comfortable" then. Like wrist guards or knee pads, without them your skin and body hits the ground with possibly ugly consequences, with them a fall is simply cushioned featherly, and you can just shrug it off and go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 39 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: this one actually stop your face from ramming forwards into the helmet? The forehead and cheek pads? fortunately i’ve never personally needed the protection from this or any of my motorcycle helmets but i’m sure they are better than no helmet. my arai motorcycle helmets were med large so i ordered large in this helmet and it fits snug like it should. besides stopping ur face from damage, the main thing with motorcycle helmets is lessening the abrupt stop of ur brain hitting the inside of skull when ur skull bounces off the pavement. this helmet is built the same way with that hard styrofoam inside. found this and this should be interesting reading: http://mipsprotection.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacPara Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 The way this helmet is designed the cheek pads would keep your face from bumping into the interior of the helmet. The pads are replaceable with different sizes to make sure they sit snug enough to accomplish this task. I have not yet had to rely on them, so I can't vouch for that to work out in case of a full forward accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Dubovsky Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I just got my Pro Frame. Fits fine on top, but it is super tight on cheekbones. I wonder if it supposed to be like this or is it too small for me? And a chinstrap is too tight even on maximum extension. I wonder if I should keep it or go with TSG Pass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 36 minutes ago, Sergei Dubovsky said: I just got my Pro Frame. Fits fine on top, but it is super tight on cheekbones. I wonder if it supposed to be like this or is it too small for me? And a chinstrap is too tight even on maximum extension. I wonder if I should keep it or go with TSG Pass? I used the thickest cheek pads on my first try, as the helmet fit firmly with them. Turns out, after 2 hours of riding, it hurt a little (was too tight in the end). Switched to the medium ones and the helmet feels fine, though it tends towards being a bit loose. Ideal would be cheek pads between the very thick ones and the much thinner next lower thickness. About the chin strap, it has to go UNDER the cheek pads, between the two attachment points. So you might have to remove the pads to route it correctly. I also found the strap a bit short and uncomfortable until I figured that out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.