TESTED: Specialized Dissident helmet

Specialized have had their carbon downhill helmet on the market for just on 3 years now. The design is light, weighing in at 986grams out of the box. The helmet is a high end offering at a price point below a lot of its competitors. The helmet is packed with technology with the Eject pad system and magnetic strap to save time and hassle taking the helmet on and off.

Box Fresh

As soon as I opened the helmet bag the Dissident was in I knew this helmet was pure quality. The finish on the helmet is great, with a thick gloss finish projecting the carbon weave underneath as well as some very sharp looking pin striped style lines on the outside. As you look inside the helmet that pads are thick and looked to be pretty durable.

In 99% of helmets I am a medium and with the Specialized lid it was the same, the brand new medium was a little tight on the face and at first and I was worried I had asked for the wrong size, but after a day in the helmet the pads had softened and the helmet was a perfect secure fit. The pads haven’t pushed in anymore since which is good to see as I was worried they may have loosened up a little more. So when you are buying one of the helmet, do make sure you go to your nearest dealer and try it on first to make sure it is the correct fit.

The overall shape of the helmet is great, the mouth piece sits close to the mouth offering great protection to your mouth. The grooves on the back are designed for goggles and the strap sits right into the groove. The opening of the helmet was a perfect width and matched with my ADIDAS goggles was excellent for vision.

It’s the small touches on this helmet though that really sold me. After years of having helmets with the two D style straps and changing between running the strap looser to pull it over your chin, or taking the whole strap apart each run, I now didn’t have to. Specialized have created a magnetic strap when both ends are held near each other snap into place, very firmly in fact and to take off you just need to slide the strap off. This most definitely rocked my world. The only downside being that later when I had the helmet on the ground some small metal flakes made their way into the strap and it took a bit of time to get them out.

The only real downside to the helmet I found was if the helmet visor was fully extended it was hard to get it in the helmet bag and was generally easier to loosen the visor. A small gripe but one I noticed none the less.

Our Take

The Dissident has a top of the line build quality, with pads that once bed in didn’t seem to push in. It is suited to downhill racers, enduro racers or bike park riders. While expensive, it’s still great value for money compared to what else is on the market with this level of fit, comfort and quality.

Hits: Price, quality

Missies: I’d like a bigger helmet bag

RRP: $449.95

From: Specialized Australia