How do you top a wildly popular MTB helmet? 6 years later, Smith has the answer.

Photo: Leah Barber

The Smith Forefront is one of the best-selling mountain bike helmets, and the newly released Forefront 3 seeks to improve on what’s already a great design. I can’t speak for everyone, but I suspect the Forefront is a popular helmet for two main reasons. One, it looks good. And two, it features Koroyd, which provides additional protection that most bike helmets can’t match. After a couple of rides in the Smith Forefront 3, I’ve found the helmet to be incredibly comfortable. While it isn’t perfect, the Forefront is still a top choice for trail riding.

Smith Forefront 3 key specs

3 sizes, 6 colors
Weight: 390g as tested, size medium
Price: $270
Buy from Smith

What’s changed with the Smith Forefront 3

The Smith Forefront was last updated in 2019, and the third generation makes a few key updates to an otherwise excellent helmet. For starters, Smith says the Forefront 3 delivers 25% more airflow. The new design features 20 vents, just like the previous version, but as you can see in the comparison photos above, the vent channels are more continuous and appear to be larger overall. One of the complaints about the Forefront 2 was that it didn’t vent as well as competing helmets, especially when you’re not moving. I’ve put in a little over 50 miles wearing the Forefront 3, and though it’s still not the coolest helmet I’ve tested, it does seem to vent a little better than average.

Inside the helmet, the Smith Forefront 3 gets MIPS Air Node rotational impact protection. Previous Forefront helmets featured a basic plastic MIPS liner that was noisy and tended to snag hair. The MIPS Air Node liner is removable and is custom-shaped to the helmet so it doesn’t block any of the vents. We’re seeing more helmets using MIPS Air Node, like the newly refreshed Fox Speedframe, and the liner has proven to be incredibly comfortable and quiet on the trail.

Another big change to the Forefront 3 is the new fit system and cradle, which uses a BOA-brand dial to tighten and customize the fit. Also like the Speedframe, the new fit system uses a cable that runs all the way around the helmet, 360°. Unlike the Speedframe, the cradle at the back is made from a flexible, rubber-like material that’s incredibly comfortable. The only downside is that, because the cradle isn’t made of rigid plastic, you need to tilt the helmet up before putting it on. Otherwise, the cradle flops down inside the helmet, as shown in the photo above.

Photos: Leah Barber

Popular features remain

The Smith Forefront stands out among many mountain bike helmets for allowing both front and rear eyewear storage. This makes sense given Smith’s heritage as an optics brand, and it’s a nice feature if you ride with both sunglasses and clear glasses. There’s an anti-fog design built into the helmet that Smith calls AirVac, too. In my testing, the Forefront mostly lives up to its anti-fog claim, even with non-Smith-branded eyewear.

The three-position visor appears largely unchanged, with only a minor hardware swap, as best I can tell. I’m surprised Smith kept the plastic chin strap buckle from the Forefront 2. It feels cheap for such an otherwise high-end and high-tech helmet. The side straps around the ears still aren’t adjustable, but then again, few bike helmets offer this feature. Fortunately, I found that the helmet offers just the right amount of ear clearance.

Looking at the official weight of the Smith Forefront 3, the latest version adds 30g compared to the last. On my scale, the damage isn’t quite as bad; my size medium weighs 390g — 20g less than the published weight.

The Koroyd layer makes it difficult, if not impossible, to thread a velcro strap or zip tie through the vents for mounting a light or camera. A Smith representative tells me a mount that attaches to the central roll cage is in the works but is not yet available for the Forefront 3. The new mount will likely be similar to the $15 GoPro-style light and camera mount used by the Forefront 2.

Without the official mount, the only place I could mount my Fenix BC26R bike light was on the visor for a recent night ride. Mounting to the visor is a nice option since you can adjust the angle of the light, but the visor eventually falls down and needs to be tilted up again.

Share your Smith Forefront 3 review

Tried it? Tell us what you think about it.

Priced at $270, the Forefront is the most expensive Smith half-shell helmet, and one of the most expensive of any bike helmet brand for that matter. The $130 Smith Engage is a more affordable option that cuts costs in part by reducing the amount of Koroyd coverage. It’s also lighter than the Forefront 3 by about 50g.