It’s likely that you’ve never heard of Catlike but the Spanish company have been making high quality lids for the past 17 years, it’s just that up until now they’ve really only concentrated on the road market. This ‘Leaf’ though has been designed from the ground up as a trail/enduro lid, and we reckon Catlike have done a great job.

I should say now that we’re not entirely convinced by the particular finish that we were sent, but we reckon the plainer single colours look great and do far more justice to the decent shape and lines. Of course it’s not all about looks (although good looks do help), it’s also about protection and comfort.

The level of protection on offer is always impossible to prove without a testing lab (and even then it’s hard to simulate reality), but what we can say about this lid is that it offers decent coverage at the rear, feels welcomingly substantial, and Catlike are a well respected brand in the road world and so that brings a decent amount of confidence with it.

As for comfort, well that’s something that really impressed us. Of course this is always a personal thing, and there has been the odd person who’s tried this on and not been overwhelmed, but the majority have really liked it. The internal padding is in all the right places and we really like the adjustment system at the rear which is operated via a little wheel. The fairly minimalist looking system uses two kind of flexible pads (for want of a better description) where it contacts your head and the result is that it’s one of the comfiest systems that we’ve used. Venting is also plentiful and with it weighing in at around 300g (depending on which of the two sizes you’ve got) you hardly notice that it’s there. The adjustable visor is a nice touch too, and rather than pivot to a different position is slides in a rearwards and upwards direction, and of course vice versa.

With such good overall performance and a quality in-mould style construction we thought this helmet would be on sale for close to £100, but after finding out that its price tag is considerably less than that we like it even more. Definitely a lid worth considering if you’re on the lookout for a new one.

Price: £69.99
www.i-ride.co.uk
www.catlike.es