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Endura Airshell helmet Endura Airshell helmet Endura Airshell helmet Endura Airshell helmet Endura Airshell helmet Endura Airshell helmet
Endura Airshell helmet

Endura Airshell helmet

8
by Stu Kerton
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Sep 18, 2014

3
£89.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Sensibly priced helmet with plenty of adjustment and great ventilation
Weight: 
240g
Contact: 
www.endurasport.com
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Endura's Airshell helmet is part of a small range of headwear from the Scottish clothing company which doesn't boast any real game changing technology but offers a great all round package for a sensible price.

While aero is the new buzzword the Airshell focuses on vents and keeping you cool. Using carbon fibre (glass fibre on some colours) sections to add reinforcement means that the bridges can be smaller allowing much larger vents than normal and still pass the EN1078 testing criteria. ClearThru, they call it.

Once the air is in there Endura have come up with a couple of things to get it back out in the form of channels that direct the air over your head front to back; the cool air coming in removes the heat and vents it out of the back. As I said nothing exactly new but it has been designed well and is massively effective. You can feel the breeze passing through very quickly as you ride and on the really hot and humid days of the summer it was the only helmet I grabbed.

The fit is taken care of by an adjustable cradle sitting within the in-moulded shell. It uses a dial for width which is easy to tweak on the fly and there are three vertical settings to get the fit just right. It did take a little bit of adjustment to get things spot on and avoid any pressure points but once in place everything stayed as I'd set it up.

The chinstrap is the usual push fit buckle affair with plenty of adjustability for both length and the twin dividers that pass the ear.

With some helmets costing the same as an entry level bike its great to see Endura pricing the Airshell at such a competitive price. For the £89.99 price tag you get a 240g (M/L) helmet with a spare set of antibacterial pads and a helmet pod (£14.99) chucked in for free.

Should you crash it within three years Endura also offer a half price replacement policy for the original owner. There are obviously a few T&C's but nothing too stringent.

Conclusion

The Endura Airshell punches well above its weight at this price point with great ventilation, smart, aggressive styling and an impressive overall weight. The fit did take a little longer to perfect than on some helmets but once I'd found the sweetspot the Airshell was fine for hours at a time. The internal padding working well against sweat and proved comfortable.

Verdict

Sensibly priced helmet with plenty of adjustment and great ventilation

road.cc test report

Make and model: Endura Airshell helmet

Size tested: M/L

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

It is Endura's only road helmet and they concentrate on the light weight and ventilation which they are right to do as both is impressive. It's definitely one for the warmer days if you are going without a cap underneath.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

*Super lightweight in-mould cycle helmet (230g based on size S/M)

*Glass fibre / carbon fibre reinforcement bridges (depending on colour)

*Certified to CE standard EN1078:2012

*Reflective on rear

*ClearThru™ air vents maximise air flow with minimal vent narrowing technology

*Internal HeadStream™ air flow channels direct air through the helmet

*One-hand micro-adjustment and 3 position vertical adjustment for inner head

*Compact chin strap with twin strap dividers

*Antibacterial, fast wicking, removable padding (spare set provided)

*Covered by Endura's Crash Replacement Policy and Endura Product Guarantee

*Sizing - S/M, M/L, L/XL

*Colours - White, Black, Red, Silver & Hi-Viz Green

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Thanks to the light weight and comfort you don't really realise you are wearing the Airshell, until it's a really hot day and the breeze passing through feels cooler than riding without a helmet

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

A good all round helmet that offers comfort and protection at a sensible price.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Getting the fit right was a little fiddly but once set up it stayed spot on.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

The beauty of the Airshell is that it takes a pretty basic helmet design and executes it so well, at such a price that you wonder why others can't follow suit. The 90 quid price tag is impressive enough but by throwing in the helmet pod for free makes it great value for money. Decent fit, weight, price & comfort.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Whatever needs testing or Genesis Flyer, fixed of course!  My best bike is: Kinesis T2 with full Centaur Red

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

Endura Airshell helmet
Endura
Stu Kerton

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

Add new comment

3 comments

Avatar
robthehungrymonkey | 10 years ago
1 like

Excellent, this could be my next helmet.

I don't race, just really like riding my bike. I also sweat A LOT, so aero is pointless as fas as i'm concerned. It's all about the ventilation.

Avatar
truffy | 10 years ago
0 likes

...with a GoPro fitted on top.

Avatar
EarsoftheWolf | 10 years ago
0 likes

Surely any review of a helmet should include at least one photo of someone wearing it?

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