Bell’s new Super Air is the first trail helmet with Flex Spherical + MIPS technology. So rather than a thin plastic liner, the MIPS in Super Air is actually a thick piece of EPS. It still rotates 360 degrees and crucially will move 10-15mm during an impact event but it doesn’t impact on the sizing or the fit – in fact the Bell Super Air is easily the most comfortable half shell on test, and easily one of the best mountain bike helmets money can buy.

Bell’s retention device is also attached to the MIPS, so there’s no restriction of movement.

The Bell Super Air Spherical has its retention device attached to the MIPS, so there’s no restriction of movement

With 18 vents and four brow ports, air flow is excellent and if you do sweat there’s plenty of padding to soak it up, especially around the forehead. Like the Montaro II, the visor is fully adjustable and there’s plenty of room for stashing goggles. The difference here is this visor clips into the shell, there are no screws to come loose.

On the back of the helmet is a silicone gripper to hold the goggle strap and you also get an integrated breakaway camera mount included in the box. Unfortunately there’s no Fidlock SNAP buckle but the old-school clasp gets the job done.

Comfort, protection, style… the Bell Super Air Spherical has it all

For trail use the Super Air Spherical is comfortable, fits like a glove and offers a ton of protection via the dual-density closed cell foam construction. The best thing about this helmet though is you can attach an optional chin bar to the front, which is available for an additional £89.99.

It only comes in black but that would actually dovetail pretty nice with this Fasthouse colourway. In that sense, the Super Air Spherical is the most versatile half shell on test because it has a foot in both camps.

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