Sweet Protection markets the Promuter MIPS helmet as the helmet for everyone who is in on the secret that a bike is the best way to get around. Designed for commuters in mind, the Sweet Protection Promuter combines a number of modern safety features with a rear LED to keep you visible at night. The helmet retails for $199.95 and has a stylish urban design with integrated MIPS Air for additional crash safety. Sweet Protection offers the helmet in a variety of matte color color schemes along with a dent resistant two-layer shell designed to take daily abuse. The helmet even features NTA-8776 safety rating which tests for impacts at higher speeds making the helmet ideal for e-bikes. Some of the other notable features of the helmet are the two closable vents which allow you to adjust airflow through the helmet and a Fidlock magnetic buckle.
The Sweet Protection Promuter MIPS is a sleek urban helmet with attractive styling, MIPS Air and even closable vents.
| Rating | 9.0/10 |
| Retail Price | $199.95 |
| Measured weight (in g) | 416 (medium) |
| Likes | + NTA-8776 certification + Premium features such as Fidlock buckle + Comfortable and adjustable dial system |
| Dislikes | – Narrow rear light – Limited airflow through helmet with small vents |
| Where to Buy (US) | Sweet Protection |
UNBOXING
The Sweet Protection Promuter comes with a simple helmet cardboard box with a triangular side cutout that reveals the helmet inside. Inside the box you’ll find:
- Promoter helmet
- MIPS info tags
- USB charging cable
The fabric carrying bag is a nice premium touch that’s a great way to store the helmet or travel with it.
FIT & FINISH
Even though “Promuter” is a bit cheesy for a commuting helmet name, Sweet Protection has done their homework. The Promuter is a stylish helmet with a number of modern safety features to keep you safe. As an urban helmet, the Promuter has a dome baseball helmet style shape with extended rear coverage to protect your head from impacts. The helmet features a two-piece shell that’s designed to prevent dents or scratches from commuting along with a fully finished lip and sharp creases and edges. Sweet Protection offers the helmets in matte red, black as well as the bronco white that we have here. It’s an attractive solid color scheme that is a welcome departure from standard white and black offerings. Branding on the helmet is limited to the small Sweet Protection emblem on the front of the helmet and reflective logos on the rear. Interestingly, Sweet Protection even lists the weight and size of the helmet below the logo.
Venting on the Promuter is limited to only a single vent on the front and the rear. Both are fairly small rectangular designs that funnel air into channels inside the helmet. What is interesting about the Promuter is that both vents have a slider knob that allows you to open and close each one independent of each other. It’s a feature found more commonly on skiing or snowboarding helmets instead of cycling helmets. With this helmet there are only two options: open or closed. Theoretically, this adjustable vent design means you can adjust the venting depending on the weather. You could close the vents during wet weather or cold days for extra warmth or leave it open during longer rides and warmer weather.
What separates the Promuter helmet from the more affordable Sweet Protection Commuter helmet model is the rear LED. It’s a compact detachable design with five LEDs arranged horizontally. While the LED itself is only about two inches wide, a reflective sticker spans most of the helmet width to give the light a wider appearance. The light attaches to the helmet with a magnetic tab which makes it easy to pop it off and charge using a USB-C connector. Compared to other illuminated bike helmets like the Unit 1 Faro or XNITO urban helmets the light design is pretty basic. There is no secondary app, customization or brake sensor integrated into it. Instead it has a simple rubber power button which you single press to cycle from off and through three modes before turning it off again.
ON THE ROAD
We found the medium size helmet fit well with a similar feel to other brands such as Smith or Lazer. The wrap-around cradle system provides a secure feeling and can easily be adjusted with the rear mounted dial. There is even upward and downward adjustment of the cradle which allows you to fine tune the fitment. At around 400g the helmet is also fairly lightweight for an urban helmet and comfortable to wear for an extended period of time. As far as the light output of the taillight the output is fairly limited. We’d describe it as more of a supplement than a replacement to a proper taillight. The five LEDs and three output modes add additional rear visibility which improves night time safety. Although we don’t have the official lumen output or runtimes in our testing we’ve gotten over 5 hours of runtime in steady mode which is impressive given the size of the light.
We found the ventilation to be minimal, as the small vents limit the amount of airflow through the helmet. Helmets like the Lazer Cityzen or Bolle Halo React offer better ventilation and would be helmets we’d recommend over the Promuter if you’re in a hot climate or ride longer distances. Perhaps due to the small vent size, we also found that the adjustable vent design had little effect. We wish Sweet Protection would have incorporated a larger vent size to take advantage of the adjustable vent design. The simple toggle design to open and close the vent is a more integrated design than traditional aeroshell covers or vent covers offered on other helmets.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Sweet Protection Promuter to be a comfortable and well designed urban helmet. The helmet offers a number of commuter specific features such as the durable two-layer shell and magnetic Fidlock buckle along with MIPS Air and the high-speed NTA-8776 certification for additional safety on the road. We found the helmet to be attractive with it’s smooth shell and modern matte finish. Although it’s an expensive helmet, the fit and finish matches the price with sharp creases and a fully finished inner lip. The main negatives with the helmet is the limited ventilation, note this limits the effectiveness of the adjustable design and a fairly small rear LED. That said, the Promuter is a sleek urban helmet that has excellent safety features and modern design.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Sweet Protection. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.