Urge’s Archi-Enduro was one of the very first enduro racing specific full-face lids. Designed to offer much more protection than an open helmet without restricting breathing and ventilation as much as a conventional full facer, it was a bit of a hit.
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As the discipline has grown and matured, there are more brands offering helmets to fit this niche, so it was time for an update, resulting in this RR — Ready to Race — version. The basic outline is pretty much the same, but there's now a load load more ventilation to help keep you cool.
The outer shell uses a mix of fibreglass and ‘natural fibres’ over EPS padding, which Urge says outperforms all the relevant safety standards. That means it's got certification to the usual EN1078, CSPC1203 and AS/NZS2063 ratings, as well as the ASTM F1952 standard which also covers the protection offered by the chin guard.
At 1,035g for a medium it’s decently light and it's certainly not a chore to wear it for a long amount of time. It’s liberally peppered with 10 vents, including a very large mouth vent and two large, mesh covered vents in the forehead.
Combined with that wide opening front and high peak, it’s a very airy and pleasant place to be, even during hard efforts that’d have you feeling claustrophobic in a conventional full face. The main reason for this is that the chin bar has a very wide opening which allows you to hoover up as much air as you like to supply your suffering lungs. The back of the lid is raised up so there’s less chance of it interfering with a pack, too.
While fit is a personal thing, I found it hard to get it comfortable. It feels tight over the brow but loose at the sides, which led to a lot of movement — especially fore-aft rotation. That let the plastic micro-adjust ratchet neck strap dig uncomfortably into my Adam’s apple, which was quite unpleasant at the best of times. There's no padding or soft covering on the strap either, which would help prevent this.
Elsewhere, the removable dual density cheek pieces sit comfortably, with an almost suede-like texture that does a good job of soaking up sweat without getting scratchy.
The peak offers good coverage and can also be adjusted far up enough to give you an unobstructed field of vision, even when you're in a head-down attack mode.
The back of the helmet is also raised slightly, reducing the likelihood of your backpack punting you in the back of the head as you ride over rough ground. The very wide face means that it syncs well with both goggles and glasses, with the arms of the latter not getting forced into the side of your head. Less encouragingly, some of the stick-on trim on the chin guard fell off rather quickly, and paint began to chip on the flexible peak quickly too.
All in all, if the shape fits your head it’s worth a look. The ventilation and breathing space it gives are definitely lightyears ahead of conventional full face lids and whether you race or just ride, the extra protection over a half-lid is reassuring. However, convertible rivals such as the Giro Switchblade and Bell Super 2R might have the edge for combining race day protection with trail riding usability.