Bell’s top-of-the-range Full-10 full-face helmet lives up to its name in more ways than one. Of course, it’s a full-face helmet but it’s absolutely brimming with safety tech that, combined with a sky-high price tag, makes it a premium lid. Though pricy, it brings impressive comfort and aggressive styling to a package that’ll appeal to the most safety-conscious of downhill rippers. Its lack of airflow, however, limits it to purely gravity-fed riding and its asking price does put it out of reach for many.
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Bell Full-10 Spherical full-face helmet – Technical details
With the success of the Full-9, the Full-10 has some mighty boots to fill. When designing the Full-10, Bell focussed on two things: comfort and safety but most notably concussion and its long-term effects. Every other facet of the helmet’s design was secondary, and its designers didn’t have a weight goal to hit, which freed them up to further boost the safety and comfort aspects.
With the goal of ultimate safety, Bell has kitted the Full-10 with Mips Spherical slip-plane tech, a more advanced method of rotational impact reduction that was developed in conjunction with Bel, and Giro. Mips Spherical is very different from other popular slip-plane liners as it uses a softer EPP inner and a more dense EPS outer foam. The pairing of two densities of foam addresses high- and low-speed impacts by managing energy more effectively, we’re told. These layers form a ball and socket design that’s said to redirect forces away from the brain during a crash by allowing the outer liner to rotate around the inner.
Not only does Mips Spherical allow for greater safety but it gives Bell’s designers more freedom when building ventilation into the helmet as there’s no plastic liner or similar to obstruct airflow. As for ventilation, the Full-10 is equipped with 18 vents, including those dotted around the chin guard. Two of the vents take the form of large exhaust ports at the rear, dubbed T.E.A.S (Thermal Exchange Airflow System), that’s been trickled down from its motocross-going Moto 10 lid.
These exhaust ports work in tandem with two intakes located at the helmet’s brow which suck in air from the front and direct it to the rear with help from channels cut into the EPP layer.
Inside, its cheek pads are held magnetically which provides two key benefits, the most important of which is quick and easy removal by emergency services. Riders can quickly take the cheek pads out of the helmet and pop them back in without faffing around with poppers.
The Full-10 employs an Ionic+ anti-microbial liner and the magnetic tech continues at the D-ring closure as the excess chin strap can be clicked away thanks to another magnet found on one of the two rings.
The helmet employs a carbon fibre shell that’s built up using a unidirectional weave and progressive layering and a fully adjustable Flying Bridge visor. Rounding the spec list off is that the Full 10 complies with NTA 8776 (E-BIKE), CE EN 1078:2012, ASTM F1952-15, and DH ASTM F2032-15 BMX certifications.
As for weight, the size M on test comes in at 1,066g, 16 grams heavier than claimed but is in line with other helmets of this type.
Included in the box is a high-quality carry case, three sets of cheek pads of varying thickness and two different-sized liners all to help achieve the perfect fit. There’s also a breakaway GoPro mount.
Bell Full-10 Spherical full-face helmet – Performance
When chatting with Bell’s UK Brand Manager, he said that the Full-10 is unashamedly designed for downhill riding but could be used for more extreme enduro applications with compromises coming in the form of weight and breathability. With that in mind, I’ve been using it for uplift-assisted bike park sessions.
When pulling the lid out of its very nice carry case, the sheer quality of its build proved incredibly striking. Bell is clearly keen to show off the shell’s carbon weave and it certainly looks the part under the matte clear coat.
Slipping the helmet on and the Full-10 almost immediately impressed me with its luxurious level of comfort but felt a little too snug. Though, all it took was a quick swap of the liner and cheek pads to bring across a custom-moulded feeling. Comfort is absolutely unreal, making the Full-10 by far the most comfortable full-face helmet I’ve used.
At 1,066g, I have felt some neck fatigue after my ride but that’s to be expected given the fact I usually use an open face. On the head, the Full-10 feels reassuringly enclosed as it comprehensively wraps the skull resulting in a protected feel that ups confidence when riding without becoming claustrophobic. Even though designed with the clever T.E.A.S, intake venting is minimal but this does stop foliage or anything sharp from finding its way into a vent as you ride.
That lack of venting is a stark reminder that this is a helmet designed to protect the fastest of the fast, as they take on the increasingly demanding tracks on the downhill circuit. While hurtling down bike park trails, the Full-10 does an appreciable job of temperature management but it’s by no means the airiest helmet around.
When the trail slows and gets particularly pedal-heavy, the helmet quickly gets warm as the venting isn’t designed to expel warmth through the top. Though if a climb gets long enough, Bell’s excellent employment of magnets really comes in handy. Thanks to the magnetic cheek pads, a rider can pull them out and stow them under a goggle strap without any faff required – and the helmet doesn’t even have to be removed. It’s more than possible to place the cheek pads back in securely with the helmet still on the head. So not only are these pads a very useful safety feature but a clear improvement to ease of use compared to others that rely on poppers.
The magnetic D-ring closure further simplifies full-face life making strap security fuss-free. Simply thread the chin strap through the rings and vaguely locate the magnet with the end of the excess strap. During my time with the Full-10, this saved a lot of effort when hastily throwing a bike onto a trailer and settling down for the ride up.
Though on one occasion, when removing the helmet, the magnet stuck when pulling the strap through the D-ring, requiring a bit more effort to break free.
Bell Full-10 Spherical full-face helmet – Verdict
At £580, the Full-10 is a huge investment. In fact, the Full-10 is the most expensive mountain bike full-face helmet on the market. However, very few if any come with a comparable feature list.
One helmet that comes close at £550 is the Troy Lee Designs D4 Carbon Mips. Though, it doesn’t come with much of the cool tech found on the Full-10. Instead, it opts for a more basic version of Mips and far less magnetic features. It is also built with a carbon shell, though.
Apart from that, few helmets tickle the price of the Full 10. Even Leatt’s MTB Gravity 3.0 comes in at £380 with bold comfort and safety claims. Though, for its comparatively meagre asking price, it forgoes the cool Mips Spherical for Leatt’s Turbine 360 tech and it uses a composite shell.
Improving the helmet’s value further is that Bell offers a crash replacement warranty, where the brand will offer a fresh helmet at a discounted price if wrecked in a crash.
If you’re looking for one of the safest helmets on the market, you may as well invest in the feature-rich Bell Full-10. Not only does this helmet pack very cool safety tech that could save your life but it’s also the most comfortable full-face helmet I’ve had the pleasure of using. It looks mighty cool, too. Though, this helmet is for downhill or bike park use so those looking for pedal-friendly breathability should look elsewhere.
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Product purpose:
This is definitely a helmet built for burlier gravity fed riding and it comes with the feature list to prove that.
Build extra:
CONSTRUCTION
LIGHTWEIGHT UNIDIRECTIONAL CARBON SHELL
PROGRESSIVE LAYERING
VISOR
FULLY ADJUSTABLE FLYING BRIDGE™ VISOR WITH AIR INTAKE VENTS
VENTILATION
THERMAL EXCHANGE AIRFLOW SYSTEM™ (T.E.A.S.)
PRODUCT WEIGHT
1000g (SIZE M)
EXTRAS
HELMET BAG, ADDITIONAL PADSETS, CAMERA MOUNT
CERTIFICATION
NTA 8776 (E-BIKE)
CE EN 1078:2012
ASTM F1952-15
DH ASTM F2032-15 BMX
Product construction
Product construction extra:
Product performance
Product performance extra:
Product weight
Product weight extra:
Product comfort
Product comfort extra:
product value
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