Biltwell Gringo

I've had a Biltwell Gringo for little over a year now.

It's a vintage 'open-faced' helmet styled on the old-school full-faced helmets of the 50's, 60's and 70's.

I picked one up for £139 from the interwebs. Going rate is about £150 though.

I picked it because it was a compromise between the styling of an open-face and my love for my jaw, mouth and nose, in the event that I ever spontaneously developed a taste for gravel when I'm out riding. It does not come with a visor and keeps everything truly bare-bones. Though, I kind of ruined the look by slapping a Bluetooth headset on the side of mine. There are poppers around the opening to attach either a bubble-shield or blast-shield if the low-profile goggles aren't your cup of tea. I kept the goggles because they were free with the lid Never had to worry about steaming up.

The lining is a black faux suade jobby, it feels sexy as hell and looks the nuts with the orange cross-stitching. Leather chinstraps with fabric insert.

Chin strap is a double-d ring with a button. Simples.

No vents or nuffin, not that you need them.

Only downsides are that it is not approved in the UK, only DOT (US), but Biltwell are working on getting it legalised in Blighty. Also in Winter there is no visor to cover your face, but blast-shield, bubble shield or goggles with a scarf will remedy that. Also, it tends to slip up a little at high speeds, so the chin strap needs to be super-tight if travelling for long periods of time at high speed.

+Simple, light and stylish lid for reasonable(ish) price.

-Not UK legal, rain hurts if you forget your scarf.