Shark Evo One helmet review
I have a funny-shaped head. My guess is that many of us probably do, and my rudimentary research tells me that different lid manufacturers embrace certain shapes, which might make one of us a ‘Shoei head’ for example. Well I can now confirm that I have a Shark head. Changing to something new on the eve of a 5,000 mile jaunt around Central Asia was always going to have a bit of risk attached, but rarely have I ever slipped any clothing on and found it as instantly comfortable as this Shark Evo One.
For riding in Central Asia I tend to favour a flip front, and I’ve often found these to be top and front-heavy when riding ‘visor-up’. Not so with this ingenious design from the French company Shark, that allows the chin bar to flip 180 degrees and sit behind the skull when the visor is open. This all locks in place and the helmet is fully homologated to be used in either open or ‘full-face’ guise. I also liked the fact that when opening or closing the flip mechanism the (Pinlock-ready) visor itself comes up and down, though you can choose to ride with the chin-bar up and the visor down.
There’s also an internal sun visor and the mechanism to raise and lower this is on the crown of the helmet and is very straightforward to use even though I’m often a sunglasses wearer at high altitude.
It’s a quiet lid when you’re going at a decent lick, and although with all that clever mechanism inside it’s not the lightest on the market, you really can’t feel those extra few grammes. In fact, it is marginally lighter than my beloved Neotec.
The Evo One also has deep insert pads for earpieces and hides a microphone wire very well, plus there are cut-outs to allow glasses to be worn comfortably without the legs digging into your temples. Finally, the ratchet mechanism on the strap couldn’t be easier to use.
Sounds all perfect, but I do have some gripes.
The visor with the Pinlock attached, still permits a fair amount of dust into the lens and the same goes with water. I tried several times to eliminate the issue but couldn’t manage it. If riding in consistently wet conditions this might become an issue, but my test didn’t present such a situation. Ventilation onto the visor is good, however.
Another tiny negative would be that the lid really isn’t operable with one hand, meaning you should really stop to open the whole front. For adventure riding and in places where you might need to open the lid at checkpoints, to say hello to hundreds of smiling people, and for photo opportunities at every corner – like in Tajikistan – well, that can be annoying.
But these are really minor growls against an otherwise excellent lid. For the price it is a far better product than many others out there. All in all, I have to say that I’m now a confirmed ‘Shark head’. 9.5/10
Review by Marley Burns of Edge Expeditions
Sized XS – XL using two shell sizes.
RRP £330.00
shark-helmets.com / nevis.uk.com