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Edelrid The Shield
By Sarah Hughes (02/05/2008)
Summary: A value-for-money comfortable multi-sport helmet, but not as light as the popular Kong Scarab and not as well ventilated
Price: £54.99
Value:
Performance:
A value-for-money alternative to other multi-sport helmets
Lighter than a normal climbing helmet
Easy to use and comfortable to wear for long periods
Edelrid is a German company specialising in a range of climbing equipment for both recreational and industrial use. The Shield is one of their range of helmets – the only one certified for both climbing and biking, and also the lightest in their range. At 330g it's lighter than their so-called Ultralight at 410g!
However, this doesn't compare so favourably to the adventure racers favourite multi-sport helmet, the Kong Scarab which weighs in at 245g, or the Salewa Krypton at 250g. The Shield also has less ventilation than the Scarab and is only certified for 2 sports, lacking the horse-riding and kayaking certifications that both the Krypton and the Scarab boast.
Where the Edelrid helmet really wins, though, is on price. The Scarab has often been said to be a touch on the pricey side. At £95, it's really only viable for committed adventure racers who do enough long races that they can justify the cost. (The Krypton is much harder to find but is selling for £80 at Windermere Canoe and Kayak.) The Shield, however, is available from £39, making it a much more realistic proposition. Prices vary enormously though, so make sure you shop around.
In use, The Shield is a comfortable helmet, fully size-adjustable and easy to use with gloves on. The chin-strap is not so effective – it's similarly easy to adjust, but the sliding clips that enable this have rough edges on the sides that touch your face so I've tended to have the chin-strap slightly looser to avoid these rough edges scratching my face. It hasn't been a problem, however, because the chin-strap isn't needed to keep the helmet on, even for my larger-than-average head. I've worn the helmet on 8hr+ bike rides and it's been comfortable throughout.
The head-torch clips on the helmet are also very effective. They hold the torch in just the right place, and the helmet fits well enough that the weight of the torch doesn't unbalance the helmet. This makes it much easier to use than a standard bike helmet in any race with a night-time stage, and I've been choosing to wear this helmet over my bike helmet even when there's no rope-work involved, just so that my torch will be comfortable.
