Pete has spent the summer testing out the second iteration, MIPS-equipped trail/enduro-specific helmet from Sweet Protection, to see how the Bushwhacker fared.
At a hefty £179.99, the Bushwhacker II from Swedish brand Sweet Protection needs to live up to the hype. Pete has been wearing this on all his adventures this summer to see if the price tag is worth the performance.
Features
- 5-piece shell construction
- EPS liner
- In-mould construction
- 360g (M/L)
- S/M, M/L, L/XL
- MIPS-equipped
- Blue, Black and White colours available
- £179.99 RRP
- sweetprotection.com
Buy online: Sweet Protection Bushwhacker II Mips £148.71 at AlpineTrek
It’s been three months since I took delivery of the second edition of Sweet Protection’s Bushwhacker MIPS helmet and there’s few things I can say against the Swedish enduro offering.
Given that I have a large, square head, the fit might not be for everyone, but for me, there’s few helmets I have used in the past that fit and perform as well as this one.
The Bushwhacker has been with me from multiple Alpine jaunts, enduro races, Scottish peaks and singletrack to local gallops around the woods and hasn’t skipped a beat.
A penny shy of one hundred and eighty pounds certainly isn’t cheap for a helmet, but then what price can you put on protecting the one organ that does all the work?
So what do you get for you money?
At 360 grams (M/L) the Bushwhacker sits pretty with all the other top of the line enduro half face offerings from all the other major brands.
That weight is achieved via a 5-piece in-mould construction, sporting an EPS liner and more ventilation holes than you can shake a stick at.
MIPS takes care of slowing your head down from that secondary brain rattle, and is fast becoming a standard feature on any decent helmet aimed at rides that include a fair amount of down for your up.
Neat touches like the shatter-proof visor means you’re not going to get any sharp edges when you use your face as a brake, and the small, but highly effective adjustment dial is a breeze even with thicker winter gloves on.
On the trail.
The Bushwhacker has been a permanent fixture in the car for whenever I need to go for a blast and it hasn’t let me down once. With the closure being set low on a full coverage rear portion, it needs loosened and tightened to fit on each ride.
That said, the closure is super easy to operate with or without gloves and the indexing hasn’t lost any of its positivity while it’s been on my head.
Once tight, the short peak leaves you forgetting you even have a helmet on your head, something all good helmets do. I have never once felt the need to adjust the peak, even if it can move a short way up and down. Riders that insist on putting their goggles under their peak will have to find another way to store them, sorry.
On super hot, sweaty days, the front brow pad has allowed some sweat to pool up, but when it’s pushing fourty degrees in the Alps, there’s not much else you can do but get sweaty, and the Sweet lid doesn’t deal with it any better or worse than other helmets I have used in the summer heat.
What do we think?
While there are certainly cheaper helmets out there, the Bushwhacker II has found its way to the top of the pile for its combination of fit and performance.
If you have a square head then the Bushwhacker might well be the one for you if you ride or race enduro, or just spend a lot of time on the bike riding up and down big hills.
Coverage is super, build quality is second to none and it just works, plain and simple.
We love:
- Fit is spot on for square domes.
- Closure adjustment is so easy to use.
Could do better:
- Brow pad could channel sweat away from the front of the head.
Buy online: Sweet Protection Bushwhacker II Mips £148.71 at AlpineTrek
