Bell first released details about the Super DH, their flagship helmet, in August of 2017. They did so in grand style, sending cuttie master Bryn Atkinson up to the Top of the World in Whistler Bike Park to capture him getting rowdy on his Norco Range.

Bryn Atkinson at the Top of the World, shot by Brian Chapel

That was right before I cut my dreads off, after which I knew I’d need some new helmets to fit my now smaller head. The details of the Super DH immediately piqued my interest, and not because of its whopping 11 trademarked features. No, it wasn’t the GoggleGuide or the breakaway camera mount that made me hold off on buying a more traditional helmet; it was the Super’s vastly improved safety features, particularly a new generation of MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) dubbed MIPS Spherical.

With the exception of 6D’s line-up, bicycle helmet design has been fairly stagnant for decades. None have offered any really major advancements in protection and crash mitigation. MIPS was a good start - it allows helmets to handle a certain type of crash better - but there has been lots of room for improvement.

The trails that I like to ride are essentially downhill trails, some of them with high consequence moves. I set my sights on tracking down a Super DH I could test out, and was able to get my hands on one in October of 2017.

Super Duper

The Super DH is the successor to Bell’s Super 3R. That helmet sought to capitalize on the “enduro” craze by offering a halfshell to which you could affix a chinbar. It was one of the first to do so, and while it was a good go, it had its issues. A lot of people did not like the fit, and the chin-bar itself was not as substantial as it could have been given the intended use.

With the new Super, Bell has added a “DH” acronym. This is because the helmet complies with ASTM downhill certifications, whereas the 3R did not. I don’t know for certain whether MIPS Spherical had anything to do with satisfying the more stringent safety certification requirements, but it is what sold me on the DH model.

MIPS Spherical

The current MIPS uses a plastic slip plane inside the outer Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam layer to allow the helmet to rotate around your head. MIPS Spherical replaces that slip plane with a secondary, inner foam layer, which you can see above. This is suspended inside the outer foam shell by the same little yellow elastic bands that you could see in the first MIPS. It is actually a different type of foam, Expanded Polypropylene (EPP), which is softer than EPS.

Why are they different types of foam? Well, I’m not a physicist, but a large part of how a helmet protects your head is by slowing down impacts in the same way the crumple zone of your car helps to protect you in case of accident. By using differing densities of foam throughout the helmet, which they call “Progressive Layering,” Bell is better able to moderate direct impacts. The MIPS slip layer comes into play during glancing impacts, where your head is impacting at an angle.

Like I said, other than 6D’s line of helmets which have a similar, two-layer design, this is the first helmet I’ve seen that goes above and beyond the norm to offer better protection.

Feature-laden

Safety is was what brought me to this helmet, but that's not all it’s got going for it. Bell learned a lot from the Super 3R, and with the Super DH have brought in a ton of refinement.

I mentioned the sometimes uncomfortable fit of the previous Super. With the DH, that is gone. I find the fit of this helmet to be super comfortable, and everyone I’ve had try it on says it fits extremely well.

The Bell Super DH - An exceptional MTB Helmet

A number of those trademarked features I jokingly referred to earlier really do add value and performance to this helmet. The Fidlock buckle uses a magnet to pull chin-strap’s clip together. This is attached to the “No-Twist Triglide” straps, which are super thin, super light, and really hard to tangle up. They also eliminate all but one adjustment buckle: the one incorporated into the Fidlock. I imagine most of us have struggled to adjust straps before; with the new Super that is a thing of the past.

This is a very cool helmet (literally), employing 19 vents and Bell’s “Overbrow Ventilation” to move air through and around the helmet. Not only that, but for you heavy sweaters out there, Bell has introduced what they call their “Sweat Guide” padding. This pulls sweat away from your head and out to the end, so instead of dripping down on to your forehead, it’ll drip off the end of this pad. Those same pads are made of Bell’s X-Static and XT-2 padding, which in my very wet winter riding experiences has never failed to dry overnight, and has yet to start smelling.

Look good, feel good, ride good!

If you haven’t gathered by now, I have been extremely happy with this helmet. I’ve been recommending it to all my friends, and I’m happy to recommend it to you to. Please let me know if you have any questions about it!

- Dan at Fanatik. Action photo by Brian Chapel, studio photos by Dan Perl.