SixSixOne Reset MIPS Helmet Review

The longer I’ve been riding and the more injuries I have seen on the trail, the more have been convinced that the two most important things to protect are your brain and your neck while mountain biking. Broken collarbones, arms and legs will all heal and usually full function will be restored. But, a traumatic brain injury can change you forever. That’s why I was excited when SixSixOne announced that they were adding MIPS technology to their Reset full face helmet.

The SixSixOne Reset MIPS helmet is not just another full face helmet. I think it’s important to note up front that this helmet retails for only $149. That kind of price-point won’t get you even near a full face MIPS helmet from many other manufactures.

Features

For the uninitiated, MIPS is a rotational force reduction system that is designed to reduce the chances of concussion during a impact. While some may argue that MIPS doesn’t make a big difference, I would argue that any advantage I can get to avoiding a concussion is well worth it and the $149 price tag makes it a no-brainer (pun intended). The Reset helmet is one of the first full face helmets to integrate the new E2 MIPS system, designed specifically for Full-Face helmets.

E2 MIPS liner is a soft, cap-like insert that acts as a low-friction layer between the head and the helmet. The E2 liner is made up of two multi-directional, stretch fabric layers sewn together around a thin, plastic foil. This gives the helmet a soft, padded feel on the inside.

The Resets ABS shell features grated vents in the chin/face guard along with angular venting around the helmet. The visor is pretty large and has a somewhat unique narrower shape. The visor does tilt to allow for goggles to be stowed on the top of the helmet. I found that in the “down” position the visor just barely came into my field of view.

The chin strap is a traditional, d-ring type of attachment. It features some extra padding beyond the strap itself. There is also a small button to retain the excess length.

The weight of the size medium Reset Mips is a respectable 1055g. This is not as feathery as something like a Fox Proframe at a claimed weight of 750g. But, actually comes in lighter than something like the Leatt DBX 3.0 DH helmet at 1160g.

In Use

So with all its affordability and great features how is the 661 Reset MIPS to use? In a word, it’s great. The Reset is a true downhill rated full face helmet that is intended for high speed riding. With this requirement it does not vent as well as a non-downhill rated full face, such as the Bell Super 2 which was the last full face I was using. However, you are definitively getting another level of protection with this helmet and the venting has been good enough to not deter me from wearing it even when pedaling hard around dirt jumps. I even took this helmet on a high country adventure in Telluride where I did about 1700 feet of climbing. For that type of a climb, I did remove my helmet for portions of the climbing since it was a boring fire road slog.

The fit of the helmet was true to the sizing guide. The Rest MIPS comes in sizes XXS to XXL so this helmet will work for everyone from small kids to people with very large heads. I’ve liked this helmet so much that I picked up an XS for my five year old. The helmets are scaled down correctly. You don’t end up with and overly elongated chin area or other oddities as you size down.

The chin strap is nicely padded. I have found it comfortable while wearing for long periods. I grew to like the d-ring chin strap even though I was unsure about it at first. D-rings make it easier to cinch down to exactly the right size and after it’s in place it isn’t going anywhere.

It also fits my goggles without issue and provides me with good visibility into my peripheral vision. The only part of my vision that I found obscured at all was a bit of my upper vision by the visor. This however doesn’t seem like a big loss to me as almost everything I need to see is always down or to the sides.

The lining is very comfortable and the cheek pads hold the helmet in position well. On the topic of the lining, I found that when I sweat in this helmet it didn’t get that moist, gross feeling that I’ve had in some helmets. I’ll credit that partially to the venting design, and partially to the fact the much of our testing was in relatively dry mountain conditions in Colorado. The helmets doesn’t have multiple cheek pad sizes or removable cheek pads.

I did find that under very hot/heavy breathing the front venting could be a little bit more open. However this is always a trade-off between greater protection and greater breathability.

Final Thoughts

I really couldn’t be happier with the SixSixOne Reset MIPS helmet. Using one for this entire past park season has been absolutely great and I have no reason to not use it next season. Thankfully I didn’t drag my head across the ground this past year so it should be ready to run as soon as the lifts start running.