# Specialized Tactic 4 helmet. Beautiful or Hideous?



## jrhone (May 23, 2011)

I have a Tactic 3 helmet. Its light, fits great has good ventilation. Nothing special. Its been a few years and I thought maybe I should look into upgrading. Something lighter. Maybe a tad more protection as im going faster these days. And I see the Tactic 4 is released. Great right? Well i look at it and it just looks so odd to me. Looks like 2 helmets smashed together. Lol. Is it just me or is this a fugly helmet?!


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Hideous. 
I fail to see the point of a helmet that comes that far down on your forehead that's open face, makes no sense. Same with wrapping around that far back behind and down your head. That just doesn't seem like a vulnerable area giving the mechanics of our anatomy. 

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## Haggis (Jan 21, 2004)

WHALENARD said:


> Hideous.
> I fail to see the point of a helmet that comes that far down on your forehead that's open face, makes no sense. Same with wrapping around that far back behind and down your head. That just doesn't seem like a vulnerable area giving the mechanics of our anatomy.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


Agree. An open face should perch on the top of your head like an undersized toupee. Makes no sense to protect bony parts of the skull.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Haggis said:


> Agree. An open face should perch on the top of your head like an undersized toupee. Makes no sense to protect bony parts of the skull.


I think it's a matter of diminishing returns. Givin the size of a rock or the Earth and the angles you're going to smack your head at what more percent coverage is realistically offered here? 

That's forgoing real world circumstances of smacking your head hard with a foam helmet to begin with. You will end up with a TBI regardless. 

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## Joe Handlebar (Apr 12, 2016)

I like it. Obviously on looks alone of course, but it would appear they finally ditched the low visor and put some vents under it...may be a really good idea. Great occipital protection and... on "less serious" note, it looks like it's made for GoPro for those who don't want a chesty. I would give it a shot for sure. Specialized skid lids have also been a good fit for my noggin' over the years, better than most Giro's have fit.


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## shadowsports (May 10, 2009)

If I went with a helmet like this, I prefer the fox speedframe


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## wishiwasbiking (Nov 10, 2019)

Hideous. Can’t stand the visor, looks oddly placed at the top of the helmet like that.


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## Clipless in PA (May 27, 2009)

Fugly


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## BlackPenquinn (Nov 7, 2014)

Yeah, I’m pretty sure the designed this with no data at all
It’s a helmet, not a hat. 

Why would an impact not be an issue for your whole forehead or the back of your skulL? Why does it make sense to arbitrarily raise the front on the helmet? If doesn’t affect your line of site and its likely similar to where the Proframe, Invader and Stage helmets. It’s pretty much designed to give you maximum protection up to the point of a chin guard. I think it makes perfect sense. I’m pretty sure the data supports the need.



WHALENARD said:


> Hideous.
> I fail to see the point of a helmet that comes that far down on your forehead that's open face, makes no sense. Same with wrapping around that far back behind and down your head. That just doesn't seem like a vulnerable area giving the mechanics of our anatomy.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

What data? 

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## BlackPenquinn (Nov 7, 2014)

The data the designers/engineers use to create things.
These are helmets, not hats. They are designed for a job and decisions are supported by more data than forum posts.

What data did you base your comments on?


WHALENARD said:


> What data?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

BlackPenquinn said:


> The data the designers/engineers use to create things.
> These are helmets, not hats. They are designed for a job and decisions are supported by more data than forum posts.


Oh, ok. 

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## BlackPenquinn (Nov 7, 2014)

WHALENARD said:


> Oh, ok.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


My guess is the design is the result of tests to see how close an open face helmet could get to giving the protection of a full face, without getting too heavy, or giving up airflow.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

BlackPenquinn said:


> My guess is the design is the result of tests to see how close an open face helmet could get to giving the protection of a full face, without getting too heavy, or giving up airflow.


My guess is marketing.

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## BlackPenquinn (Nov 7, 2014)

I’m guessing you dont work in marketing then.

It’s a common conspiracy on the forums, but in the real world marketing might be responsible for overhyping or mis-positioning a product, rarely in an engineer based company do they have major input into the mechanical design of a project.

Beyond cost cutting to hit a target cost





WHALENARD said:


> My guess is marketing.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## schnee (Oct 15, 2005)

The lines on it are all wrong. Way too much 'weight' on the visor.

I can't imagine it selling well.


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## dubthang (Apr 2, 2009)

It's designed to meet e-bike crash standards now. The fixed visor also features ports under it for sunglasses storage.


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## jrhone (May 23, 2011)

I know its designed for protection and it scores high on crash tests. But….that Pontiac Aztec has TONS of usable interior space right? Lol.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Sweet, a less effective visor. What will they think of next?


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## r-rocket (Jun 23, 2014)

That's not a visor. That's just a goggle/sunglass holder so you can hang around or ride around with your goggles/sunglasses up on your helmet, like some steampunk chic.


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## r-rocket (Jun 23, 2014)

The colors are a straight ripoff of Troy Lee Designs A2


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## ctxcrossx (Jan 13, 2004)

jrhone said:


> Is it just me or is this a fugly helmet?!


🤮


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## Haggis (Jan 21, 2004)

ctxcrossx said:


>


Yes, it’s just you. We adore it


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## Calsun (May 12, 2021)

The color scheme is not the greatest but the overall helmet is much like that of the Fox Racing Speedframe and Speedframe Pro helmets. I bought one of the Speedframe Pro helmets and it is the best fitting helmet I have used in the past 45 years. I have not crash tested it (yet) but in terms of comfort when riding it is terrific.


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## jrhone (May 23, 2011)

Calsun said:


> The color scheme is not the greatest but the overall helmet is much like that of the Fox Racing Speedframe and Speedframe Pro helmets. I bought one of the Speedframe Pro helmets and it is the best fitting helmet I have used in the past 45 years. I have not crash tested it (yet) but in terms of comfort when riding it is terrific.


I went to a bike shop after my ride yesterday and they had a speedframe. Its much nicer looking than this and I am a Spesh guy. I am seriously considering the Speedframe as my next helmet.


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## Impetus (Aug 10, 2014)

r-rocket said:


> That's not a visor. That's just a goggle/sunglass holder so you can hang around or ride around with your goggles/sunglasses up on your helmet, like some steampunk chic.


That Spesh lid is gonna take some getting used to aesthetically, but I'll beg to differ on the goggles thing.
Those "EnduroBros" are 100% on it.
I bought cheap pair of Fly Racing MX goggles for a stupid muddy enduro race, man... what a game changer. Comfy, no fog. I'm planning on wearing them all winter when it gets cold. 
Fortuitously, my aging Bell Super 3R has a visor that lifts up high and those goggles fit perfectly under. It's amazing, I just pop them up under the visor and never worry about dropping, scratching or losing my sunglasses when the helmet is off.

5 years ago knee pads and FF helmets were squarely in the "Hey dude, off to RedBull Rampage?!" mockery territory.
I have a suspicion that in 5 years goggles will be standard trail-riding gear like knee pads and light FF helmets are now.


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## Hibikealot (Oct 14, 2021)

Shape looks OK,not a fan of color scheme though so for that reason went from dope to nope!


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## racefit (Aug 26, 2010)

Impetus said:


> That Spesh lid is gonna take some getting used to aesthetically, but I'll beg to differ on the goggles thing.
> Those "EnduroBros" are 100% on it.
> I bought cheap pair of Fly Racing MX goggles for a stupid muddy enduro race, man... what a game changer. Comfy, no fog. I'm planning on wearing them all winter when it gets cold.
> Fortuitously, my aging Bell Super 3R has a visor that lifts up high and those goggles fit perfectly under. It's amazing, I just pop them up under the visor and never worry about dropping, scratching or losing my sunglasses when the helmet is off.
> ...


As someone who wears contacts I’ve been considering goggles. 

In the spring and sometimes in the summer as soon as I ride 50 feet into the woods my contacts are glued to my eyeballs. It’s a huge pain in the ass. Eventually I usually get it worked out but the first couple of miles can be a challenge. 

Also, my last two helmets haven’t jived that great with my glasses. So I started thinking goggles might solve both problems at once. I haven’t ordered any yet but may try soon. 

Based on a bunch of threads around here I think you’ll have a hard time keeping the fog away in the winter. 


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Goggles would be nice when it's windy in the dust. My biggest issue is I can't do contacts, and corrected inserts still kind of suck.


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## Impetus (Aug 10, 2014)

racefit said:


> As someone who wears contacts I’ve been considering goggles.
> 
> In the spring and sometimes in the summer as soon as I ride 50 feet into the woods my contacts are glued to my eyeballs. It’s a huge pain in the ass. Eventually I usually get it worked out but the first couple of miles can be a challenge.
> 
> ...


I also wear contacts. I've found the big windshield sunglasses to be a pretty decent alternative, but yeah, they gotta play well with your helmet, which may be tough.

As for fog, I live in PHX where there is very little humidity. I grew up here and in CO racing motocross, so goggles are not new to me. I had a "winter" pair that I removed some of the foam from the edges to improve ventilation.
the anti-fog paste called 'CatCrap" (I know, right?) works really well in my experience.


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## Enurjetik (Apr 24, 2007)

Is anyone able to report on the actual sizing of this helmet? Wide Open's review said that it fits large for the stated size measurements. No stores in my area have it in stock, so I'll have to order it without trying it on.


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## jrhone (May 23, 2011)

Have u done the sizing on the website? Specialized is usually pretty good about sizing.


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## Enurjetik (Apr 24, 2007)

I have, yeah. Wide Open said Specialized was off by a full size, and I wanted to see if others had a similar experience.


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## TermiLVR7 (May 17, 2017)

Can anyone confirm this is single density EPS?

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## makkot (Mar 10, 2017)

Despite all the comments I have read online, this helmet is (today) #1 in Virginia Tech safety test.
It's look is fine to me, very modern shape, not Duffy Duck style like most of the helmet on the market, fixed visor may sound weird, but i believe its a good choice. To me at least. I always use the high position, except with rain. But it happens so few times that i dont see a real problem. It offers a lot of attachment for gopro or helmet lighting, wich I use a lot.
It just miss the fidlock and it would be perfect to me, on the paper. The retention dial seems very smart inserted into the lid. I hate those bobbing wheels every helmet uses.
To me its a potential winner, im thinking about replacing my Fox Fluxx with a Tactic4 and I will try to report you back my impressions.


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## makkot (Mar 10, 2017)

so. first ride with Tactic 4 2022.
im not going to tell you that is an amazing helmet only because i bougth it : )


One ride is not enough, maybe, but i have clearly seen its plus and minus:

plus:
.feels like a motorcycle helmet, surrounding the head and not just only being on top of it
.very good retention system hidden in the mesh, no bobbling gears on the back
.visor is not adjustable but its very well fixed, so its possible to hang a gopro or night lights there, wich i prefere rather than in the middle of the helmet

minus:
.I sense it will be a very hot helmet in summer, i already felt its lack of ventilation yesterday at 4°c
.no fidlock but standard clip, a small one, not very smart for being used with gloves 
.heavy, its the heavier helmet i ever had (scott Taal, Rudy Project, Fox Fluxx) and it feels like limiting a bit the head movement, just slightly.


I wanted the most protective open helmet available, so i will deal with his downsides.


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