Klim F4 Helmet

Customer Reviews

A helmet for all seasons Review by Steve Goddard

Overall rating

A helmet for all seasons

Having now owned a Klim F4 for a year and used it in a professional capacity for almost 50 weeks as well pleasure, exploring and occasional competition use I feel well qualified that I have appraised the helmet under the most varied conditions that an all round off road rider could encounter.
Why choose an F4? Well from my point of view I needed a helmet that could make my summer riding more comfortable, our base is in the Jaen region of Spain at almost 900 metres above sea level which means in summer we can experience temperature in the high 40’s and in winter in can dip to freezing (or below if we go higher) and contrary to popular belief it can rain in Spain and it doesn’t all stay “on the plain”. These extremes require a specialist piece of kit and on paper the F4 was the only helmet that ticked all the boxes, having been a user of the Klim pants, shirts and gloves I am well aware of the comfort, quality and durability these will take on a daily basis, I expected no less from their helmet. In my job I can often cover over 700Km’s in a week off-road this has highlighted comfit shortcomings in some of the other brands I’ve tried after just a few short hours, the most noticeable and personally annoying trait is a tendency for the helmet to slip forward slightly and therefore press the goggles onto the bridge of your nose. To date the F4 has remained as comfortable and well fitting as day one and allows a sufficient clearance for the Scott and Progrip goggles I have worn so far.
The main plus for giving the F4 a try was the cooling vents because when picking your way up a dry river bed in summer any air passing through is going to be a massive cooling aid. So on the hottest conditions this helmet cannot be beaten, but what about on cold wet outings, well unfortunately there were a several days last winter that tested this aspect of the helmet construction to the full. If unprepared for adverse weather the Windstopper liner could be secured into place in about 30 seconds by means of four pop stud locators, as usual the Klim design was well thought out and works simply and efficiently. The addition of this liner transforms a well vented shell into a fully weatherproof and thermally efficient unit as well as adding a level of noise reduction (see below).
So if the plus points are; a stylish light weight helmet which is as cool as it’s going to get in hot conditions, as weatherproof as a normal helmet in the wet, high build quality utilising the robust materials and fittings, then what are the short comings?
Two things became apparent during my year with the F4; when using it at high speed cruising on my BMW Adventure the vent system creates a lot of wind noise, well it could be argued that the F4 is not designed as a road helmet and that is true. But I found two solutions to these problems as there were times that the journey dictated the need to use the F4, solution 1 was to reinstate the Windstopper liner and face guard on cold days, solution 2 was simply to wear ear plugs on warmer days and benefit from a cooler head. The second minor problem is caused by the vent position and shape of the helmet design which is not conducive to the mounting of helmet lights or cameras. Unfortunately this was discovered whilst riding at the Dawn to Dusk event, regardless of exceptional quality of the helmet light I used the correct beam angle could not be achieved due the obstructions around the helmet shell. Doubtless a mounting solution for cameras or lights could be purchased or fabricated so this is a minor gripe with an otherwise flawless helmet. Included with the helmet came a liner, face guard (wind shield), spare peak, spare fasteners and quality zip up helmet bag.
Would I recommend the F4 to a friend or client? Yes I often do as the question “is it any good” often gets asked, it does what it’s designed to do very well, what more can you say!

Steve Goddard (Touratrail).
(Posted on 16/11/2011)