Endura is one of those great UK companies that most riders are familiar with. For years they’ve been making tough, sensibly priced products for trail riders, starting off with shorts, jerseys and waterproofs, but more recently expanding their repertoire. A couple of years ago I noticed that they’d started making shades, then sponsoring a pro road team who you’d see on ITV4 some evenings, now they’ve entered the head protection market.
They’ve hit the ground running with two new lids. The Airshell is a peakless affair for roadies; the one that interests us is the Snype, which is for XC and trail duty. Endura are very proud of the weight, a claimed 220g for the S-M, the smallest of the three sizes which is only a few grams heavier than Specialized’s top of the line lids costing over twice the price. I’m a big head, my L-XL troubles the kitchen scales for 290g- quite a bit more than the published weight, but still pleasingly floaty and lighter than any of the other helmets in the cupboard.
The fit has been a bit of an issue. I read the suggested sizes and decided I was L-XL, but when this turned up it felt roomier than MC Hammer’s trousers and slid forward during technical riding. I tried a M-L, but that was way too snug. I then took a proper look inside the lid. Rather than just winding up the retention dial like most helmets, there are actually a few points where you can unplug and reposition the fitting cradle. A few adjustments and the L-XL fitted nicely. This fettling only needs doing once, but you’ve got to take a bit more time than with most lids.
Now sorted, the Snype feels light, airy and comfortable. The mix of angles and dark matt colours is pleasantly understated, a lot less whack-a-day than much of the kit that’s out now. If you don’t want all black, you can get black with neat orange or blue details. A really good feature is that our Snype came with a matching helmet pod, just the job if you’re throwing you bike and kit in the back of a car or van on a regular basis as it will protect it from those knocks and scratches.
At £69.99 the Snype is keenly priced and gets my recommendation.
From www.endura.co.uk
Reviewed by Mr Richard “Noveau” Sanders. Cartographer, Roll for the Soul Mechanic and Las Vegas Institute of Sport domestique.
