Nutcase Gen 2 Street Sport Helmet Review

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Nutcase produces cool helmets.** It’s really as simple as that: they’re safe, they’re well made, and they look way cooler than your riding buddies’ helmets.** Admittedly they’re a ‘street’ style helmet which isn’t the norm for mountain biking, but last summer when I was looking for something different, I picked up one of these flashy lids and I’ve been sporting it proudly ever since.

Nutcase Street Sport Helmet Features:

• Injection-molded ABS shell
• Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) protective inner foam for high impact protection
• 2 front intake vents
• 7 multiple top-mounted exhaust vents, and 2 rear exhaust vents
• Adjustable Spin Dial allows for perfect fit
• Three sets of removable low-density polyurethane foam insert liners for comfort & refined fit
• Anti-Pinch, Magnetic Buckle for easy, one-handed operation
• Reflective logos front, back & sides
• 1 Nutcase wrist band for letting your friends know that you “Love Your Brain”?!
• Rust proof rivets with Nutcase helmet guy logo
• Soft fabric chin strap for maximum comfort
• Certified CPSC for Bicycle Riding
• MSRP: $60

Nutcase Street Sport Helmet Review
Nutcase has excellent standards of production, and it shows in their products.** After a year of harsh conditions and as a few new scars and torn cartilage will attest, several crashes, my helmet is (functionally) as good as new.** The inside of the lid features ‘Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) protective inner foam for high impact protection,’ and I have to say that it has proved its mettle.** The helmet also features cushy polyurethane pads to keep one’s head comfortable.** Nutcase took the additional measure of including a total of three different sets of these pads to create a customized fit, which is a nice touch.
The helmet fits well on me; between the adjustable spin dial, highly adjustable chin strap, and the extra sets of foam pads, it’s easy to get a comfortable and secure fit.** The spin dial at the rear of the helmet works well for the most part, but I did notice that it has a substantial amount of creep.** It’s not something I notice while riding, but when I put it on for my next ride, I almost always notice that it needs to be adjusted.** On the whole the helmet fits a little larger than most.** I recommend trying one on before buying; I ended up getting a small-medium, whereas nearly every other helmet I’ve bought is a medium-large.



The Gen 2 Nutcase helmets all feature a magnetic buckle, which works like a charm.** It totally eliminates pinched skin, and it’s easier to unbuckle while wearing full-finger or slightly bulky gloves.** The Nutcase magnetic buckle is easy to use and works flawlessly, which makes it a really great feature of the helmet.** The chinstrap features a soft cushion to keep from chafing, but my cushion fell off after about six months of riding.** So it goes.




There’s only one notable flaw with this helmet, and that is ventilation.** Nutcase punched eleven vents into the ABS shell, but honestly, it’s just not enough for sweating up a mountain.** In that regard it’s a little nicer for winter riding (which we all got to do a lot of, thanks to the mild winter), but in the summer I sweat rivers.** Also, I should note that it’s a fair bit heavier than a decent MTB helmet, but that’s to be expected from a street-style helmet.
There are a lot of miscellaneous goodies as well – 360° visibility between the Nutcase logos on the shell and buckle, a free ‘I love my brain’ wristband, and lots of compliments on your flashy lid.** Frankly, one of the biggest selling points for these helmets is Nutcases’ awesome graphics, and in that regard they’re fairly unique in the market.
For my own part, I can personally attest how well this helmet protects the rider in crashes.** I took a big fall on some really hard Nevada clay, and my head slammed into the ground and I skidded for several feet.** While I was still skidding, I thought two things: A) Wow, this helmet totally saved my life, and B) I just had this bike tuned up and now the wheels will be out of alignment.



It was a really hard wreck and my head came out fine… less so for my other body parts.** From a safety aspect, I recommend this helmet without reservation.

Good Nutcase:

• Flashy, cool graphics
• Well-made
• Flawless magnetic buckle
• Reflective bits for safety
• Kept my brain safe in a hard wreck
• Free wristband!!!

Bad Nutcase:

• Cool graphics, but shows scratches more than traditional helmets
• Ventilates poorly
• Heavy

Bottom Line:** Nutcase Gen 2 Union Jack Street Sport Helmet
For mountain bikers, it’s a novelty purchase.** Although I enjoyed my time with the Nutcase, I have to admit I’ll be glad to go back to a real MTB helmet with good ventilation.** The helmet meets or exceeds all safety standards under the sun in the UK and US, and they have product lines especially for kids.** On the whole, Nutcase produces awesome lids that function great and look even better.

Buy Now: Visit NutcaseHelmets.com


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