Review: The Bluegrass Legit Carbon Helmet Is, Well, Legit
One of the mainstay helmets on today's downhill race tracks is this sleek-looking thing from Bluegrass Eagle, the gravity-oriented subsidiary of Italian brand MET Helmets. The Bluegrass Legit Carbon Helmet has been around for a few years now, but it just recently received its U.S. CPSC rating in addition to all its international credentials, which means distribution will now happen a bit closer to my home in the United States. And, in the nearly four years since its original release, the Legit Carbon has remained at the forefront with its timeless look and respectable weight, weighing in between 1100-1200 g throughout the generous XS to XL size range.
Bluegrass Legit Carbon Details
• DH-certified full-face helmet
• 15 vents
• Removable and washable cheek pads, liner, and strap covers
• Mips-E2 Brain Protection System
• Safety release fixed-position visor
• Weight (size M): 1100 g claimed
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Price: $550 USD
• met-helmets.com
• DH-certified full-face helmet
• 15 vents
• Removable and washable cheek pads, liner, and strap covers
• Mips-E2 Brain Protection System
• Safety release fixed-position visor
• Weight (size M): 1100 g claimed
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Price: $550 USD
• met-helmets.com
Like many high-end DH-certified helmets, this one has removable cheekpads to make it a reasonable option for pedaling to enduro stages, rotational impact protection courtesy of Mips, and a polished look - available in both slightly iridescent glossy and matte blacks - and it's accompanied by a lofty price tag.
SAFETY AND FEATURES
The helmet has surpassed the testing criteria for the CE (Europe), AS/NZS (Australia and New Zealand), ASTM (US), and CPSC (more stringent US) safety standards, so it does check lots of boxes when dropped from varying heights and hit with a range of impacts. Outside of lab scenarios, impacts are likely to be less-than-straight-on and more complex, meaning that rotational impact protection also comes into play, and this helmet includes a full-face-specific Mips liner to help diffuse those rotational forces.
There's also a fixed-position visor, which is not only quite flexible but also has a breakaway attachment system to prevent any extra twisting force from impacts to the front of the head. For those who choose to run additional protective gear, the helmet is compatible with a neck brace and with an inflatable emergency release system to help emergency responders remove the helmet. It doesn't have the emergency cheek pad removal pull tabs we see on some full face helmets, but the snap-in cheekpads aren't hard to remove regardless, should the need arise.
Looking under the hood, the helmet is made up of a composite carbon outer shell with a polycarbonate chin bar that's lined with smooth EPS foam, and there are additional polycarbonate layers alternated with EPS and the full-coverage Mips-E2 system that consists of a low-friction plastic layer tucked between two stretchy fabric components, all hidden by a removable layer of padding.
The vents are ample...
...and the branding is subtle yet distinctive.
FIT
The Legit Carbon is available in five sizes: XS (52-54), S (54-56), M (56-58, tested), L (58-60), and XL (60-62). I tested the medium, and the fit was spot-on for my head, which I think is a very average medium. I tend to be subject to the chipmunk cheeks in full face helmets that have narrow face openings and thick cheek pads, and while this one did give me a bit of that, it wasn't nearly as bad as in some other, narrower models. The face opening is probably the right size for most average-sized faces, and the chin bar sit a nice and comfortable distance away from my chin.
While it doesn't look it at first glance, there are numerous vents all over this helmet, including - crucially - on the chin bar, under the visor, and by the ears.
The Legit Carbon is currently available in two versions of black.
WEIGHT
The Legit Carbon comes in at a claimed 1100 g for the XS, S, and M sizes, with another 100 g for the L and XL sizes. Its budget-friendlier sibling, the Legit, interestingly has the same exact claimed weights - which although probably not exact, could be true because the Legit lacks the Mips liner that the carbon version has.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
The Legit Carbon is priced at €500 / £450 / $550 USD / $699 CAD / $750 AUD.
At the moment, Bluegrass does not ship directly to customers in the United States, Australia, or Russia. However, the helmet does meet the certification standards for each of those countries, so Bluegrass recommends purchasing through local distributors. In the United States, Bluegrass distributes solely through QBP, which means that customers can order it through just about any shop.
The fit is nice with goggles on. While there's space for goggles under the visor, they do block those upper vents. Also notable, those ear vents help quite a bit with hearing.
RIDE IMPRESSIONS
The spot-on fit in the parking lot continued on the trail, with easy goggle integration and a wide field of vision. In the roughest stuff, I never noticed any movement and the helmet felt light enough to keep any bobblehead feelings at bay.
Although it's not an ultralight full face helmet designed to prioritize airflow and pedaling ability, the vents were well-placed enough to allow noticeable airflow through the chin bar, the forehead and top of head, and around the back. It's still a helmet that feels robust enough to commit to high speeds and jumps, and that does come with the trade-off of a bit less ventilation than some of the less protective options out there, but it's a trade I'll gladly make when in the bike park, even on the hottest days.
The cheek pads snap in and out easily for climbing or cleaning, and I appreciate that snapping the cheek pads in and out repeatedly doesn't seem to put any wear and tear on the snap system. (I've had a helmet in the past that theoretically had removable cheek pads, but removing them wore them out so much over time that they no longer stayed in securely.)
All in all, I have absolutely no complaints about the Legit Carbon's performance. You get what you pay for, in this case.
Pros
+ Very comfortable and well-ventilated
+ Looks great
+ All the safety features and certs you'd expect from a top-end product
Cons
- Pricey
- Can't be shipped everywhere
Pinkbike's Take
 | The Bluegrass Legit Carbon truly checks all the boxes for a quality full-face helmet, but the comfort, effective ventilation, and sleek looks come with a high price tag. Those willing to spend the money should put the Legit Carbon on their short list. |
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Bluegrass also offers Crash Replacement.
Spare parts can be easily ordered from their website/-shop.
You can tailor the fit with different cheek pads from the same webshop.
Building quality is way higher then on my former D3 or the D4 I tried on.
Bought it in sigma sports sale if anyone is wondering where.
Look, it’s a luxury helmet. I’m with you — too rich for my blood and purposes. For serious racers or guys who spend a lot of time in a full face, maybe the luxuries (weight, comfort, venting, etc.) are worth it. It’s all just an option, like any other good in life.
A grading system would be ideal, especially if test results for each parameter were freely shared by manufacturers.
That, and the tests aren't exactly representative of real impacts.
Strong, light, cheap, comfortable, pick two. Unless you exclude cheap.
Bluegrass offers Crash Replacement.
Spare parts can be easily ordered from their website.
Building quality is way higher then on my former D3 or the D4 I tried on.
I listed a comparison between yearly wages and helmet cost.
Met (bluegrass parent) used to make an XC full face. It wasn’t the best looker and we MTBers are so vain, I wish it had an update and was still on the market (or someone else made something with a basic jaw-saver).
Luckily, when ventilation (and to a lesser degree weight) is key, speeds are lower (XC/Trail)
When speeds are highest, it's typically lift access, more force needs to be able to be absorbed, and ventilation (and to a lesser degree weight) aren't so important.
It gets more challenging in Enduro, though the ability to take off a helmet for the ups is maybe a reasonably compromise.
What's a bummer is that there isn't a full face that offers minimal face protection with excellent ventilation suited for XC speeds. products.mtbr.com/product/mtb-apparel-and-protection/full-face/met/parachute.html
That is what I miss more often in Pinkbike reviews of apparel. A more precise description of the fit other than 'it fit me very well'
Also, writing a whole paragraph about claimed weights and that they are probably inaccurate, without actually putting it on a scale is a bit odd, don't you think?
If the market says “Okay, I’ll take one.”, then brands will continue to put out products at these price points.
I say no!
I guess I don't get it. I am the guy guilty of taking his Fox Proframe off for every ascent. But that lid has like 30% of the surface area dedicated to vents. Why does this look like it has no ventilated area?