Bluegrass Rogue Core MIPS Helmet

Italian protection specialist Bluegrass(part of MET Helmets) has been making steady progress over the past couple of years, regularly adding to their portfolio of protective equipment. One of the latest products to join the line-up is their all-new Rogue Core MIPS, an extended coverage half-shell helmet intended for aggressive trail and enduro use. We took delivery of a sample a while back, keep reading to find out what we think of it (it was also featured in our Gear Show, you can jump ahead to 10:16 in the video below to see the helmet in action).

Bluegrass Rogue Core MIPS Highlights

• In-mould polycarbonate shell with EPS liner
• Extended Head Coverage
• MIPS-C2 Brain Protection System
• Safe-T Heta Fit System
• 360° Head belt, Vertical adjustment
• Ponytail Compatible
• Gel padded head support
• Fidlock magnetic buckle
• Adjustable visor in flexible material
• Hand washable comfort pads
• Air Lite straps with anchors embedded into liner
• Adjustable cam divider
• Reflective rear decal
• 16 Vents | Internal Air Channeling
• Helmet soft bag
• Eyewear and goggle compatible
• Sunglasses ports
• Certifications CE; AS/NZS;
• Weight: 377 grams (size L, verified)
• MSRP: $180 USD

Initial Impressions

The Rogue features 16 large vents and a very open internal design to promote good breathability, with intake and exhaust ports situated all around the helmet. The internal liner is minimal, which leaves plenty of air channels open all the way from the outside.

There are several adjustments to ensure a good fit. The straps can be adjusted around your ears, and a ratchet dial on the wrap-around internal harness adapts to the circumference of your head. The harness can also move up and down if needed – and there’s even a cut-out around the back for your pony tail. Yay!

In terms of safety features, there’s a MIPS layer to help reduce the transmission of rotational forces to your brain in case of an off-axis impact to your head. The visor is flexible to allow it to move out of the way and reduce the risk of snagging and twisting during a crash – it can also be rotated rearwards to create storage space for your goggles. The coverage of the shell itself has been extended along the temples and down the back of the head to provide as much impact protection as possible in an open-face helmet.

The finish of the Rogue is of high quality. Metallic paint highlights and logos have been tastefully applied, and all the edges and recesses are clean and well-defined. Our size L test sample weighed in at 377 grams, which falls within a few grams of competitors like the POC Tectal, TLD A2, Fox Speedframe and others (all weighed on the same scales to compare). The Rogue comes in 3 sizes, to cover head measurements from 52-61 centimeters. At $180 USD, the pricing is on par with most other full-featured helmets in this category.

On The Trail

The Rogue is comfortable, and it’s easy to dial in a good fit. With just 3 shell sizes, the range of adjustment in the harness is wide, and this tester ended up having to cinch it down a fair bit for a snug fit. Measuring in at 58.5-59 cm, we used up about 80% of the available adjustment range in the size L, and we suspect we might have been able to get away with a size M with the harness wide open. Definitely take that into account if you are between sizes.

On the trail, the helmet sits in the right spot and remains very stable in action, even towards the limit of the adjustment range. The overall shape works well both with glasses and goggles, and we found that the visor stays well out of your field of vision at all times. There is a dedicated space for the goggle strap around the back, but you will end up covering a couple of the vents with it no matter what. On the topic of ventilation, the Rogue breathes really well, thanks to the open design and the size of the ports.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Highly adjustable, very well ventilated, comfortable and loaded with safety features – there is a lot to like about the new Rogue Core MIPS helmet from Bluegrass. Fidlock buckle, goggle storage space, eyewear dock and gel-padded head support point to extra attention to detail, which is particularly impressive given that the recommended retail price falls well in line with its main competition. If you like what you see, put it on your shortlist.

More information at: www.met-helmets.com

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 47 // Years Riding MTB: 15 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord