Scottish based Endura have been around since 1993, and have a great reputation in the mountain bike world for quality products that can withstand a huge amount of abuse. For example, I have a 10-year old pair of Endura Singletrack shorts that refuse to die. Endura put environmental concerns front and centre in their philosophy and marketing, with a commitment to plant one million trees per year, and plan to be CO2 negative by 2024.
While the original Hummvee helmet has been around for a while, we've been testing Endura's new Hummvee Plus, which on paper promises a lot for a wallet friendly RRP of $89.99 / £64.99. Can such a competitively priced model still perform on the trail?
Design and aesthetics
Endura promote the Hummvee Plus as an all rounder, suggesting it's at home on the trails as well as the city streets. In reality, the design is bang up to date for a trail focussed helmet with deep coverage at the rear and extended coverage over the temples. The peak is shorter than some of its competitors, which could limit its sun shading or rain protecting performance, but it fits well with the overall design, and can be adjusted through three positions. The peak can be completely removed by unscrewing the plastic screws at the hinge, but I'm not sure who would want to.
The construction is a traditional moulded EPS foam core with a hard outer shell that fully extends to the bottom edges providing protection to the more fragile core. The overall appearance and construction belies its budget price, and could easily be mistaken for a more premium offering.
13 vents provide ventilation, with air channels moulded into the foam core to promote airflow over the head – more on that later.
Inside the helmet you'll find a MIPS liner, which provides protection against rotational forces reaching the brain. Once the reserve of premium helmets, its great to see the MIPS system now being offered at lower and lower price points. A fast-wicking one-piece pad is attached to the MIPS liner, which has integral fly screen material covering the front facing vents. The pad can be removed for cleaning when required.
A tailored fit is achieved by adjusting the basic micro-adjust wheel at the back of the helmet, which can be moved between two height positions. The straps exit the body of the helmet on the bottom edge, rather than being attached to the inside surface, once again belying its budget price tag. The straps can be easily adjusted to achieve a level fit on the head and a traditional chin buckle keeps everything in place.
The Hummvee Plus is available in three sizes; S-M (51-56cm), M-L (55-59cm) and L-XL (58-63cm). The M-L on test weighed in at a competitive 368g and five colors are being offered by Endura in the UK. This doesn't include the 'Harvest' color tested here, which is only usually available in the non-MIPS version.
Endura handily offer a Crash Replacement Scheme if you're unfortunate enough to damage the helmet in use, which will help reduce the cost of a comparable replacement.
Performance
The size M-L on test fitted my 56cm head well and I could achieve a comfortable fit without any pressure points. The adjustment on offer isn't the most refined, with the height adjustment in particular being a bit reluctant to disengage. However, this should only need to be done once during initial set-up. On the trail, the Endura Hummvee Plus performed really well, with no noticeable movement or bounce when tackling steep technical sections with drops and rock gardens. I've worn this helmet on short techy rides in the woods, right through to plus three-hour XC rides, and have been impressed with the comfort level on offer. It's definitely a 'fit and forget' kind of helmet.
I've been testing the Hummvee Plus during early summer in the UK with temperatures reaching 27 degrees C. For the vast majority of rides the helmet has performed outstandingly, but on one or two rides I did experience a bit of heat build-up, where it felt like the heat couldn't escape quickly enough. Admittedly, I only experienced this on really tough extended climbs in direct sunshine, but it was certainly noticeable. The Hummvee Plus design relies on air channels on the inside surface to encourage airflow over the top of the head, but at slow climbing speeds, they didn't seem to have the desired effect. I think Endura could have easily remedied this by adding a vent on the top surface of the helmet, which is strangely absent of any air vents at all.
The short visor that only extends 40mm beyond the rim of the helmet, can be easily moved through its three positions, but the high position isn't high enough to accommodate goggles and neither is there any attempt to secure goggle straps at the rear of the helmet.
Fit with riding glasses was fine on all of those I tried, and I never suffered with any fogging issues.
Verdict
Endura have introduced a great new all-rounder in the Hummvee Plus at a competitive price point. The extended head coverage and integral MIPS liner, ticks all the boxes for a modern trail helmet. With the exception of some heat build-up in extreme conditions, the Hummvee has performed admirably for a helmet at this price point.
Tech specs: Endura Hummvee Plus helmet
- Price: $89.99 / £64.99 / €96.04
- Weight: 368g (size M-L tested)
- Sizes: S-M, M-L, L-XL
- Colors: Black, Electric Blue, Grey Camo, Olive Green, White
