Updating helmets

16/09/25 15:56 Filed in: Gear

A few weeks ago Fox announced their new pro-level downhill helmet. The Rampage Pro RS. It went on sale immediately in Canada, a few weeks after in the US (odd for an American company) and arrived last week in Australia. I immediately thought it looked good (some of the top Fox pros have been wearing one all season long too).
I have been wearing a Rampage Carbon Pro for a while. I began to wonder just how long? Google helped me pinpoint the colour scheme to the 2015 season. Wow - a decade. I thought it was time to replace it, even if it hasn't had a big impact.
On the weekend I picked up my new Rampage RS. Wow it feels so much lighter than the old one, which itself didn't feel too heavy compared to some helmets I've worn.
My only possible disappointment with it is the fact that it is all carbon with a couple of black Fox stickers. There is a coloured version in matte olive - not my thing. I'm thinking of getting some vinyl stickers cut in silver foil to add some contrast to it. But for now, the bare carbon is cool.

I've actually been splitting my time at Thredbo across the Proframe RS and the Rampage Pro. For next summer, unless it is especially hot, I will be using the new Rampage RS there all the time. All of the Fox RS helmets use a newer development of MIPS called Split Integra, where the slippery layer is between two layers of foam. The benefit of that is quietness and more predictable behaviour in a crash (apparently). My old Proframe (the non-RS one) was not noisy that I can recall (not like my road helmet where I clearly hear the creak of the slip layer against the foam). But this new split system allows for a layer of EPP and a layer of EPS for better impact management across different levels of impact.

Might be worth noting that for me in an XL size, the two Rampage models fit almost exactly the same. Differences could be due to the new vs old nature of the helmets.

I'll report back here after the first couple of outings in the new helmet.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Updating helmets