Smith Forefront Helmet - Review

Smith Forefront Helmet

When Smith's Forefront helmet was first announced, it wasn't the company's use of a new material for better impact protection, or the remarkably light claimed weight that lit up the comments section – it was how it looked. The design and overall shape of the helmet turned out to be incredibly polarizing, a love-it or hate-it style with no apparent middle ground. However, out in the real world the helmet doesn't look nearly as outlandish as the original press release images made it seem, and fits right in with the current crop of extended coverage helmets intended for all-mountain usage. Plus, there's a good chance that it comes in your favorite color, since there are 10 different options to choose from.

EPS layer forms the helmet's exoskeleton, and three sections of Koroyd (the bright green material in the photos) are situated underneath this shell, directly above the rider's head. Koroyd is made using thousands of co-polymer tubes that are thermally welded together, forming a honeycomb like structure claimed to offer up to 30% more impact absorption than EPS. The material's straw-like hollow tubes are also claimed to allow for much greater breathability than EPS or foam.


Smith's Vaporfit retention system uses a ratcheting dial at the back of the helmet to adjust the helmet's fit around the head, and the positioning of the strap can be further customized by choosing from three different height options at the back of the helmet and four options on each side. A low profile, removable liner uses X-static fabric to help ward off bacteria and the general helmet-funk that can be caused by hours of sweat buildup. There are three positions for the Forefront's compact, removable visor, and it can be adjusted without fiddling around with tiny screws that inevitably get dropped onto the forest floor. Hidden under a plastic cap at the top of the helmet is a small threaded insert that can accept a helmet camera or a light mount, which Smith will be selling as an aftermarket accessory for $14.99.


Fit / On Trail Performance

The multiple adjustments on the Forefront make it easy to dial in the perfect fit after a few minutes of tinkering, and the rear retention strap dial has a nice solid, positive click at each position. Despite the minimal amount of padding, the Forefront was quite comfortable, and although it doesn't reach the pillow-like level of cushioning found in Troy Lee's A1 helmet, it faded into the background nicely, becoming barely noticeable over the course of a ride. As would be expected from a helmet made by a company that has the word 'Optics' in their name, the Forefront worked well with both sunglasses and goggles, providing enough room over the brow and around the ears to prevent any interference. Regarding ventilation, we never felt overheated on any of our rides, although the bulk of our testing did take place during the more mild fall and winter months. Still, we did take the helmet on numerous warm rides in the Arizona desert, and Forefront proved to be up to the task. The helmet doesn't feel quite as airy as the large external vents would suggest, since the inner Koroyd layer dissipates the wind a bit, but the ventilation and breathability are still excellent - the open structure of the Koroyd gives the heat rising from a rider's head plenty of channels for escape.


Issues

One minor issue we ran into was related to the rear retention system. If the retention strap is set into the highest position, the dial becomes a little more challenging to use with one hand because the upper portion sits within a few millimeters of the helmet shell. This is only an issue in this one setting, and we'd imagine most riders will end up using the middle or lower strap position.


Pinkbike's take:

www.smithoptics.com