Spotted at Sea Otter: Six Six One Evo AM Helmet
If you’ve ridden mountain bikes for a few years, you’ve probably noticed something about helmets. Not all of them fit all heads. So it’s never a bad thing when another high quality helmet is brought into the mix of safety gear for our most important body part. Six Six One has been making helmets for over 10 years, and they understand that today’s riders are pushing the limits with regards to their personal safety. Driven on by technological advancements in suspension, controls, drive-train, materials and components, riders are riding more technical trails at faster speeds than ever before. The risks are great, to say the least.
They wanted to create a helmet that is light, form fitting and well ventilated for long days, and at the same time provide enhanced protection for high speed descents in highly demanding, radical terrain.
Enter the Evo AM (All-mountain? They wouldn’t say.) It’s the culmination of 3 years of research, design, and feedback from top riders. Six Six One takes one variable very seriously, and that’s the look of the helmet. They know that riders won’t wear something, and thereby will not protect them because it’s sitting on the shelf, and so they designed the helmet to look cool. You can decide on that one. It certainly attracted a crowd at Sea Otter. But looks are just the beginning.
Keeping your noggin safe is the most important factor of any helmet, and Six Six One moved forward with two new technologies they firmly believe in, to help with protection. Contigo Foam and the MIPS system. According to Six Six One, “Contigo Foam is similar to traditional PS foam, but with far superior impact absorption characteristics. In laboratory testing, Contigo has been shown to decrease the energy transmitted during an impact by as much as 35%.”
MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) is a hot topic right now with helmet designers and manufacturers. Only time will tell on that subject. But Six Six One is all in, with riders in mind. The idea is basically this. When you fall, and your head is twisting (“strains caused by rotational acceleration”), it’s an angular impact. MIPS is a system that helps to relieve that strain by placing an extremely low friction (i.e. slippery) liner in the helmet, in hopes of easing the twisting forces.
Does it all work? Really, we hope we never have to find out, but it’s certainly nice to know that some really smart people are out there working on technology to keep us safe. Regardless, the new Six Six One is a promising helmet, and yet one more option for aggressive riders looking for a different look.
A few other features of the helmet that did cause us to give it a second look are the BOA fit system, and the buckle system on the chinstrap. Or, the lack of a buckle. The Fidlock Magnetic Closure allows for one-handed attachment and release of the buckle strap. It’s different that what you’re used to, for sure, but very cool. And easy to get the hang of.
The BOA FS360 offers a great deal of fit and customization, thereby keeping the helmet snug on your head. Easy to adjust, by small increments, should please a lot of people.
The Evo AM should be available in June, with a price “to be determined”. If the pricing strategy of Six Six One in the past is any indication, it should be a deal. We’ll keep an eye out for it.
Words, Photos: Daniel Dunn
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