New Fat-Bike Helmet

When I first started fat-biking in March of 2013, I grabbed one of my Giro Aeon road/MTB helmets and slipped on a winter cycling cap when my head felt too cold. On cold days, I took off for rides wearing a Bern Brentwood helmet that I had bought for my daily commute. Soon, it became the helmet I wore for fat-biking exclusively. For very cold or snowy days, I bought a Smith Vantage, a goggle-friendly ski helmet with ear pads and adjustable vents. The Brentwood is now ten years old. Safe for the visor, which forms one piece with the liner, it held up amazingly well. But after ten years, even a sturdy helmet such as the Brentwood should be replaced.

With a Smith Forefront 2 for sunny winter days and a Smith Vantage for freezing and windy conditions, I needed a good helmet for weather conditions in between. The Bern Brentwood fit right in there, although it wasn’t perfect. At the top, it had six openings that were entry points for snow on days with heavy snowfall. While I still wanted a helmet with vents, the ideal helmet would have none on top. I found just that with Kask’s Moebius urban helmet. Another interesting helmet in the same category is the Specialized Tone. I went with the Moebius because of its detachable visor and because it covers the back of one’s head more than the Tone. As far as design, the Specialized Tone certainly looks sleeker. In the case of the two, I picked function over form. Let’s not forget that my use case isn’t what the designers of those helmets had in mind when they drafted them on the drawing boards. Well, winter can come as far as I’m concerned.