A solid mountain bike helmet with MIPS Evolve, lots of ventilation, lightweight construction, and a comfortable fit.
Top Pick – Best Mountain Bike Helmets Under $100
Manufacturer and Model: Wildhorn Corvair Pro MIPS
List Price: $119
Available from: Wildhorn
Overall Score
Summary
The Wildhorn Corvair Pro is a great helmet for mountain biking or any other biking on the street or path. It has a very comfortable fit with lots of adjustments, lots of ventilation and MIPS evolve for safety. It does all this with lightweight, high quality construction. It is a great value for the price and one of the best $100 budget bike helmets available.
What we liked:
- High quality light weight construction
- MIPS Evolve safety liner
- Comfortable fit with lots of adjustability
- Available in many colors
- Visor that tilts
- Lots of ventilation
What we didn’t like:
- There really isn’t anything that stands out to dislike about this helmet.
Specifications
- Construction – In-Mold with 2 piece Polycarbonate Shell
- MIPS – Yes
- Vents – 17 lbs
- Weight – 11.8 oz as tested (size Large)
Wildhorn Corvair Pro MIPS Review and Test
We have been impressed by the gear coming out of Wildhorn Outfitters. Their designers seem to get what the users of their gear really want. They don’t have any features that leave us scratching our heads wondering why they did that. The Corvair Pro is their latest mountain bike helmet. It is available as the Corvair or the Corvair Pro model which adds MIPS Evolve. We picked up a Corvair Pro to try it out.
The Corvair Pro has every feature you need in a good mountain biking helmet without throwing many extras in. It is available in 2 sizes and a bunch of different color options.
1 – Price and Warranty
The Corvair Pro retails for $119 and is available directly from Wildhorn Outfitters. They sell the regular version of the Corvair without MIPS on Amazon. The Pro MIPS version is not currently on Amazon.
The Corvair Pro can also be bought as a combo with their Radke Sunglasses for $179.
Wildhorn has a 1 year warranty on all of its products.
2 – Construction (8.5/10)
The Corvair Pro has a 2 piece polycarbonate shell. It uses in-mold construction for the EPS foam liner. It has a MIPS liner on the inside. It has an adjustable visor that can flip up. The construction looks very clean and high quality. There is no mold flash and the joint between the shell pieces is very clean with a tight fit and finish.
3 – Safety Features (8.0/10)
The Corvair Pro MIPS is CPSC and EN 1203 certified.It uses an EPS foam liner for energy absorbtion. On the inside, it has MIPS Evolve which has a lower friction layer that allows the helmet shell to rotate more easily. This improves upon the safety of the original MIPS system. I only ride helmets with MIPS and don’t recommend buying the cheaper non-MIPS helmet. I have had a couple of close encounters with trees while mountain biking. The helmet is not the place to skimp when you are trying to save money.
4 – Comfort (9.0/10)
The Corsair Pro has an anti-microbial foam lining. It is thick enough to feel good without feeling overly bulky. The size adjuster has enough range to make the helmet feel secure. The side straps on the helmet have flip open buckles so you can adjust the size of the ear opening for a better fit. I haven’t seen any other helmets in this price range that have this easy to adjust ear part. They also include a few extra foam pads that you can add to the helmet to make it more snug.
5 – Ventilation (9.0/10)
The helmet has 17 large vents on it that keep your head cool on the trail. I felt the helmet had enough ventilation on it for riding trails with a decent amount of climbing. The channels in the EPS foam also help circulate air inside of the helmet over your head.
6 – Weight (9.0/10)
Our size large test helmet weighed in at 11.8 oz. This is one of the lighter MIPS helmets we have tested. It was slightly lighter than the similar sized Smith Engage.
Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?
The Wildhorn Corvair Pro is comfortable to wear while riding with a good customizable fit. It has lots of ventilation to keep your head cool while climbing. It has MIPS Evolve to make it more safe. I recommend the Corvair Pro to anyone looking for a mountain bike helmet for trail riding.
See Best Deals!
You might also like:
- The Best Mountain Bikes Under $600 Helpful Guide
- The Best Ebikes For Big Guys Helpful Guide
- The Best Electric Bikes Under $2000 Of 2023 Helpful Guide
Doug Ryan
Co-Founder & Chief Editor
I grew up back east in Pennsylvania and learned to ski on a family trip to Killington, Vermont when I was 6. I immediately fell in love with the mountains and outdoors and have been skiing across the US and Canada ever since. I went to school for Mechanical Engineering, and have a Master’s Degree in Material Science and Reliability.
I am a total gear nerd and love learning how things work and thinking about how they could be improved. Nothing excites me more than trying out new gear. I’d rather spend 3 hours taking my bike apart and learning how to change something than go to a bike shop. These days I reside in Michigan by the Great Lakes and go skiing, biking, and boating as much as possible.
doug@adventuregearinsider.com
