Almost every skateboarder agrees that Triple Eight helmets are some of the best skating and biking helmets on the market. But does the Triple 8 Brainsaver with MIPS technology cut it? Is it worth the $30 higher price point than its non-MIPS Brainsaver version? In this Triple Eight Brainsaver MIPS helmet review, I answer every pertinent question pertaining to this affordable MIPS skate helmet from Triple 8.
I’ll also tell you how the dual-certified Brainsaver with MIPS skull protector stacks up against the dual-certified Brainsaver helmet without MIPS. Here’s the Dual-certified Brainsaver Helmet Review just in case you’d like to read it.
I’ll start right from the start.
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Overall Design and Construction
When you take the dual-certified MIPS-equipped Brainsaver helmet out of the box, it seems and looks like a high-quality helmet even though it comes in at an under-$100 price point.
It’s well-constructed, and none of the various components looks or feels like low quality. The helmet looks thin, pretty much like its Brainsaver sibling without MIPS. But if you think being somewhat thinner equates to being less protective in a crash, think again.
With both the ASTMF1492 and U.S. CPSC safety certifications, you couldn’t ask for a more protective brain bucket.
The helmet is sturdy, and you get the impression that this MIPS skateboard helmet will be there for you when you need noggin protection the most. The outer shell feels as hard as any, and the EPS foam liner fitted inside the helmet offers certified dual-protection.
With this brain saver, you also get two sets of removable sweat-eating liners that also come in handy when you’re creating a custom fit for your helmet.
And the chinstraps don’t look cheap at all, too. The chinstraps come with a side-release buckle that seems well-made, plus it’s a very easy-to-use closure system.
A Hard, Smooth Outer ABS Shell
The outer shell is a smooth hard shell engineered using ABS plastic. The shell comes sturdy enough, and you never catch yourself imagining things going really wrong and you ending up with a cracked skull or any other kind of severe brain injury.
The shell is round, giving the helmet the classic skate helmet look. Since it’s a round-shaped helmet, people with more oval-shaped heads might complain the helmet doesn’t fit true to size. Also, oval-shaped heads may experience a couple of pressure points upon shoving this helmet on their head.
The exterior comes pretty smooth, just as is the case with the Brainsaver without MIPS. When you couple this smoothness with the MIPS Brainsaver being round, you get the impression that the helmet skids over different surfaces without much resistance, saving lives.
The official position is that no particular helmet shape slides better than others, though. But it’s easy to see how a rounder shape could struggle less in the skidding department, right?
Admittedly, this isn’t the cheapest helmet out there, but it’s not the most expensive one either. It’s just an affordable helmet from a highly reputable skate brand. And you didn’t expect the helmet to have a high-quality fiberglass exterior, did you?
An Expanded-Polystyrene Foam Liner
This helmet relies on a crushable EPS foam liner to dissipate energies from crash impacts. When you hit your noggin, this tested and certified EPS liner takes every small and big blow that your head should have taken.
If there’s one helmet skaters and bike riders of all stripes say saved their life in a terrible crash, it’s the dual-certified MIPS Brainsaver.
As I checked the nooks and crannies of the web for additional information about this helmet, I came across an avalanche of positive Brainsaver helmet customer reviews on Amazon and a few other places.
While anecdotal evidence is just what it is, it does mean something when many, many users say the exact same thing about a product’s utility.
Neither my hubby nor I have tested how protective the MIPS Brainsaver helmet really is, and I hope we won’t find out any time soon! But I believe this thing would keep concussions and other life-threatening head injuries at bay in a major wipeout.
But what’s the basis for my solid confidence in this helmet’s protective capabilities? It’s because the helmet is properly certified. Tons of tests that mimic real riding situations have been thrown at the helmet, and it’s aced every single one of them.
The helmet meets CPSC’s and ASTM’s rather stringent rider safety standards. That means trained crash protection experts have verified the bucket’s protection credentials.
The EPS liner is reasonably thick, but it’s not like the thickest protective foam I’ve seen on a helmet. But that doesn’t worry me one bit. But do you know why I’m not worried? It’s because this Brainsaver with MIPS comes endorsed by two highly credible consumer safety-focused entities, the CPSC and ASTM.
Is the Brainsaver MIPS Dual-certified Helmet Comfortable?
Yes, it is, provided you get the helmet’s sizing right. More on how comfy the helmet really is in the next section.
Now, all helmets come with a comfort liner of sorts. But not all comfort liners are created equal. Some liners are made out of soft, cushy material with excellent sweat-wicking capabilities while others just pretend to be a comfort liner.
When you wear a helmet with a proper liner, you never need any kind of encouragement to wear it each time you’re going out to ride. So, how comfortable is the MIPS Brainsaver? If you choose the perfect size for your head, the MIPS Brainsaver helmet feels comfortable enough.
But you know what? The MIPS Brainsaver isn’t as comfortable as the ‘plain’ dual-certified Brainsaver helmet. The padding feel pretty thin, as though it were just regular fabric. Having tested both the MIPS and non-MIPS verson, my hubby would rather skate in the non-MIPS version.
The Non-MIPS BRainsaver M0re Comfy Than the MIPS Brainsaver Helmet
The dual-certified Brainsaver fits my SO’s head much better than the MIPS one. It feels like the manufacurer didn’t build enough padded comfort into the MIPS version. Maybe the producer had to use less comfort padding so they could fit in the thin yellow strip they call MIPS in there? For us, the non-MIPS Brainsaver beats the MIPS Brainsaver hands down as far as comfort.
What if you want to buy the more comfortable Sweatsaver Liner separately and fit it in there instead of using the fabric-thin padding that comes with the MIPS brainsaver? No, that won’t work. The MIPS brainsaver is designed to work with the padding it comes with and not any kind of thicker comfort pads bought separately to boost comfort.
The manufacturer includes two sets of fit pads, one thicker than the other. These Sweatsaver fit pads are there to help skaters and bikers of all face shapes customize their fit however they want.
How do you know your MIPS Brainsaver fits your noggin properly? If you pick up the correct helmet size, the fit feels comfortably snug. The helmet shouldn’t make too much side-to-side movements, nor should it rock back and forth when worn. But that doesn’t mean it should be too tight that it compresses your brain!
Skaters and biking enthusiasts with faces that are a little thinner than the helmet can turn to the thicker set of fit pads to create a perfectly snug fit. As for users whose face and head take up every available room in the helmet and still experience pressure points, they can swap the thicker pads for the thinner ones. But as I already mentioned, this helmet isn’t very comfort, and it’s less comfy than the non-MIPS brainsaver helmet.
So, will I sweat in the MIPS Brainsaver? I answer that in the next section.
How Many Sizes Does the MIPS Brainsaver Come in?
The helmet comes in 3 sizes. You can select size X-Small/Small, Small/Medium, or Large/X-Large depending on your measured head circumference. Look at the size chart of the dual-certified Brainsaver MIPS below and pick a size that fits your noggin properly. Look at the size chart below and choose your MIPS helmet in the right size.
| Size | Suggested Head circumference |
| X-Small/Small | 19.7″– 21.5″ |
| Small/Medium | 21.5″ – 22.75″ |
| Large/X-Large. | 22.75″ – 24″ |
Size Chart Source: Triple Eight.
What Color Options Are Available?
You can order the MIPS Brainsaver skateboarding and biking helmet in any of three color options. These color options are blue rubber, black rubber, and red glossy.
You can go with whatever color you wish, but there’s a reason to choose blue over either black rubber or red glossy.
If visibility while out there riding is critical to you probably because you’re mostly weaving your way via throngs or heavy vehicular traffic, choose the blue matte option.
Why blue matte rather than black matte or red glossy?
It’s because the color blue happens to be one of the three most visible colors from a distance, according to Sciencing.com. Green is the easiest color our eye cones can detect, then yellow, and then blue.
Well, red and black are still visible. However, these two colors aren’t as visible as blue matte, which means they’re in a sense less safe.
I’d choose the black rubber one myself because it looks amazing. But then I don’t bike or skateboard in the busiest area in the world.
Dual-Certified Brainsaver MIPS Helmet Review: Verdict
The dual-certified MIPS Brainsaver skate and bike helmet is overall a decent product for the price. You get a level of head protection similar to what you’d get with options that cost over $200 while paying less than 50 percent.
Fit works great, too. However, the largest heads around might have an issue or two when it comes to wiggling into this helmet and feeling comfortable during rides. But if you’re a regular head size and pick up the correct size for your head circumference, you’ll love this brain bucket.
But you must be OK with sweating a little during revitalized summer rides. For winter use, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better MIPS helmet at that price point.
You can buy it in one of 3 colors, one of which is extremely visible (blue) so you can stay protected and safe.
Overall, the MIPS dual-certified MIPS helmet for skateboarding and biking is a good offer, and I believe you’ll love wearing it. But while it costs more than the dual-certified Brainsaver without MIPS, it’s not as comfortable as the non-MIPS dual-certified Brainsaver helmet.
