TESTED: Leatt Gravity 4.0 Helmet

Words: Hayden Wright | Photos: Gerard Lagana

After watching a close friend pass away from a spinal cord injury in 2001, Dr Chris Leatt set out to find a way to minimise neck injuries in motocross. Some three years later, the first Leatt neck brace was sold in South Africa. These devices shot from obscurity into the mainstream through the mid 2000s, bringing with it the most transformative change to safety in action sports since the advent of full face helmets. Fast forward a decade and you can now dress yourself in Leatt kit from head to toe regardless of if you’re riding motocross or going mountain biking. 

GROUP TEST: Full Face Helmets

The Gravity 4.0 is Leatt’s mid range full face offering, with the 1.0 and 2.0 sitting below it and the 8.0 above it. With a focus on downhill, park and enduro use, this helmet packs in a long list of features given the sub-$500 price point. Available in four sizes across two shell sizes, the Gravity 4.0 has interchangeable cheek pads, a Fidlock buckle, removable liner, breakaway visor and features Leatt’s own 360° Turbine Technology to boot. 

What is 360° Turbine Technology 

Since the introduction of MIPS some two decades ago it is now an industry expectation that any mid to high end full face helmet should include some form of additional rotational impact system. Rather than licensing another technology, Leatt decided to go their own way and develop a system that was entirely their own. Founded on Dr Leatt’s desire to increase rider's safety, and backed by publicly available laboratory testing, what they came up with is the 360° Turbine system. Put simply, the helmet has small blue modules within it which increase low energy impact absorption, along with low to high velocity rotational impact absorption. Under load, these modules can twist and compress, taking loads away from your head and transferring them into the helmet’s EPS layer. This is proven to decrease the likelihood of a traumatic brain injury in the event of a crash. 

On the Trail

While some rotational impact systems are an addition to the helmet structure, Leatt designs their helmets to incorporate it from the beginning. What this gives you is a succinct product which does not creak, grab your hair, or leave any hotspots. This is a godsend, particularly if you’re someone who takes their helmet on and off regularly. Through testing, I didn’t experience any of the above, which cannot be said for some of the nine other full faces I have tested this past year. Comfort wise, this helmet stands out for me.

While entirely personal, I found the fit of this helmet struck a really nice balance between snug security while still being light and having an unobscured field of vision, similar to how a Troy Lee Designs helmet fits my head. The Fidlock buckle is a nice touch at this price point, and is always a welcome addition over the traditional D-buckle system. For the sake of this test I wore the Gravity 4.0 on the climbs and descents, to see how it would really go as an Enduro race lid. I can happily report that it was perfectly forgettable in both scenarios, allowing me to get on with the job at hand. 

Is it a featherweight, airy piece of kit? No, but in my mind you can’t expect that to be delivered in a helmet that also feels safe and secure when you’re pinning it downhill, and there are still 20+ vents which do a great job of keeping your head from overheating. The two large forehead vents in particular do a great job of porting air in over your skull when moving at speed. My only real complaint was that the matte finish of this helmet seemed to scuff quite easily, something I noticed after taking my goggles on and off a few dozen times during a test ride. While this is easily fixed with some helmet cleaner and a quick polish, it’s worth noting. 

GROUP TEST: MTB Goggles

Verdict

The Leatt Gravity 4.0 strikes the perfect balance of cost, performance and features in my mind. While also available in an Enduro variant, I would say this helmet is best suited to anyone who enjoys downhill runs, park laps, extreme E-bike missions and everything in between. While there are models available at lower and higher price points, this 4.0 is right on the money and proves to be a very competitive offering against its contemporaries such as the 7idp Project 23, Troy Lee Designs D3 and Lazer Cage Kineticore. 

RRP: $499.95

From: bikecorp.com.au

Hits:

•  Competitive price point
• Two cheek pad options
• Highly vented

Misses 

• Matte finish marks easily