Review: Urge All-M Helmet

Published: 9th April 2013 | By AngusMcIntosh

When I crash I tend to do it properly. I never have a simple slide out in a turn like anyone else. I’m always that guy who goes over the bars flat out and lands on his head. Consequently I get through a reasonable turn over of kit and will only trust the best out there.

First Impressions

This one much like the whole range from Urge is a bit of a Marmite dilemma. You’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. It’s certainly striking and like absolutely nothing else out there.

It’s without doubt a very high quality piece of kit and the construction is second to none against any other helmet I’ve seen or reviewed in the recent past. It’s massive vents are shored up by a frame inside that’s set into the polystyrene foam to add extra stability along with good air flow and cooling. It’s a well thought out helmet.

There’s not much fancy stuff going on inside or at the back with complicated ratcheting components. Urge are definitely going for a simplicity is king approach with the All M.

Styling

Here’s probably the decider for 99% of people out there. If you don’t like it the way it looks you will either keep scrolling online or just walk on by at your local bike shop. I would almost go as far as saying there’s a 50/50 split on opinion when talking about the helmet. You either love it or it’ll make you want to Urge.

From the massive grilled vents to the peak with a large hole bang smack in the middle and the red “turbo button” style dots on the front and rear.

The styling of the All M is definitely one of the major selling points of the helmet and they have taken a bit of a gamble with going quite so unique. That said it’s available in loads of different colours that are all fairly primary and friendly to most other riding kit.

I could talk forever about the styling but you will of already made your own mind up anyway so I shall leave it like this… I personally like it, but a fair chunk of others hate it…

Technology

Urge have done a few things a little differently to most of the other helmets out there with the All M and opted to go for absolutely massive vents to keep your head cool. This caused problems with the structural rigidity of the helmet so they took the option to reinforce the shell with a plastic frame. I had a few small crashes during testing but nothing that would of used the helmet enough to tell you if this actually as an effect but it feels stiff and strong.

Urge opted to use what they call a “stylish and flexible anti crash visor” This is a great addition to the helmet as there’s nothing worse than breaking the visor off your new helmet. Hey presto! use a flexible visor that isn’t brittle and therefore won’t shatter on impact. Problem solved.

When designing the All M helmet Urge were obviously adamant that they didn’t want to just make another helmet in the market that would cause your head to melt. Not only did they put massive vents in it they put grooves into the polystyrene to channel the air over your head and keep you cool. Simple and almost industrial engineering but it certainly works!

X strap design holds the helmet in place on your head without the use of any other ratchet or straps. Urges simple approach strikes again and it works very well as its pretty damn comfortable!

The Ride

The All M is only available in 2 sizes. Small/Medium and Large/X Large which is a little limiting as there’s no real adjustment other than pads and the chinstrap. It’s obviously important that it’s exactly the right fit from the off as your not going to be able to dial it in. The Large/X Large felt good on my head and didn’t move around when riding even in the rough stuff.

This may not be the case for everyone as obviously people’s heads differ in shape massively and as there’s limited ways of adjusting this it won’t be for everyone.

The All M has great coverage around the rear and while riding the helmet didn’t seem to limit visibility at all but don’t expect the sun visor to be up to much with the £2 coin sized hole in it. It would also look pretty cool and work really well with a pair of goggles if your that way inclined.

Conclusion

I’m not going to go down the whole bike magazine review cliché “it inspired confidence” route as I don’t think it did. I found the All M comfortable and cool while riding and on the odd occasion I crashed I didn’t have a headache afterwards. It ticked all the boxes for me personally and comes

I think the blue colour our test model was in looked pretty dapper with the Royal Racing kit I was reviewing at the same time and personally I like the styling.

My only concern is the £99.99 price tag. That’s a lot of money for a trail helmet I’m sure you will all agree but if this if it fits properly and you like the styling you are going to get yourself a pretty great helmet!

The styling is a bit of a Marmite debate but both the functionality and technology behind the All M h elmet from Urge is second to none. A fantastic trail helmet available in a good mix of colours!
Angus McIntosh

You can find out more details on the All M here www.urgebike.com. Urge are distributed in the UK by Decade Europe.

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