Fox Striker Helmet

Fox were one of the first companies to answer the call of trail and all-mountain riders for a helmet that offered more protection than the typical road-inspired XC helmet (especially at the back), without going to the weight and heat issues of a full-face DH helmet. Their Flux model basically defined the trail and all-mountain category when it was released a few years ago, and it still resides in the Fox range.

The Striker is a much newer design, offering lower weight and better ventilation than the Flux, as well as updated styling. It’s available in a range of five colours and two sizes, and retails for around $150. Our smaller 54-58cm sample came in a very emo-friendly gloss black, and weighed exactly 300g including the visor (despite the internal sticker claiming 215g; not sure where that figure was pulled from). In any case, it is definitely at the lightweight end of the spectrum for enhanced coverage lids.

Beyond the weight, there are plenty of great details in the Striker; the hard outer shell completely covers the lower edge of the helmet to resist general wear and tear; huge rear vents and improved internal channelling really help when the temperature soars; the internal padding is thick and soft, plus you get a spare set of pads with the helmet.

The visor is removable and has about 20-degrees of tilt adjustment, although it doesn’t impair vision even in the lowest setting. Up front the straps anchor directly to the lower shell, which leaves room between the straps and your head for sunglass arms. At the rear, the adjustable retention mechanism is reliable and simple to use, albeit a little cheap looking. The adjuster also sits reasonably low around the back of your head, so the Striker feels secure and doesn’t wobble around. The straps and buckles themselves are pretty standard fare, and work fine without being any more or less comfortable and convenient than most other helmets.

The rear of the Striker doesn’t cover as far down your head as the Flux or some other all-mountain helmets on the market, but it certainly does extend substantially beyond your typical XC lid. The integration of the rear ‘spoiler’ into the moulded shape certainly looks better than having it simply stuck on as per the older Flux, and this adds to the streamlined appearance when viewed from the side. Having said that, the Striker is quite a wide helmet, so from the front or rear it doesn’t look quite so sleek. Despite this external width, the combined thickness of the padding and shell makes the Striker narrower than you may think; so those with a round skull may find the fit a little tight on the sides.

Our main issue lay with the padding. It’s thicker than many other helmets, which means that it can absorb a lot more sweat. This is great for the first half an hour of a warm weather ride, but once the pads become saturated they act like a huge sweat reservoir, releasing streams of perspiration down your head and neck. You actually need to drain the pads by pressing the helmet against your head if you want any respite from this almost constant sweat drizzle. To compound things further, the forehead pad is barely 10cm wide, with large gaps between itself and side pads. This gap lets sweat drip straight down into your face. To prevent this, most other helmets have an uninterrupted brow pad that basically extends from ear to ear—a detail that seems to have eluded the Fox.

A number of helmet manufacturers now use silver ion or similar technology to reduce bacterial growth and the ensuing smell in helmet pads; not so for the Striker. Because they hold more sweat, the pads also take longer to dry than thinner ones. Obviously these concerns are greatly reduced in cooler weather; however with a better pad design, the excellent ventilation of the shell would make this a great helmet for year-round use.

So in the end the Striker doesn’t quite kick the goal that it promised; there’s a lot of potential with the outer shell design, the low weight, coverage and ventilation, but the padding really detracts from its overall appeal if you ride in warm weather. If Fox can rethink the internal padding and bring it up to the same standard as the outer shell, they’ll have an A-league Striker on their hands instead of just a club level one.

Monza Bicycle (03) 8327 8080 / www.foxhead.com