Review – Rolling Out with the Smith Trace Helmet

Helmets are an important part of cycling kit these days. To be honest, you’d be a bit of a fool not wearing a helmet, as even a slow-speed tumble can have devastating consequences. Yes, a bit of doom and gloom, but it’s the reality we live in as cyclists. We had a chance to get on with the Smith Trace helmet and found them to be a pretty sweet pairing. We’ll have a separate review of the Smith Ruckus sunglasses coming soon.

This isn’t the first Smith helmet I’ve ridden. Back in 2016, while covering the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, VA, I had the chance to pick up a Smith Overtake at a great price. It was a MIPS-equipped road helmet that used a honeycomb-like material called Koroyd. This new material took the place of some of the EPS foam liner and offered better impact energy absorption. It definitely gave the Overtake a unique look, but even with those large openings and airy-looking Koroyd, it definitely wasn’t the most breathable helmet out there. Not bad by any means, but not as breathable as it looks. Overall though, it is a comfortable, well-fitting helmet that I occasionally still grab before leaving the house.

Fast forward, and we now have the Smith Trace. The new helmet has a more rounded shape than its predecessor but carries over the Koroyd material and MIPS liner.

Let’s start with the safety aspect of the helmet since that is one of the main reasons why we are wearing them in the first place. Smith includes features that we see on many helmets on the market, like EPS foam and an internal skeleton to provide support and reinforcement. More recently, more and more helmets are also offered with a MIPS liner. MIPS is pretty common at this point (and very much appreciated), so I won’t go into it much, other than saying it helps to reduce some of the rotational forces that your brain would feel in an angled impact. The star of the helmet is still the Koroyd material that Smith claims to help dissipate impact energy better than EPS foam. While I’ve never tested it (and hope not to), I’ll take their word for it. The trace also has low profile nylon webbing with buckle closure, and Smith’s 270-degree VaporFit dial adjustment system to micro tune the fit. Antimicrobial pads on the inside can also be removed for cleaning.

On the outside, the helmet has a traditional plastic shell that wraps around the bottom of the helmet. It gives the Trace a polished look but also helps to protect it from little dings and scratches that can occur when not using the helmet. The helmet comes in a range of colors, but it does have a few bright, eye-catching colors that help make you more visible to motorists. The Matte Neon Yellow High-Viz helmet also has a reflective strip around the front to help provide more visibility in low light conditions, a nice touch for commuters.

When it comes to ventilation, that’s an important part, especially for long days in the saddle when the temps climb. As I mentioned before, the Overtake wouldn’t have been my pick for a long day of climbing, but it works for most days. The Trace uses 18 total vents and internal channeling to bring air through the helmet to cool you and push hot air out of the back. I can say, Smith has definitely improved this with the Trace over the Overake. One of the reasons might be the vents along the center of the helmet that are completely open. On the Overtake, the shell covers this section, and the surrounding vents have the Koroyd visible in them. On the Trace, the surrounding vents still have the Koroyd, but that central channel is wide open, letting plenty of air through in more aggressive positions, or out in a more upright climbing position. Both helmets use the same MIPS layer, which is a bit more visible than versions from other brands. For example, the MIPS on a Specialized Evade II follows the contours of the EPS liner of the helmet. The Smith version has plenty of openings as it covers the inside of the helmet. The Koroyd interior still doesn’t seem to allow for an open and airy feeling like you would get from say a POC Octal, but the helmet would be great all but the hottest days, definitely an improvement from the Overtake.

The Trace does have some other features that you don’t necessarily see at first glance. One is the side channels built into two of the vents that allow you to stash your sunglasses when not in use. It’s a feature that is pretty common on most helmets these days, but with the Koroyd material, it took some thinking on Smith’s side. These work best with Smith glasses, but also with other brands. This is a nice improvement over the Overtake that had a channel on either side of the helmet that the temples would rest in. They worked well with Smith glasses with thinner temples, but not always so well with other brands with thicket temples. Smith also included their AirEvac ventilation system that helps to prevent fogging by using channels to help pull the fogging air up and away from your glasses, similar to their snow helmets. I did notice that I didn’t seem to fog as much when riding with the Ruckus glasses Smith sent as part of the review, really only when I would come to a stop.

At $250 for most colors, $260 for the Matte Neon Yellow Hi-Viz, the Trace sits in line with many other brands’ top-end helmets, but below the range-topping lines. It will make for a helmet that is accessible to many cyclists but still provides value for the safety features it offers. Available in Small (51-55cm), Medium (55-59cm), or Large (59-62cm) sizing, you’ll find a size to fit most heads too.

Overall, the Trace is a pretty good helmet, and would be at home on the road, over gravel, for cyclocross, or even commuting and cross country mountain biking. At 285g for our size medium, it was comfortable and never felt heavy throughout long riders. It checks off a lot of the boxes for me when it comes to safety (MIPS, internal roll cage, impact dissipating material, full shell), and it is a pretty good-looking helmet. Personally, I would opt for the solid matte black helmet, or maybe the gold/black if I’m feeling a little cheeky, but the many colors available should provide options for everyone. Older models included a green Koroyd internal to highlight the materials, and the matte Get Wild option was definitely something special.

http://www.smithoptics.com