It's Coming...

[bean]

http://www.smithoptics.com/forefront/

That is one fugly helmet, probably nice to wear though. Is it ok to use an all mountain helmet for xc?

Also, WTF does a helmet have to do with "integration?" Smith needs new marketing people.

edit: 50g lighter than a Xar, 65g lighter than a Trabec. zomg!

[El Chupacabra]

And it looks like an evil jack-o-lantern!

[Poop~Ghost]

How will I pedal my bike without it?!

[PeachesN'Cream]

Agreed on the fugly front.

I love Smith goggles and glasses, the ski helmets are solid, but this venture... not so sure.

[toast2266]

It looks like they're big on making it goggle compatible, but it doesn't look like there's any easy way to perch goggles on the helmet while riding uphill.

[chatton18]

meh...thanks for the marketing hype rev. I see nothing revolutionary about this. Additional protection within vents should help it deal with impact better but I don't see any real advantage on these.

[concretejungle]

Eco considerate? WTF? We considered it.

[smmokan]

What does being lighter and having "increased airflow" have to do with Ultimate Integration?

[butterscotch]

Eco considerate? WTF? We considered it.

Marketing: What's a polymer?

Engineering: Dude, it's plastic.

Marketing: So it's recyclable, right?

Engineering: Well, sort of.

Marketing: Sweet!

[Flyoverland Captive]

I was expecting something like this:

[Particle]

Hey if this Petzl thing can be successful in the climbing world, the Forefront should crush it.

[Finstah]

I think it looks pretty good.

[Bobcat Sig]

Marketing: What's a polymer?

Engineering: Dude, it's plastic.

Marketing: So it's recyclable, right?

Engineering: Well, sort of.

Marketing: Sweet!

Haha, YES!!!

In other news, what style of shades are those shown in the ads?

[Arty50]

Hmmmmm...interesting...

http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/feat...ng-is-Wild,195

"Targeting a full production weight of 285 grams, the Forefront helmet features Smith’s new VaporFit adjustable fit system, integrated camera and light mounting area, and an additional helmet goggle retention strap."

Integrated camera and light mounting area...I wonder what that means...

[bean]

Integrated camera and light mounting area...I wonder what that means...

It's so you can easily >double the weight on your head (and at the highest point possible to boot) to take lame "footy."

edit: I'm thinking that I may be coming across as overly harsh on this. It's an interesting looking helmet, I'm intrigued, and I look forward to learning more about it and playing with it at some point. It's a good thing that it exists, as anything that has the chance to advance the helmet market (even if it's just by forcing competitors to improve) is, IMO, a good thing. My disdain is for the marketing assholes who are pushing this as "ULTIMATE INTEGRATION." They keep using that word, I do not think it means what they think it means.

I'm looking forward to Rev. Floater explaining his prior statements based on what we know now.

Think about what the I/O did to snow goggles. Apply that mentality elsewhere.

[Gone Skiing]

Hmmmmm...interesting...

http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/feat...ng-is-Wild,195

"Targeting a full production weight of 285 grams, the Forefront helmet features Smith’s new VaporFit adjustable fit system, integrated camera and light mounting area, and an additional helmet goggle retention strap."

Integrated camera and light mounting area...I wonder what that means...

Flat spot on top, I bet. Ultimate integration bro.

[Conundrum]

I usually like to cast large, broad critiques based on a picture on the internet.

Or, I can do a little research and come up with...

-Is lighter than the one I have
-I can put my light on it securely so it doesn't move around in the dark when I hit a bump
-Vents better
-My understanding is Koroyd can take multiple hits so I don't have to trash my helmet when the foam spiderwebs (maybe offsets initial price tag)
-My sunglasses might fit better because they actually thought of that
-The once or twice a year I wear goggles with an open face, they stay on better
-Takes a bigger impact than traditional foam.

Fuck it, I'll just pass judgement now. That think is weird looking so Smith missed the boat. Or, they just made a helmet that does everything I would like a bike helmet to do and they came in lighter, cooler, stronger, and safer. I'm hoping this thing fits my dome like their ski helmets do and then I can say more comfortable. It might be more expensive but if it takes multiple hits without replacement, it will be cheaper than crash replacement and waiting for a helmet to come in the mail. I know, I could wear a dirt jump lid but it's too hot here for that to really be practical.

I'm not defending Smith here. I'm a guy that likes to see innovation tried (good or junk). Last night, I looked at my first "modern" MTB helmet from about 12 years ago and compared it to the Fox Flux I currently use. Not much has changed other than a little more coverage and some nifty graphics.

[josef]

God Damnit! Someone made a helmet I dont want to buy! I am fucking pissed!

[bean]

God Damnit! Someone made a helmet I dont want to buy! I am fucking pissed!

Please stop excusing bad behavior by marketing douchebags. TYIA.

[butterscotch]

We're already at backlash against the backlash and it's only been 24 hours. Gotta love the internet era.

Smith deserves the shit they are getting in this thread, because they hyped this as revolutionary and, gasp!, it's only incremental progress. It looks like a nice helmet and I like my Smith ski helmet a lot. But it ain't the rapture.

The question, of course, is: if Smith had simply said, "Hey everyone, we're going to start making bike helmets with the same thoughtfulness that we put into our ski helmets. We hope you like them.", would this thread have more or less posts?

[Arty50]

It's so you can easily >double the weight on your head (and at the highest point possible to boot) to take lame "footy."

Some of us love to ride at night, especially during the winter here in the flatlands. So, it's not all about cameras.

Flat spot on top, I bet. Ultimate integration bro.

Actually, if you look closely at the pics, there's some sort of clip/notch on the front edge of the top middle vent. If it's some proprietary thing, I probably won't take off. However, if it ends up working better than current attachment systems and does so for little to no additional cost, then I'm in.

[Conundrum]

Smith deserves the shit they are getting in this thread, because they hyped this as revolutionary and, gasp!, it's only incremental progress. It looks like a nice helmet and I like my Smith ski helmet a lot. But it ain't the rapture.

is: if Smith had simply said, "Hey everyone, we're going to start making bike helmets with the same thoughtfulness that we put into our ski helmets. We hope you like them.", would this thread have more or less posts?

Actually, a helmet that vents and weighs what a road helmet does and protects like an all mountain helmet and can take multiple small hits seems fairly revolutionary in an otherwise stale space. I've had to buy five helmets in the last 10 years due to crashes or dropping them of my tailgate. Yeah, I got some crash replacement pricing. If I could have bought this 10 years ago and it was better in almost every aspect of non-fullface bike helmets, I would have been pretty stoked. If I'm wrong about the multi-hit thing...than I guess I am. I'm guessing if it's a big enough hit, it will crush to absorb but still, take a couple little crashes out of the equation and that would have saved me at least 3 helmets.

[chatton18]

It looks like the core is still foam which means you should replace it after a few years of use

Sent from my GT-I9300 using TGR Forums

[Bobcat Sig]

I usually like to cast large, broad critiques based on a picture on the internet.

Or, I can do a little research and come up with...

-Is lighter than the one I have
-I can put my light on it securely so it doesn't move around in the dark when I hit a bump
-Vents better
-My understanding is Koroyd can take multiple hits so I don't have to trash my helmet when the foam spiderwebs (maybe offsets initial price tag)
-My sunglasses might fit better because they actually thought of that
-The once or twice a year I wear goggles with an open face, they stay on better
-Takes a bigger impact than traditional foam.

Fuck it, I'll just pass judgement now. That think is weird looking so Smith missed the boat. Or, they just made a helmet that does everything I would like a bike helmet to do and they came in lighter, cooler, stronger, and safer. I'm hoping this thing fits my dome like their ski helmets do and then I can say more comfortable. It might be more expensive but if it takes multiple hits without replacement, it will be cheaper than crash replacement and waiting for a helmet to come in the mail. I know, I could wear a dirt jump lid but it's too hot here for that to really be practical.

I'm not defending Smith here. I'm a guy that likes to see innovation tried (good or junk). Last night, I looked at my first "modern" MTB helmet from about 12 years ago and compared it to the Fox Flux I currently use. Not much has changed other than a little more coverage and some nifty graphics.

Pretty much this.

Backlash to the backlash. Teh intarwebz, indeed.

Plus, I dig the thoughtfulness of including a spot to mount a light. After my unplanned night ride the other day, this isn't a bad thing at all.

[bean]

Chalk me up as the first backlash backlash backlasher. It looks like an interesting helmet, but Smith's marketing department should be crucified for this. And that isn't hyperbole.

Anti-backlashers are probably the same people who are all over 26.99" as the greatest revolution in three months.