As a brief introduction at the start of the review, I received the Nishua Enduro Carbon helmet in 2019 through a collaboration with startersmotor.nl, provided by Louis for review purposes. I tested the helmet in collaboration with startersmotor and wrote a review. For this 2022 review, I decided to largely rewrite everything and focus more on its usage over the past years.
Multifunctional helmet
Louis sells the Nishua Enduro Carbon helmet as a versatile option. Thanks to its simple conversion, you can switch between an enduro, cross, and streetfighter look. You could also call it an all-round adventure helmet, as the distinction between an enduro and adventure helmet is somewhat ambiguous. Given that the Nishua Enduro Carbon lacks luxury bonuses compared to the Enduro GT, Louis categorizes it as an enduro helmet. While this style of helmets has been around for some time, the Nishua Enduro Carbon offers a unique twist.
My previous helmet was an Icon Variant, which offers a similar appearance and can provide a good comparison. Icon was a pioneer in bringing enduro-style helmets to sports and street motorcycles, and was initially a favorite among many international motorcyclists on YouTube. The Variant I had for years was limited to one style, whereas the Nishua Enduro Carbon gives complete freedom to the wearer. Whether you want to ride without a visor to accommodate goggles, no problem. Want to ride without a sun visor? Just remove two screws, and it’s off. This versatility sets the Nishua apart from the rest.
Construction, fabrics and materials
The helmet weighs very little thanks to its Carbon outer shell; even with the sun visor and the visor, the weight is only 1150 grams. This was something that immediately caught my attention when I took the helmet out of the box. Despite its light weight, the Nishua Enduro Carbon feels sturdy and stable, providing a pleasant and secure feeling, even after 3 years of regular use, regardless of the weather conditions. Over the years, I’ve occasionally tightened and loosened the helmet shield screws, and they seem to withstand this wear better than the Icon Variant helmet shield screws did. Naturally, we switch the visor between winter and summer. Additionally, I sometimes ride with goggles instead of the visor, and when test riding some faster bikes, I opt for the streetfighter look by removing the sun visor. In addition to the Enduro Carbon, Louis also offers a variant without carbon, the Nishua Enduro GT helmet. This one costs less but naturally weighs more and does not come with a Pinlock visor as standard. The Nishua Enduro GT is more of an adventure-styled helmet, with the advantage of having a built-in sun visor.
Wearing the Enduro Carbon, there are a few things I appreciate. The fit of the inner lining was initially tight, but after wearing it a few times, it became comfortable. After 3 years, the lining has stretched a bit, but the helmet still fits snugly on the head without too much free movement. And if needed, you can always order a new inner lining. The inner lining provides ample space around the ears for Bluetooth headset speakers, as everyone rides with an intercom nowadays. There’s also enough space for glasses; putting them on and wearing them is hardly noticeable. I’ve worn helmets where it felt like the helmet was bending the glasses’ temples, which is less than ideal. The inner lining itself is made of COOLMAX and is anti-allergic and climate-regulating. However, it’s not entirely without a drawback. The bottom/outer layer of the inner lining, which comes into contact with the outside world at the neck, is starting to peel off after 3 years and 40,000 km. It’s the same kind of peeling you see with computer headsets, which may have been expected. If it wears out too much, we’ll order a new set of inner lining or, considering the age of the helmet, a new helmet.
Ventilation and Visibility
To be considered acceptable as an enduro straight out of the box, the Enduro Carbon must have enough ventilation for true off-road use. While off-roading, it may be necessary to remove your visor and use enduro goggles. And for serious enduro riding, a professional enduro helmet is preferred. But for smaller/lighter off-road sections, the Enduro Carbon offers sufficient ventilation, even with the visor closed. The ventilation grille at the chin is large and provides a nice flow of fresh air. It cannot be closed, so wearing a motorcycle scarf or balaclava in colder seasons is necessary. The top ventilation of the helmet can be opened and closed depending on the weather. Besides good helmet ventilation, good visibility is also important, and the Nishua Enduro Carbon provides this thanks to its fairly large visor area. When wearing enduro goggles, it’s noticeable that there is still space around, for a bit of extra ventilation.
The clear visor that comes standard with the Enduro Carbon provides an undisturbed view, but is not ideal for summer, of course. Personally, I ordered the dark visor from Louis. During the day and on summer evenings, this visor provides good sun blocking, unless you look directly into it, without darkening your entire field of vision. However, it is indeed so dark that if you have to ride home at night or in the dark, your visibility is limited, and you often ride with the visor open. The disadvantage of having 2 visors versus a built-in sun visor like the Enduro GT helmet has.
What is a must for most helmets is a good Pinlock, which is included as standard with the Enduro Carbon. The normal visor, especially in colder months, tends to fog up quickly, but the visor cannot be opened slightly, which I see as a disadvantage of the helmet. The smallest opening position is immediately a good centimeter or so, which creates turbulence and noise in the helmet. Many other helmets have a kind of mini position where the visor can be opened slightly, which helps prevent fogging. Why this is missing may be because they thought the larger ventilation at the chin would be sufficient? The included Pinlock inner visor solves the problem fortunately and is fairly easy to install. Pinlock should be seen as a kind of double glazing, making it impossible to fog up, if installed correctly.
I ride all year round, and as the dark winter months approach, I replace the dark visor with a clear one. It is possible to buy a second Pinlock for your second visor… or stubbornly change the Pinlock twice a year between both visors. The standard Pinlock holds up quite well so far, there is a small tear on the edge where it clicks in, but nothing that affects its use or functionality. In principle, you could mount the Pinlock without removing the visor, but considering how easily the visor comes off, I would go for the easier route. After all this use, a second downside has emerged, after much switching and use of the dark visor, it has slightly deformed. You don’t notice this during use, but the visor no longer fits perfectly against the edge of the helmet when fully closed. Fortunately, this doesn’t cause turbulent air or noise problems, until somewhere above 180 km/h, partly because the visor itself then vibrates. This is also wear and tear due to use and age.
How does the helmet hold up after 3 years?
The Nishua Enduro Carbon comes with a multitude of features and options. Most of them have already been discussed, but how do they perform in daily use after 3 years? With the dark visor, the helmet not only has a neat finish but also a sleek look. Of course, all-black would be too plain. Since the sun visor is easy to remove and riding without it poses no problem, we spray-painted it in Yamaha Blue. Even the small spoiler at the back of the helmet, where the ventilation ports are located, was easy to repaint. Not only does the Nishua stand out more this way, but it also complements my own bike better, and it’s almost imperceptible that the helmet wasn’t delivered like this standardly. Adjusting the sun visor between the 2 positions can also be done while riding; the screw is easily accessible and doesn’t require much force to loosen. However, once it’s properly adjusted, you’ll hardly ever change it again.
At higher speeds, the wind pulling on the sun visor is quite manageable, thanks partly to the specially shaped air vents. Especially on my bike, I never had any issues with this. With various supersports and naked bikes, I often removed the sun visor during test rides because you can feel its presence from a speed of around 150, especially during a shoulder check. In that regard, I have little to complain about in terms of aerodynamics.
The Nishua Enduro Carbon comes with a titanium double-D closure, which is often seen as the safest closure for motorcycle helmets. Certainly safer than a (plastic) ratchet, and there are circuits where a double-D closure is mandatory. After a few uses, it becomes a relatively simple system, and many riders can use it with one hand. One small drawback of the Enduro Carbon’s double-D closure is that the strap is quite long, actually too long. It could have easily been shortened by 4 to 5 cm without restricting its use. The frequent opening and closing of the double-D closure don’t seem to have left any signs of wear on it yet. The strap itself is still tidy, the titanium D-rings still look new, and the snap button still clicks confidently into place.
All in all, the Nishua Enduro Carbon comes with a plethora of features on the market:
- Visor with Pinlock anti-fog inner visor
- Carbon material and appearance, lightweight
- Available in 2 helmet shell sizes for every rider; XS-M and L-XL
- A Titanium double-D closure, lightweight and durable
- Lightweight; approx. 1040 g to 1150 g (including visor and sun visor)
- Anti-allergic, climate-regulating Coolmax inner lining.
- Integrated eyeglass channel
- Inner lining is fully removable and washable.
- Compatible with various Bluetooth headsets.
- Included in delivery; wind deflector, spare helmet shield screw for the top of the helmet, spare helmet shield screws for sides, and side covers for use without helmet-shield (I’ve never used these)
- ECE 22.05 certifications.
Daily use during the winter months
As someone who rides year-round, my motorcycle gear needs to be suitable for winter weather and unexpected rain showers. Fortunately, extremely cold weather isn’t very common, and I often have the luxury of using a car. However, I’ve frequently used the Nishua helmet in temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. I prefer taking the motorcycle over scraping ice off the car windows, so I have experience with colder days. To be fair, the Nishua Enduro Carbon performs well in winter, but there are a few more drawbacks compared to summer.
While the large ventilation at the chin is highly desired in summer, it can feel quite chilly in winter. Unfortunately, the ventilation cannot be sealed or closed, so you can’t avoid the chilly breeze. During colder days, I usually use a balaclava or neck warmer to ensure warmth. It’s a relatively inexpensive solution that many people use in winter for a small, seasonal issue.
One thing that bothers me more in winter is the lack of a “first position” for the visor. Keeping the visor closed initially can lead to fogging of the glasses. It’s not possible to slightly crack open the visor, and opening it to the minimum first position leaves too much space. Especially at higher speeds, this results in a significant influx of cold winter air hitting your nose and/or eyes directly. For commuting, this means keeping the visor mostly closed for the majority of the journey, only opening it slightly for the first few streets or when stopped at traffic lights. On these days, I truly miss the small millimeter step that previous helmets offered. A good balaclava can cover the nose, but I often ride with the visor completely closed or completely open. Fortunately, the rest of the helmet provides enough warmth, and the inner lining offers sufficient insulation for a warm head.
As for rain, almost nobody sets out to ride their motorcycle in the rain, but we all get caught off guard at times. Light drizzle and soft rain are hardly noticeable, as you would expect, especially with navigation or music in the helmet, or at higher speeds with light wind noise. However, during heavy rain showers and hail, you do hear extra noise in the helmet due to the thinner shell and carbon material. The sound of raindrops hitting the helmet can create an acoustic and arrhythmic sound inside.
Nevertheless, the helmet remains very dry, even during heavy rain or an hour-long ride in the rain. The ventilation channels prevent water from entering, even at the chin area, keeping it dry. The helmet’s design prevents raindrops from entering and there are no drips running down the back, which is quite comfortable.
Conclusion
For the competitive price of €299,-, the Nishua Enduro Carbon is not an expensive premium helmet, yet it offers good quality and versatility. The Enduro Carbon is lightweight, comfortable, and suitable for glasses wearers. Its large visor provides excellent and wide visibility, offering the option to use the helmet with a motocross goggles, along with effective ventilation. The longer chin strap with double D-ring closure may be slightly too long, but you’ll get used to it. The only real downside is the limited positions of the visor and its susceptibility to wear. Overall, it’s a good helmet at a competitive price.
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