UKC

Whether you're sport climbing, winter climbing, scrambling or doing some mountain trad, the Crag Sender helmet offers a great balance of lightness, comfort and affordability, says John McKenna.  

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Hi John,

I had one of these, thought cradle/chinstrap poorly designed, seems to remember it kept slipping too. Unfortunately/fortunately, gust of wind carried it down scree on Ben, made decision to replace it easier for me...

Stuart 

Hi Stuart,

What exactly was it you didn't like about cradle/chinstrap? For me the biggest issue was the ear adjustments straps. Apart from that it suits me well. I've found it a bit annoying in the couple days I've used it in winter - which I assume you were mostly doing in it? The small dial at the back is a bit small for adjusting with gloves. But I'll probably not use it extensively in winter anyway as I say.

I don't get any slipping, maybe just a bit of a head shape type thing? Not quite as secure as my old BD helmet (which fits me really well), but much better than my previous Trango and Grivel Salamander helmet on me.

Ha, oh well about losing it. What did you opt for as a replacement?

Like you say, around the ears. One side you can infinitely adjust height, length, (slippage each time put helmet on in winter) the other you can't adjust height, if that makes sense? The plastic band around the back, isn't attached to straps, only sits on top of buckles. If straps were threaded through this plastic band (like my Meteor), would provide a more constant fit. I really expected better from a premium brand like Mammut.

I replaced it with the new Petzl Meteor, since I had an older one I liked. The chin buckle is so much harder to engage, chin strap also slackens, an elastic band helps, than my older one! TBH, I much prefer wearing my older one, which resides in CIC!

Stuart 

Ah right, you are getting slippage on that ear strap adjustment. Sorry, thought you meant overall on the helmet. I never noticed that on my head, again maybe head shape has effected this. I know what you mean about the back strap and how it sits on the top buckles. Once I'd adjusted those straps though they didn't shift on my head. However, overall I also prefer the ease of adjusting of something like Meteor design where it threads directly through the band itself. Although I really like the dial adjustment on the Crag Sender compared to the push style ones of Meteor as I've often had these loosen etc as I move hoods on/off.

Sounds like you need to keep the CIC one with you at all times!
 

Don't think I could ever buy a helmet with the word 'sender' in the name!

"It uses ,,, an external polycarbonate shell"  Can a shell be anything other than external?