During the season, I had the chance to try the 509 Altitude helmet. Here are my impressions of this item.
First of all, I like the helmet’s design and look. Wow!
I especially liked it with the Sinister X6 goggles, and the kit provided to me this winter. This helmet has been on the market for a few years now, and I still appreciate its overall look, particularly with the choice of colours and options available year after year.
When holding the helmet in my hands, my first observation is that it’s relatively light, considering that I don’t have the carbon fiber version; the test model is made of thermoplastic. The helmet has many ventilation openings, and I expect them to be used in milder temperatures by off-trail enthusiasts. The helmet has a breathing mask at the front. It also has a chin guard, which prevents cold and snow from entering under the helmet. Sometime later, I discover four rubber pieces in the top of the helmet, blocking some of the ventilation traps. This leaves me puzzled about whether this helmet is warm or not for our cold temperatures in Quebec.
When I put the helmet on my head, I find it comfortable. Some helmets squeeze my head too much and others not enough. This one is perfect, especially around the cheeks. When I ride my snowmobile, I find it just as comfortable after several riding hours. The movement of the helmet is fluid, and the visibility with the goggles is excellent. It’s one of the only helmets that allows me to sit on my snowmobile without moving my shoulders and be able to turn my head easily and have a good view of the sides.
There are three aspects of this helmet that I like. The first is that I don’t feel a lot of air coming in with the mask when breathing. I want to point out that the vents in the top of the helmet were blocked during my tests, and I did not remove them. The Sinister X6 Ignite goggles fit the helmet and the air inlet perfectly. They stay in place and don’t move, except when driving over the speed limit. With a thin balaclava, this helmet is quite comfortable to wear below -10 degrees Celsius. If I wear a slightly thicker balaclava and a neck gaiter, I can withstand colder temperatures for long hours. I can’t say that we had a lot of extremely cold days this winter, but I was never freezing during my rides.
The second aspect is that the helmet doesn’t push my head upward when there are strong winds. Usually, helmets with visors have this bad habit. This one allows air to pass freely and doesn’t add a lot of pressure on the neck. Surely the weight of the helmet helps a lot in this aspect. When you ride for several hours in a day, having a heavy helmet that pushes your head upward is something you notice, and that makes you more and more tired as the hours go by.
The third aspect, and not the least, is that even if there isn’t much air coming in, the helmet does a good job of dissipating heat. My head stays dry most of the time unless I make an extreme effort. But still, it does a good job, and my goggles don’t fog up much. The helmet does a good job of wicking moisture away from around the head, and the air circulation does its job well. The mask does a good job when riding on trails. It also does a good job of the trail, but I prefer to ride without it when I exert myself physically on the machine.
The Fidlock magnetic helmet fastener is an interesting option. I immediately thought it wouldn’t be solid and could be easily released in case of an impact. While putting the helmet on my head, I noticed that I couldn’t undo the fastener without pulling on the little rope and removing the magnetic element; it gave me confidence as to its safety.
In general, I liked this clip because it’s quick to take off and put on your helmet. In my case, I had a little more difficulty doing it with the gloves on. When I had a neck gaiter and gloves on, the fastener was a lot less intuitive because I had trouble placing the neck straps and the fastener in the right position for it would close. It may be a matter of habit; I’ll tell you that with time.
In conclusion, the helmet’s overall manufacturing quality is excellent and wearing the helmet with the 509 goggles is even better. I would have liked a GoPro clip made of metal instead of plastic; I suspect it won’t be exceptionally durable. All in all, it’s a good helmet and a combination that I will wear for a long time to come. A big thank you to SledMagazine.com and 509 for this trial.
