Protecting your head is vital when you head out on your mountain bike. To ensure your head stays safe at all times we have selected some of our best MTB helmets for the trail.
Whether you’re blasting down a steep forest descent or climbing through the trees to the next trail, a helmet is one of the most vital pieces of biking equipment you can buy. So, if you’re just starting out in the sport or if you’re a seasoned mountain biker, we’re sure we have the helmet for you.
Let’s take a closer at the best mountain bike trail helmets for 2023.
Best MTB Helmets for the trails – Tried and Tested
We’ve created our top five list of the best MTB trail helmets for 2023! We have tested a range based on price, protection and comfort!
- Fox Racing Speedframe Pro MTB Helmet – Best helmet for style and performance
- Leatt MTB 4.0 Helmet AllMtn – Great protection and ventilation
- Endura SingleTrack Helmet SS22 – Best mountain bike trail helmet for comfort
- Oakley DRT5 Helmet – Best trail helmet for practicality and finish
- POC Kortal Race MIPS MTB Helmet – Best mountain bike helmet for safety conscious riders
What to look out for when buying a MTB Helmet?
Finding your way through the mountain bike helmet jargon can be a demanding task, with many available on the market offering a range of comfort, weight and protection values it can be difficult making sense of it.
We have shortened our buying guide into a few simple jargon busters:
- Comfort: An integral part to any enjoyable bike ride is feeling comfort and that goes for the protection on your head. Helmet comfort comes in a number of forms including the number of vents to ensure air is pulled in fast and helps cool your head in sweaty situations. Other key comforts are the type of padding that is fitted to the helmet; Padding thickness and density has a significant effect on sweat absorption and cooling.
- Protection: Whilst it is the main reason you wear a helmet is to protect your head, many helmet manufacturers have added more protection to their helmets.
| Type of Protection | What does it do? |
| Mips Safety System | Multi-directional Impact Protection, which aids to reduce harmful rotational forces that might otherwise be transferred to the user’s head. |
| EPS | Expanded polystyrene foam functions similarly to a crumple zone in a car. Different densities are used in modern helmets, and some are further strengthened with internal mesh or webbing. |
| Koroyd Protection | Koroyd uses thousands of welded tubes which upon impact are designed to crumple instantly and consistently, absorbing maximum force in a controlled manner. |
What type of MTB helmets are available?
Full Face Helmets
Full-faced helmets provide the level of protection required by extreme mountain bikers who are speeding downhill or pushing themselves to their limits.
Open Face Helmets
An open face helmet provides protection for the top of your head. Designed mainly for less aggressive mountain bike riding such as trail and cross-country riding.
To read our full mountain bike helmet buying guide, click the button below:
We’ve complied a list of the best mountain bike trail helmets based on our experiences with the helmets along with price, protection and looks! Helping you make your decision easier.
Fox Racing Speedframe Pro MTB Helmet
The Fox Racing Speedframe Pro MTB Helmet keeps you protected should you take a slam. The core of the helmet is a Dual-density Varizorb EPS which provides extremely effective impact absorption, spreading impact forces to keep your head safe in the event of a crash. This is then complemented by Mips, a system to improve protection from rotational impact forces.
A customisable fit is taken care of with the 360 Degree Fit System. A quick and simple twist of the rear dial gives a comfortable fit every time you go mountain biking. A magnetic Fidlock® SNAP helmet buckle keeps the helmet secure and is super-easy to use even with gloves on.
- Weight: 437g
- Sizes: S, M, L
- Price: £149.99
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Very well ventilated helmet ✅ Mips-equipped ✅ Excellent security with the Fidlock system | 🔧 Can be a narrow fit 🔧 On the heavier side for the price tag |
Verdict: Best helmet for style and performance
Leatt MTB 4.0 Helmet AllMtn
The AllMtn helmet protects your head with Leatt’s unique 360-degree Turbine Technology, reducing both rotation acceleration and concussion level impact energy to your head and brain.
The Leatt MTB 4.0 helmet is also packed full of useful features including a universal sunglasses dock which lets you safely store your sunglasses under the visor when not in use. Meanwhile, the adjustable visor opens to place your goggles underneath, so you don’t have to constantly remove them.
Weight: 430g
Sizes: S, M, L
Price: £169.99
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Superb level of protection ✅ Decent ventilation ✅ Cool colourways | 🔧 Price tag is expensive |
Verdict: Best trail helmet for protection
Endura SingleTrack Helmet SS22
A helmet designed for all types of mountain bikers, the Endura SingleTrack helmet brings outstanding ventilation and new levels of head protection for all trail mountain bikers.
Featuring Koroyd protection, created using thousands of co-polymer extruded tubes that are thermally welded to create a consistent absorption system.
Coupled with the safety protection, the Singletrack Helmet is extremely comfortable. Fitted with a superb number of vents along with quick-wicking and fast drying pads to help keep you cool when you hit those sweat-busting uphills.
- Weight: N/A
- Sizes: S/M, M/L, L/XL/XXL
- Price: £89.99
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Reasonably priced compared to others ✅ Lots of ventilation | 🔧 Lacks Mips Safety System |
Verdict: Best mountain bike trail helmet for comfort
Oakley DRT5 Helmet
The Oakley DRT5 mountain bike was one inspired by the three-time World Downhill Champion, Greg Minnaar. Created for those trail riding adventures, this helmet comes in a excellent mat finish, Mips equipped for added protection and some unique features like sunglass storage.
To compliment the Mips safety system, Oakley have also fitted a BOA FS1-1 360 degree fit system that simply allows you to twist the dial to ensure an unrivalled fit of your helmet. A unique feature to the Oakley DRT5 helmet is the eyewear dock; using two spring loaded hooks mounted in the vents you can place your glasses into them knowing that they will stay secure on the trails.
- Weight: 455g
- Sizes: S, M, L
- Price: £170.00
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Excellent quality and finish ✅ Mips equipped for added safety | 🔧 Not the best for ventilation |
Verdict: Best trail helmet for practicality and finish
POC Kortal Race Mips MTB Helmet
The Kortal Race Mips is POCs attempt at creating the ultimate open-face helmet, packing in a serious amount of safety technology and ventilation.
As safety is the number one priority for POC, they have fitted the Kortal Race with the Mips Integra system that brings together POC’s ‘whole-helmet’ safety and Mips safety system to ensure you are fully protected in case the worst happens.
Another added feature to the Kortal Race is a NFC Medical ID chip, that stores medical and contact information in which first responders can use in case of an accident.
Overall this helmet is packed full of safety features whilst also looking sharp for when you are tackling those gnarly trails.
- Weight: 390g
- Sizes: XS/S, M/L, XL/XXL
- Price: £220.00
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Excellent coverage ✅ Packed full of safety features ✅ Decent amount of vents | 🔧 Big price tag compared to others |
Verdict: Best mountain bike helmet for safety conscious riders
Still unsure on what the best mountain bike helmet is good for you? Take a browse of our full range of MTB helmets for the trails via the button below.
