Good hat for summer riding

I wear off road bike hats because they are so much more vented. They pass all tests for riding hats except the ones for penetration by a spike, because of the holes. That's only relevant if you ride in woods or plan to fall on sharp pointed objects. It's also the cheapest way to get a hat with the superior MIPS protection.

I've had negative comments from people who don't think off road cyclists face the same risks as horse riders. They can't have seen the rocky, tree lined, steep paths the local bike riders hurtle down.

You can't, of course, compete in them as they don't have a horse riding hat testing ID in them.
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I also have a uvex exxential and recently crash-tested mine, ooops. I am happy to report that it functioned as intended and I've bought a new one to replace it. Light, comfy, very adjustable with the dial fit and a removable, washable lining.
 

ycbm
Well-Known Member

I wear off road bike hats because they are so much more vented.



ycbm could you give some links please? All I am finding is several full face off road bikers helmets, I assume you aren't riding in those?
 
I'm on my second gatehouse air rider, though the older version. It fits well and when my head swells cos it's hot I can adjust the fit a bit.
 
ycbm said:
I wear off road bike hats because they are so much more vented. They pass all tests for riding hats except the ones for penetration by a spike, because of the holes. That's
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I think you should check this. I began riding at a time when serious attention was being paid to stronger riding helmets. It was explained that horse riders shold not ride incycle helmets. The helmets worn by cyclists need to protest different areas of the head and especially the chance of falling from bike saddle height onto the edge of a kerb.
Riding hats need to meet different types of fall and at other angles.
I have a gatehouse HS1 and have worn it in Texas on mid day rides - and generally in boiling hot USA weather - never had a head ache or a problem. And whatever the heat have always worn my bp too.
 
ycbm could you give some links please? All I am finding is several full face off road bikers helmets, I assume you aren't riding in those?
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This isn't quite the same as I have, which are a bit deeper at the back than this, but this seems to be their current MIPS version.

https://www.bellhelmets.com/bike/p/4forty-mips-mountain-bike-helmet

That's a US site, I found the non MIPS version on eBay

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/293411418462

I am comfortable that if the guys I see hurtling down the same rocky, tree lined paths that I sometimes ride are safe enough in these helmets, then I am safe enough to ride my horse in one. I don't personally accept that horse falls are significantly different from off road biking falls. It's a personal decision, of course, that every rider should judge for themselves.

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ester said:
I'm on my second gatehouse air rider, though the older version. It fits well and when my head swells cos it's hot I can adjust the fit a bit.
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I don't like how short they look at the back, Ester. Do they sit lower than the photos on their website suggest? I feel very vulnerable in some of the current hats that don't cover the lower back of the head.

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ycbm said:
I don't like how short they look at the back, Ester. Do they sit lower than the photos on their website suggest? I feel very vulnerable in some of the current hats that don't cover the lower back of the head.

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I’ll compare with my pro II later :). Though it is the mark I (ie pre the en1384 saga ;)). It transformed summer hacking for my funny shaped head at least, for a not ridiculous price.
 
A comment about the lower back of one's head.
It seems to me that not all falls from horses are the same. I dont jump so cant comment on falls jumping which I believe is the higher risk.

My falls both in the school (rare) and hacking have been after a spook and/or spin.
They entail a slither off over one shoulder due to lack of balance. I fall on my back which is protected by my bp, and my head then tips back, helmet hitting the ground in centre back.
18 years ago, when one's head tipped back, one suffered a guillotine effect with the lower edge of the hat pressing into the back of one's neck.
Hat designs appear to have been changed since then so the hat rests higher at the back of the neck and they increased padding round the edge at the back. I also stopped riding with a bun or thick bunch of hair tied centre back. In the latest hats the lower edge does not chop into the back of one's neck.
 
I have a Uvex Exxential had and it's been great - have worn it in many hot environments (inc. across Namibia desert) and it kept me feeling safe and comfy. The only downside is that I don't really like the shape of it on me, but I guess that's a minor consideration.
 
Another vote for Uvex. I have the entry level one which isn’t competition legal and use it at home in the warmer months. I don’t have a silk on it but find it keeps my head much cooler than my non-vented hats
 
I had a gatehouse which was pretty well ventilated but gave me awful headaches, totally the wrong shape for me. I tried a uvex which seemed like it would have been comfortable but have ended up with a CO ayrbrush, not specifically a summer hat but it is well vented and so far I haven't been getting as hot as normal in it, even before the frosty spell! :p
 
I wear my Uvex Exxential as is too (I've got a silver one), but I did add a festive woolly hat on top of it over the Christmas period, purely for decoration. I'm not sure it would work with a normal peaked silk, as the hat has its own peak.
 
And a other vote for Uvex. I wasn't sure initially but there was no disputing it, its the lightest most comfortable hat I've ever had. Because it's so vented, my 'hat hair' isn't half as bad with it.
 
I have loved my Chelsea Gatehouse Pro. I DO like the look of those bike helmets in the first link, though, especially the orange/pink ones - I ride on mountain bike tracks a lot (if you can't beat em...) with my dobbin and agree with ycbm - the kind of fall I would have would be the same or gentler than a mountain biker round here.
 
I'm reading with interest. My Gatehouse was well and truly dead after I fell off last January and was knocked out. My OH bought me a new hat for Christmas and when I was trying them on only one that fit is a Charles Owen. Fine I thought, until I have been wearing it and even after a 25 min quick schooling session in 1 degree temperatures my head is sweating! I've come to work not looking great as normally its just a case of fluff the hair up but it was not a good look! Dreading summer now :(
 
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