Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet

The Enduro 3.0 helmet is designed to work as three different types of lid, depending on how much protection you’re looking for on your ride.

The main foundation of the setup is the half-shell, open-face helmet, which is ideal for trail riding.

Want to get a little lairy without overheating? You can snap the earpieces in place with very little effort for some extra protection either side of your head.

Fancy some enduro racing? Clip the chin bar in place and you’ve got a lightweight downhill-certified full-face helmet, ready to go.

Swapping between configurations isn’t always quite as slick as you’d want, but once you’ve added or removed the right bits, you’re left with a comfortable, well-vented helmet at a very reasonable price considering what’s on offer.

Are there any elements of compromise? Well, yes, but fewer than you might expect.

Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet construction details

The half-shell Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet ships with two earpieces, a chin bar and additional cheek pads to alter the fit of the chin bar when converted into the full-face lid.

To change between configurations, you first need to depress the locking buttons (located either side, towards the lower-back of the helmet). You can then pop out the chin bar/earpieces, pulling them away from the main lid and simultaneously unhooking the metal hooks that slot into the helmet, just ahead of the dropped temple protection.

It sounds complicated, but it’s really not.

It takes a bit of force to snap them into place and remove them, but it’s not too taxing (the chin bar is a touch easier, with more leverage to work with).

Where some convertible helmets fall down is safety certification. However, the Enduro 3.0 is fully downhill-certified, meaning you can race enduro or downhill in it.

As a half-shell lid, the Enduro 3.0 weighs 457g, while with the earpieces attached it’s 583g. Attach the chin bar and it’ll tip the scales at 710g, which is competitive for a helmet such as this.

Leatt offers the Enduro 3.0 in three shell sizes (S-L). A retention cradle, complete with large indexed dial, takes care of fine-tuning the fit.

This also has three vertical positions to choose from, and is anchored at two points towards the front of the helmet, rather than wrapping around the entire circumference of the head.

Leatt’s 360 Turbine Technology – the round, blue rubber bumpers between the thin sections of helmet padding – is designed to better protect your brain during angular impacts, much like a MIPS liner found in other helmets.

There are 13 vents/exhaust ports on the half-shell lid, with some deep internal channelling, designed to help move air across the top of your head.

Both earpieces have vents directly over the ear, which not only helps with cooling, but also means your hearing remains uninterrupted.

There are eight more vents on the chin bar, but no mesh of foam over the front vent, to ensure you can really suck in the air when you’re gasping. Additional cheek pads are supplied to tweak full-face fit, which is handy.

A FidLock magnetic buckle finishes off things nicely.

Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet performance

In use, as a half-shell helmet, my medium Enduro 3.0 felt nicely comfortable once I’d ratcheted up the retention cradle to secure it to my head.

I’m at the smaller end of the medium sizing category (my head measures 56cm), so I had quite a bit of slack to take in.

However, once I’d wound the dial in, the Enduro 3.0 felt stable and secure on my head.

Despite the retention cradle anchoring in two spots at the front of the helmet, rather than fully wrapping around my head, I didn’t suffer with any hot spots or discomfort. That's something I can’t say about other mountain bike helmets with a similarly designed retention system.

As a half-shell helmet, it’s 100g heavier than the Troy Lee Designs Flowline MIPS (which isn’t convertible), but carries its weight well. I never felt my head was being weighed down while riding.

In this configuration, in terms of venting, the Flowline pips the Enduro 3.0 again, with more obvious airflow through the brow port and over the top of the head at slower speeds.

However, the Leatt is by no means unpleasantly warm. There’s still a decent amount of airflow over the top of the head, it’s just not as plentiful across the brow.

Snapping the earpieces into place takes a bit of force, but once on, the connection feels solid and the fit tight, meaning there’s no wobble whatsoever.

The earpieces don’t sit totally flush with the half-shell lid once clipped in place, but it’s easy enough to overlook and doesn’t detract from performance on the trail.

With the earpieces attached, although weight creeps up a little, so does the feeling of safety.

With pads that skirt the undersides of your ears nicely, the helmet feels secure but still airy and cool when you warm up. That’s thanks to the vents that sit over your ears, preventing things getting too stuffy.

Get the chin bar popped into place and, a lot like the Troy Lee Designs Stage lid, the Enduro 3.0 is a comfortable place to be.

It’s not quite as plush in comparison and you need to wind the retention cradle right off to get it over your head, but it’s certainly one of the better helmet options when it comes to fit and feel.

I’d argue it doesn’t feel as solid or comfortable as the likes of the Giro Switchblade or Bell Super DH, which are included in our best enduro helmets buyer's guide, but impressively, the Enduro 3.0 isn’t far off.

Start breathing heavily on a downhill run or when pedalling uphill (assuming you’ve kept the helmet on) and because there’s no mesh over the vents, you never feel stifled, even when you’re really panting.

Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet bottom line

Overall, Leatt has done a good job when it comes to offering three helmet types with different levels of protection, all rolled into one lid.

It’s no easy feat, but the South African brand has managed it and managed it well.

The Enduro 3.0's convertible nature means it’s not quite as polished as three standalone, equivalent helmets, but go down that route and expect to be shelling out hundreds of pounds more in the process.

There’s a level of compromise, but for the price, it’s easy to live with, thanks to the fit, feel, comfort and well-considered design.