Met Mobilite MIPS Helmet

The Met Mobilite MIPS helmet is aimed towards e-bikes and urban riding, with a bright built-in rear light, very comfortable padding, and plenty of venting that makes for a cool lid. Given its intended use it's perhaps too vented, though, and it's a shame the light battery isn't rechargeable, especially as it's quite tricky to remove.

Despite its e-bike intentions, the helmet conforms to standard bicycle helmet regulations and not NTA 8776, which some e-bike helmets aim to meet, usually with a big increase in weight (there's more info on this on our sister site, ebiketips).

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The biggest plus for me is the comfort on offer, with excellent padding and a deep rear that gives a great all-over feel. Padding on the chinstrap also helps make that area comfortable, and all the pads are easy to remove should you wish to wash them.

Rather than a standard clip, the buckle is a magnetic design; I've not used one of these before, but I found it surprisingly easy to get used to.

The helmet comes in three sizes, S/M, M/L and L/XL. I tested the M/L (57-60cm) and being at the lower end of that size range, the fit was fine, with plenty of ratchet space to go tighter if needed. It has a full wraparound tension system with vertical adjustment in addition to the standard dial-adjustment.

> How to set up your helmet – 10 easy steps to a perfect fit

If you're closer to the upper limit there may be limited space, especially if you want to wear some form of headwear underneath for colder weather. With such a full and extended EPS construction, it leaves less wiggle room, so you might want to consider the next size up.

I used the helmet as intended, while riding an e-bike, and given the colder weather we've been having recently, the biggest downside is the amount of airflow you get with the 14 vents. In most other circumstances this would be a good thing, but on an e-bike, where your effort level tends to be lower and your body heat reduced as a result, the extra ventilation meant I soon found it chilly. Some form of ear covers would have been welcome – something you get with some urban helmets.

There is, of course, no reason why this has to be used solely on an e-bike, and with its ventilation and the rear light, it's perfectly suitable for general use.

> All you need to know about MIPS

That rear light sits firmly in place without moving or rattling while riding, and can be removed from its slot – which you'll need to do to replace the battery, as it's not rechargeable, instead requiring a single CR2032 coin battery. MET suggests it will last for up to 60 hours, which isn't huge if the helmet and light are used daily. Changing the batteries is also a bit of a fiddle: you need to remove two very small crosshead screws (and not lose them!), and then the coin battery itself is also tricky to remove.

The light itself features four LEDs and has two modes, flashing or constant. Turning the light on and changing modes is done by pushing on the light itself. For the size it is reasonably bright, being quite visible in the dark but also fine at dusk. It can't compete against a daytime visible rear light, but for the size and convenience it will be ample for most, especially if used as a secondary light.

The helmet is available in three colours, with two more muted options, black and grey, as well as the fluoro yellow on test.

It's not bad value, the same price as the Abus Urban-I 3.0 (now £99.99), which has many of the same features, including the integrated LED, buckle, visor and even the insect net.

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But depending on whether the integrated LED is important, you can get many for less, such as the Dashel Urban helmet at £79 or Abus Macator MIPS (review to come) at £65. And Bontrager has the Solstice MIPS helmet for just £49.99.

Overall, I found the MET Mobilite an exceptionally comfortable helmet, and its in-built LED is bright enough to be effective, but while being well ventilated is a good thing for most helmets, when used as intended for urban rides or on an e-bike, the Mobilite is at times too cool.

Verdict

Very comfortable helmet with useful features for urban riding, if a bit too cool at times