Review: Bluegrass Golden Eyes HES Helmet

Published: 28th May 2014 | By fyldesmurf

Bluegrass have jumped on the Enduro bandwagon and have released their first ever all-mountain helmet, the Golden Eyes. It is priced at just a shade under the MET Parabellum we tested recently, but is still competing with the very best in the market. Whilst it may be brave for Bluegrass to jump in at the deep end like this, they do have plenty of experience making some of the most boutique helmets in the Downhill market, it’s time to see how that translates across disciplines.

First Impressions

Just a quick glance at the helmet can tell you it’s well designed. The stealthy styling is very on trend with the helmet extending way down at the back to provide lots of skull coverage. The visor, often a weak point on trail helmets, is sturdily fastened and well integrated into the design.

The Golden Eyes may lack the number of vents its competitors have, but they are large, and cooling is far more about air flows than simply how many holes you can put in a lid.

Features

The first thing to do when looking at a helmet is forget all the gimmicks and add-ons and question how well it will protect your head. This is essential in an Enduro helmet, which has to fulfil a difficult mission - to provide protection for riders travelling as fast as downhillers without the thickness and bulkiness of a full face helmet.

The Golden Eyes promises to do this very well. It uses a Homothetic shell construction, which allows two shells to be embedded together, creating a lighter helmet which spreads the shock of an impact over a greater area. The helmet was also virtually impact tested before it was made to create the very best design for protection.

So, on to other features. Fitting the helmet is a dream. The Gravity Occipital Lock system is brilliant for adjusting both vertical and lateral size, it really is as easy as twisting the disk. The straps are also adjustable, so finding a good, secure fit was simple.

The padding inside is all about wicking sweat away as soon as possible to keep your head cool and fresh. All the pads are anti-allergenic and wicking. The front pad is made from anti-bacterial gel, it helps to keep sweat out of your eyes and, we found, added a bonus level of comfort, ensuring the helmet sits nicely on your forehead.

Other added features include, a goggle strap at the back of the helmet, for those who want the full Enduro look, and a removable platform for mounting lights or a headcam. There are also reflective stickers for night riding.

The helmet also promises tool free visor adjustment, but we struggled to get this to work without the assistance of an alan key.

On the Trail

The Golden Eyes was an absolute pleasure to ride. The primary reason for this was its lightness, provided by the homothetic design, it may sound like a cliché, but you do really forget you’re wearing it. Until you’ve ridden a helmet this light it’s difficult to describe what a difference it makes, keeping your head steady and eyes focused on the trail is much easier, giving you the confidence to really pin it.

The venting also works really well, the dreaded itchy scalp was kept at bay for entire days of Enduro riding.

The fit remained as good as it did on the first impression. The Gravity Optical locking system has not put a foot wrong and is even easy to loosen and tighten while on the move. The straps are comfortable and the plastic adjusters simple to use with gloves on.

The only drawback we found with this helmet was when we tried to ride it with goggles (apparently that looks cool now!). The goggle strap at the back of the helmet was a nice touch but it started to come loose towards the end of the test. Furthermore, when the helmet was used with goggles it had to be pushed up higher on your forehead top make way for them, meaning the back of the helmet digs into the back of your head. This was only a minor annoyance when descending, but you would expect better from a premium helmet.

Conclusion

If you want a boutique, all day, Enduro helmet then then you won’t go too far wrong with the Golden Eyes. It is perfectly vented, super comfortable and lightweight and on top of that its understated looks will have you turning heads on the trails.

Keep your Golden Eyes on the prize with Bluegrass’ highly successful debut in the Enduro helmet market.

Gallery

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A reverse view of the Gravity Optical Lock.

With the free Go-Pro mount.

The high quality straps.

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