Demon United Podium Helmet Review

Finally, a Demon United Podium Helmet review that sugarcoats nothing and tells it as it is. If a mountain bike helmet or whatever protective gear I’m assessing sucks on all fronts, I always speak the truth.

Are you looking for a bike riding full-face helmet that looks good without looking like every other melon protective gear out there?

Do you want a stylish brain bucket that protects adequately without needing you to decimating your entire life’s savings to purchase it? If that’s you, the Demon United Podium full-face mountain bike helmet is what you need.

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Demon United Podium Full-face helmet
2,177 Reviews
Demon United Podium Full-face helmet
A CPSC certified helmet that offers great protection to mountain bike, BMX, and enduro riders as they navigate gnarly forest trails.

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Product Overview

The Demon United Podium full-face helmet feels quite comfortable and looks a little different than what every enduro rider out there wears. Nice compliments about how great the helmet looks will come incessantly.

But here’s the most critical reason to buy the helmet if you ride enduro or do downhill riding every once in a while. The helmet offers certified full-face head protection so you can retain your smart brain for use in other areas of your life. More on the lid’s protection abilities down the road.

What’s more, the deal is a real steal. There’s a whole ton of sinfully priced comparable skull protectors on the market that don’t necessarily protect better than this option does.

But while the helmet won’t kill your neck while riding your bicycle, there’s a slew of remarkably lighter enduro riding helmets out there.

Demon United Podium Helmet Specs and Features

Don’t have much time? No worries. Here’s a quick of list of the features and specs the Domon United Podium full-face mountain bike riding helmet offers:

  • Product Weight: 2.13 Pounds
  • Dimensions: 11″ x 11″ x 11″
  • Target market: Unisex, for mountain bikers, BMX, and Enduro riders
  • Certifications: Certified to the U.S. CPSC Safety Standards
  • Outer Shell: Injection-molded polycarbonate shell
  • Design and Shape:
  • Ventilation: Features 13 airflow vents
  • Brain Protection Feature: EPS Liner
  • Comfort Liner: Removable and washable
  • Visor: Available
  • Price: Sub-$100 (as of this writing)
  • Closure System: Adjustable plastic buckle
  • Fit: Runs small, choose the next size up. Narrow fit as well
  • Extra Set of Cheek Pads?: No provided. Comes with one set of cheek pads/fit pads

Design and Style

The helmet looks really nice. When my SO Jason rocks this lid, it’s hard to cover a full mountain biking session without something smiling and saying what a nice-looking brain bucket you got there, dude!

This helmet isn’t completely oval or round, but it sure is more round than it is oval. Perhaps that’s why some in the mountain biking community say that the helmet fits small. I’ll tell more about this a little while from now so stick around a minute.

If you’re like me and don’t like wearing what every other rider wears all the time when bike trail riding, the Demon Podium is a worthy consideration. The lid looks stylish but not in a way that makes you stand out too much. And it’s different enough to make other riders not ignore you.

Is the Demon United Podium Helmet Comfortable?

This helmet is light — at least, it’s light enough to give you comfortable rides all day long. I measured the weight of the Demon Podium full-face on a digital weighing scale, and the reading I got was 2.025 pounds. I saw that the Amazon description states a slightly different figure (2.13 pounds), but the difference is too small as to be insignificant.

Now, the lid does come with a set of fit cheek pads for added comfort and fit. Other helmets I’ve seen such as the Triple 8 Downhill Racer full-face helmet come with two sets of cheek pads. But isn’t the T8 Racer way more expensive than the Demon Podium?

My hubby Jason has a somewhat large face, and he says the helmet seems to fit a little too snugly even after it breaks in. And he’s not like the only one. I found quite a few other reviewers that gave the same verdict — the Demon Podium Full-Face mountain bike riding helmet provides a noticeably narrow fit.

One way to solve this narrow fit issue is to remove the padding inside of this helmet. That’s what Jason did, and his brain protecting gear now fits nicely and there’s  no pressure points to steal his joy outdoors anymore.

Overall, this helmet is light, but it’s not as light as some of the more expensive choices being sold out there. At least, the Demon Podium isn’t as heavy and bulky as most motorcycle helmets I’ve seen.

Oh, and don’t throw those cheek pads that squeezed your jaw line away. You never know when you might lose a few pounds and need to re-insert them. I mean, you’re cycling pretty much every other weekend, and that equates to quite some calories burned over time. I’m sure you don’t binge-eat after each ride, do you?

Helmet Ventilation

Let’s now look at how great (or bad) this option is when it comes to ventilation.

Hot Weather Use

How well does the much-touted Demon United Podium full-face helmet ventilate? This cute lid comes with 13 air vents placed just right on the helmet so you won’t soak in sweat every time you go harder on the pedals.

With 13 air ventilation holes, what you get with this product isn’t anywhere near passive air circulation. When Jason sports this thing and hits the bike trails on a hot summer day, he definitely sweats. And he sometimes feels the need to remove the helmet for a while so he won’t drown in his own sweat. But I’m yet to see a mountain bike helmet that ventilates so efficiently that will never ever experience sweat.

There’s also a lightweight plastic-ish chin bar that’s designed to boost the helmet’s breathability. But Demon United really should have incorporated a better-quality chin bar. The chin bar on Jason’s lid looks kind of cheap. I’m not sure this helmet will last as long as others in that price range have. Still, the helmet works fine, and it held up when my man took a slam recently.

Jason can wear the Demon Podium full-face lid with his sunglasses on, but he can’t slip the helmet on as easily as he’s done with others. A bit of struggle there, but that doesn’t seem like a big enough issue as to deny this brain bucket a chance.

With sunglasses on, it’s pretty easy to cast a quick glance over your shoulder as you ride through the wood. Visibility is good to great when summer riding a bike in this helmet.

Visibility and Fogging

Most mtb helmets with a full-face design have their visor treated with anti-fog. And the Demon United full-face is no exception. But does the visor fog up when riding in cool weather?

Jason hasn’t complained of the visor fogging up when he’s riding with this feature pulled all the way down. For him, things inside the helmet stay warm and comfortable on cool days outside. But some mtb riders have seen some fogging up on their visor.

In fact, a friend of ours the other day asked us if we knew whether they could remove the visor that came with the helmet and replace it with a motorcycle visor. And the answer is no, you can swap out this visor and put in a motorcycle helmet-style visor to address fogging.

If your area is too cold and you’ve had helmets fog up seriously, I’d advise you with a choice that fogs less. Unfortunately, I don’t know of a budget mtb helmet that in that doesn’t fog at all.

But is the visor for the Demon Podium full-face replaceable? Yes, you can replace it if it breaks or if you’d want to attach a clear visor. By the way, the visor of this helmet easily adjusts up and down. I like that. Visors that don’t ratchet can be annoying to use, you know.

Does the Demon Podium Helmet Run Small?

I’ve heard quite a few reviewers point out that the Demon Podium full-face runs a little small. The company marketing the product itself also admits that the lid runs a tad small and advises its prospective customers to go with the larger if they sit on the cusp. My man definitely had to size up as well. He bought the XL instead of Large which is what he’d have bought hadn’t someone warned him that this helmet fits a bit too snugly.

But here’s something you must know. While I was digging and shoveling through the vast web mining for bits and pieces of useful information to complete this post, I met many folks that said their Demon Podium helmet fit their noggin like a glove.

So, why did some people complain that the product squished their face and there was no getting around while others described the same helmet as being a perfect fit?

After talking to a few helmet fitting experts via email and asking around the mtb community, I learned something I should have learned earlier. I gleaned that the too-snug-fit issue could be happening because the wearer’s head shape was a little out of alignment with this helmet’s design/shape.

Head Shape Vs Helmet Shape

According to RevZilla, a well-known in the riding-gear space, wearing the wrong helmet shape can cause fit problems. Three head shapes exist, and pretty much everyone in the world belongs in one head shape category.

The three head shapes identified are round, intermediate oval, and long oval. Round heads are the least common head shape, and that explains why there’s not that many round helmets of any type. The long oval shape, while more common than the round head shape, is still not that common.

Most in the Unites States have the belong in the intermediate oval shape camp. Since over 90% of my readers are Americans, I bet you’re an American. That means your head is a tad thinner than it’s long.

This helmet features a more round oval shape, and compared to most American heads, the lid has a more rounder design than the heads it’s supposed to fit. I think that’s where the problem is. Those who say their helmet fit nicely and comfortably have somewhat rounder heads than those who say they had to go one size up.

Solving the Problem

The Demon United Podium full-face brain bucket is similar as far as fit and size to the xxx. Here’s a little advice: before you buy this helmet, arrange to walk into a local motorcycle gear shop and try on this helmet for size. If it fits properly, choose a matching size of the Demon Podium on Amazon or wherever else you choose to purchase from. That’s a pretty reliable way to avoid buying an ill-fitting brain saver.

Another suggestion could be to know your head shape before buying this or any other helmet shape for that. Do me a little favor. Read around the internet a bit and learn how to measure your head to determine your shape. If your face and head shape mirrors that of this helmet, grab it, jump on your mountain bike, and ride into the wild.

Available Sizes

This brain protecting product is sold in several sizes — pretty much everyone from small riders to those with pretty big heads should head should find something that fits well.

Here are the sizes you can access this noggin protective gear in:

X-Small

Small

Medium

Large

X-Large

Demon Podium’s Size Chart Accuracy

As anyone who’s ever taken a hard fall mountain biking already knows, choosing a well-fitting helmet is crucial. A lid with a poor fit can easily twist off your head if the helmet catches on something in a crash, leaving your scalp and the brain underneath extremely vulnerable.

So, be sure  what you finally pick up fits snugly enough and don’t move or rotate on your head during normal use.

The good news is that the Demon United’s size chart for this helmet works pretty accurately. If you’re in doubt about what size to choose, request someone to take a tape or a string and measure your head’s circumference.

Provided you took your head circumference reading correctly, the Demon’s size chart should guide you without error.

Pick Your Colorway

This skull protective gear comes in an array of colorways so you can choose your fave color. As explained in several other places on this outdoor recreation-focused site, it’s a great idea to choose brighter colors instead of darker ones.

Here’s are the colorways you can have: black, white/gray, Black/Red, Gray/Blue/Black/Green, gloss black/orange, and white. I’d choose white over any other color any day since safety while on the road is critical for me.

Helmet Certifications and Protection Ability

We’ve now come to the most important part of this review — protection and safety. You want to know whether the Demon Podium helmet protects sufficiently when it comes to BMX, enduro, and regular mtb, downhill mountain biking, and e-skating.

The helmet comes boasting of having met the U.S. CPSC Safety Standards, and that means a lot as far as protection and safety. It means you can safely use this helmet for riding your mountain bike, but this isn’t meant for riding motorized vehicles such as hoverboards, e-scooters, and e-skateboards/electric longboards.

I also must mention that the Demon Podium isn’t designed for riding ATVs. I keep seeing people riding the electric skateboard in this helmet, and while I’m sure they’re safe to quite some extent, I’m not convinced that’d be adequate protection if the e-skater took a bad spill when riding down a high-gradient hill.

Since it’s a full-face helmet, it should protect your face if you hit the pavement suddenly. But if face-plant onto super hard surfaces all the time, please buy something more protective.

And if you’re into pretty frequent downhill mountain biking, I insist that you choose a different option as the Demon Podium isn’t built for such level of abuse. I’d advise you to select a worthier lid such as the Triple 8 Downhill Racer since unlike the Demon Podium which isn’t dual certified, the T8 Racer is CPSC certified and also meets the ASTM 1952 downhill riding safety standards.

What About Awareness of the Surrounding Environment?

Wearing this with the visor down, you can hear the mountain biker behind you whistling as they pedal hard and happily. And when you’re riding by the sidewalk, you’ll perceive road traffic pretty clearly.

But it seems like the ear pockets could be better designed, though. Some riders have noticed that the ear pockets kind of rub against the ear, but it’s not something widespread, and you do get used to it after breaking the helmet in.

Does the Demon Podium Have Audio Pockets?

Maybe you’re wondering whether this helmet features audio pockets to accommodate drop-in speakers. But the answer is no, the product provides no such luxury. After all, it’s a budget mountain bike helmet designed to offer  mainly protection.

If you still want to add speakers, you’ll need to glue them in, but that’s not like extremely difficult thing to do.

Is the Podium Full-Face from Demon United a MIPS Helmet?

The company offers a MIPS option, but the version I’ve reviewed here isn’t MIPS equipped. Increasingly, riders from across the various outdoor disciplines are favoring options that offer MIPS Technology.

There’s a lot of science out there that explains how MIPS works, but it’s extremely hard to find any kind of definitive research that clearly shows this innovation prevents concussions.  Many helmet manufacturers today are producing MIPS versions of otherwise good, protective lids. While that could be because they care a lot about user safety, it’s very hard not to wonder why they’re still cranking out non-MIPS helmets.

Surely, if MIPS offers that much extra protection, good and caring helmet makers should have stopped putting out options that lack this technology. But this hasn’t happened yet, and helmet safety regulations and standards have not been revised to accommodate MIPS. That seems like enough reason for me to believe that MIPS is probably nothing more than a way to have riders pay more for more or less the same level of head protection.

Demon United Podium helmet Price

The helmet comes in at a very attractive price point so everyone can access reliable brain saving technology. The price and overall product quality and performance make the Demon Podium a decent entry level enduro and mountain biking helmet that doesn’t hammer your bank account.

Pros

Looks nice

13 air vents add up to great ventilation

Retails at a great price

CPSC certified for bike riding

A couple nice colorways available

Several sizes to choose

A really attractive price for that level of protection and aesthetics

Cons

Not Dot Certified

Fogging can happen when riding in cool weather

Visor not replaceable with a motorcycle-style visor to reduce fogging

The chin bar could be better quality

Helmet design may not work perfectly for everyone

Cleaning of the Helmet

I found that washing and caring this bucket can be a little challenging. While you can remove the comfort liner and wash it, returning the liner inside the helmet tends to be problematic. Overall, this product isn’t as easy to clean as others I’ve seen. But it’s not like cleaning this product is rocket science.

Demon United Podium Helmet Review: Verdict

Now is decision time. And the sixty-four thousand dollar question is whether the Demon Podium full-face helmet is worth the money.

The helmet seems well-made, and it offers great protection for regular mountain bike riding and enduro thanks to its being CPSC certified.  But it’s not DOT certified, nor is it ASTM 1952 certified, and that means it’s not the best for speedy rides on motor-propelled vehicles.

It fits some riders well, but some riders have to order helmet that’s a size larger than the size chart otherwise indicates. The visor is adjustable, too, and the buckle strap is adjustable as well.

Overall, the Demon Podium is a good budget pick for people who don’t want to derail their wealth-building goals while still buying enough protection for enduro and mountain biking.