# Is the Smith Forefront a waste of money?



## westin (Nov 9, 2005)

Put price aside. Is the Smith Forefront as hot as half of the reviews say?

Sunglasses difficult to hold in place up top?
Ventilation or lack of?

The msrp is way crazy high which obviously would drive someone to another brand, MIPS or not. But if price was equal, say on sale, would you have gone with a Forefront, or is the real-world ventilation a deal breaker?


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## teelow (Sep 28, 2007)

I sweat a lot, and honestly don't notice much ventilation difference between my Forefront and my POC Trabec. My only complaint about the Forefront is that those honeycomb tube thingies mean I can't use the helmet mount for my light. I use my other helmet for night riding.

I bought it because I like my Smith ski helmet and wanted a MIPS bike helmet. Strangely (to me), I had three different people comment on it when I was riding at KT last summer.


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## mfa81 (Apr 1, 2011)

I like the fit a lot, also use smith ski helmets... Havent notice anything regarding ventilation, sometimes when it's too hot ai won't climb with my helmet on, but I used to do the same with my giro helmet!

The sunglass just don't work for me, I have an smith arena and I have a hard time trusting that to leave them up top!

To me it came down to 1) fit 2) wanted mips 3) not heavy 4) didn't have to pay retail price


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## Bicycle019 (Jan 23, 2004)

It is hot, as is the POC Trabec that user teelow mentioned. Try any of the decent road helmets on the market to see what a well ventilated helmet feels like. It was a deal breaker for me. I do like my Smith Vantage ski helmet, so it's not any anti-Smith bias on my part.

I've got a few months of use on a new Giro Montaro MIPS, so far it's better than the POC Trabec or Smith Forefront as far as venting is concerned. Not as good as the Giro Aeon I wear on the road, but it's manageable. Fits a bit tighter than the last 5 Giro helmets I've had so beware of that if you use any head coverage under your helmet in cooler weather.


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## westin (Nov 9, 2005)

Thanks for putting it in a comparison. I road ride with an Atmos which fits so perfect and I feel is super ventilated. I grab it for summer and lots of climbing. For the colder months I'll wear a Giro Pneumo with visor off. Giro has a Fathom that is a Atmos with Pneumo-like visor that is on closeout due to not being very popular.

But none of the above give as much coverage as the half-shell lids for obvious reasons or have a large visor that goes way up. Guess you can't have it all. It's just part of the needs vs wants, but at least the Forefront isn't an oven like I originally thought.



Bicycle019 said:


> It is hot, as is the POC Trabec that user teelow mentioned. Try any of the decent road helmets on the market to see what a well ventilated helmet feels like. It was a deal breaker for me. I do like my Smith Vantage ski helmet, so it's not any anti-Smith bias on my part.
> 
> I've got a few months of use on a new Giro Montaro MIPS, so far it's better than the POC Trabec or Smith Forefront as far as venting is concerned. Not as good as the Giro Aeon I wear on the road, but it's manageable. Fits a bit tighter than the last 5 Giro helmets I've had so beware of that if you use any head coverage under your helmet in cooler weather.


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## hardboiled (Jun 10, 2006)

I have a Forefront. I'd say it is as cool or cooler than the other extended coverage helmets I've owned -- TLD A1, a couple 661 Recons, older Fox Flux. I hit the pavement on my road bike and my head hit the ground (just a glancing blow thankfully) and there is absolutely no way you would know from looking at the helmet. no scratches or dents in the plastic shell, and the "straws" all look fine too. I'm going to replace it just because (I usually replace my helmets every two years regardless), but I'm curious enough that I might send it back to Smith for them to examine to see whether there was any damage, because it sure doesn't look like it. compared to all of my previous helmets, which have scratches, dings and dents all over them (mostly from tree branches), it looks pristine. one of the things that got me interested in the forefront was the possibility of multi-impact protection, which I think they kinda suggested when the helmet was released, but it wasn't tested to that standard so it wasn't an official feature. anyway, just some more anecdotal feedback.


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## Procter (Feb 3, 2012)

It's a tad hot, but not intolerably hot (I ride Norcal). 

I bought it primarily for the claim that it does better with softer hits. I went through a series of minor head hits, one resulting in a minor concussion, and felt that a traditional poly helmet isn't designed to crush at those speeds. 

If their advertising is correct about it being better with these types of impacts, its worth the additional heat to me.


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## Sim (Jul 5, 2010)

I bought one entirely due to fit. I have owned most of the major brands and the Forefront fits me better than any other helmet I have owned. I was using a Giro Xar and the Forefront is slightly warmer. There seems to be a lot of discounts on the Forefront now. I have had several positive comments too.


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