The Caberg Tourmax is the “World’s first enduro flip-up helmet”.
The helmet is also homologated to both the P and J ECE standard, which means it is legal for use when riding a motorcycle as either a full-face (visor locked) or as a “Jet” style helmet (visor locked in the upright position).
The Tourmax is definitely a unique helmet and it works surprisingly well and it should become very popular.
The Tourmax is comfortable, relatively quiet and it feels solid.
It even has a “bonus” internal sun visor.
The peak rotates back when the flip-up visor is raised and the peak snaps into place when the visor is lowered.
The Tourmax was announced at the 2013 EICMA show and it will be arriving at European retailers soon.
Caberg is celebrating their 40th anniversary and what better way to do it than to release a brand-new category-busting helmet.
Caberg is still trying to find a U.S. distributor and, to be honest, I’m very surprised and disappointed that this hasn’t yet happened. Caberg helmets are innovative, stylish, functional and 100% made in Italy.
You need more? All you have to do is read one of the many webBikeWorld Caberg helmet reviewsand I think you’ll agree.
But about the Tourmax…I’ll admit that both of us were a bit skeptical at first because sometimes too many features can result in helmet with just as many compromises.
Want an example? Read the webBikeWorld HJC IS-Multi review.
When I first heard about the Tourmax, I wondered how a dual-sport helmet with a peak could possibly be made to work correctly in either configuration.
Would it be too complicated, too heavy, too impractical…or all of the above?
As it turns out, our doubts were unwarranted. The Tourmax is a surprisingly nice helmet that looks good and works well. It feels very solid and the ingenious flip-up mechanism works like a charm.
The peak feels as sturdy as most of the off-road helmets we’ve reviewed. And the Tourmax is both functional and comfortable and it has excellent outward visibility.
So let’s take a closer look and then please let us know what you think about the new Caberg Tourmax!
The Caberg Tourmax: Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality
The Tourmax shown here is a near-production final prototype that is representative of an actual production version. This one is in the Caberg “Sonic” graphic, which complements the helmet’s styling quite nicely.
The Tourmax will also be delivered in Metallic White, Matt Black and Matt Gunmetal and hopefully a high-visibility version will come later.
Caberg has also just announced that the Tourmax will be made available in a black version with the Sonic graphics (photo) also.
The styling and the Sonic graphics ensure that the Tourmax fits into the Caberg family tree and the graphics and build quality are excellent.
Maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised at this, but the overall build quality is outstanding and all of the parts feel substantial and work together quite smoothly, with no looseness or plastic squeaking noises or anything like that.
This tells me that the design and its implementation must be pretty good.
In all respects, the helmet feels and works just like a Caberg and doesn’t feel unusual when it’s on my head. The face shield, internal sun visor and the rotating flip-up visor all work just as expected.
When the large rubberized rotating flip-up visor button in the front of the chin bar is released, the visor can be raised and the peak automatically rotates back and out of the way. You can see how it works in our video below.
The removable liner is comfortable and I can even fit my eyeglasses inside.
The ear pockets are very shallow, as seems to be current Caberg practice, but the Tourmax is prepped for the Caberg “Just Speak” Bluetooth communication system, with molded recesses for the microphone (on the back of the chin bar) and speakers.
The bottom line is that the Caberg Tourmax is a very unique helmet but we really can’t idenfity any compromises in the design and it works very nicely in all configurations.
Score: We’ll give the Caberg Tourmax an “Outstanding” rating for the graphics and design and the overall quality. See the Summary Table at the bottom of the page for a description of our rating system.
Caberg Tourmax Helmet Fit, Internal Shape and Liner
Our Tourmax is a size large and the internal shape feels similar to other Caberg flip-up helmets we’ve reviewed, with a “Neutral” internal profile that’s perhaps a touch narrow on the sides.
I have a “Round” or “Earth” shaped head (widest at the temples) and the Tourmax fits fine, with no pressure points.
Caberg uses the standard helmet size range and the large is labeled as fitting a 59-60 cm head. My head is 60.5 cm and I can squeeze it in; anything bigger than that should go to the XL, which fits a 61-62 cm.
The padding is comfortable, as is the liner fabric, but since our near-final production prototype arrived, Caberg said that the cheek pad lining thickness will be increased by 0.5 cm on each side.
The liner is removable and washable and has a hypoallergenic treatment.
I can fit different pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses in the Tourmax, even with my wide head shape.
The shallow ear pocket design, typical for a Caberg helmet, helps in this regard because there’s nothing to catch the tips of the temples or “arms” of the eyeglasses and they slide right in and over my ears.
The liner also has a large collar around the bottom, which helps to seal out noise and air, although the shape along the bottom of the helmet shell still seems to let in some air behind my ears, which increases the volume slightly.
Overall, the Tourmax is a very comfortable fit and the shape should be quite satisfactory for a huge range of rider head shapes.
Opening the rotating flip-up visor feels just like it should for any flip-up type helmet the Tourmax can be worn with the visor up and locked as a J or “Jet” helmet in the ECE standard.
However, the peak will definitely catch a lot of air when the helmet is worn this way, so it’s best for low speed riding only if at all.
More information on helmet fit can be found in the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page, along with the chart that lists the helmet weights of webBikeWorld reviewed helmets and also by shape on the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.
Score: We’ll give the Caberg Tourmax an “Excellent” rating for shape, comfort and padding. The liner fabric is comfortable also.
Caberg Tourmax Eye Port, Visibility, Face Shield, Sun Shade and Peak
The Tourmax has a wide and tall chin bar and the eye port is angled up slightly on either side of the lower half, towards the 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions. At first, we wondered if this design would affect the outward visibility.
But, in a pleasant surprise, the Tourmax actually has excellent visibility in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
In fact, the vertical view is quite exceptional, especially towards the bottom, with a huge view of the outside world that is even better than most other flip-up helmets.
This is ideal for a dual-sport helmet, where you may be standing on the foot pegs but need more forward/downward visibility to see the instruments.
The angled portions of the chin bar at 4 and 8 o’clock can be seen, but they’re not as bothersome as I anticipated and it doesn’t take long to get used to them.
The angles sort of disappear into the background after you realize that they don’t affect vision very much at all and that the generous view from the Tourmax eye port makes up for it.
The operation of the face shield is normal and will be familiar to any flip-up owner. The lift tab is in the center at the bottom and it has a mild “V” shape. The face shield lifts through 5 detents to the raised position and each one feels firm.
The first detent, however, isn’t as small as I’d like for defogging or city riding.
But on the plus side, you probably won’t need much defogging assistance anyway, because the Tourmax comes with a Pinlock insert, which has been working very well in the cold and damp weather we’ve been experiencing here recently.
The rotating flip-up visor feels sturdy and reliable and it operates smoothly.
It hits a detent when fully raised, then a slider lock on the left-hand side can be snapped forward and that locks the flip-up visor in the raised position, where it can stay and the helmet is now in the J or “Jet” configuration.
The lock is handy also when fueling the bike or whenever you want the visor to remain open without fear of suddenly closing.
The Tourmax also has a bonus: an internal sun visor.
It is engaged via a slider along the upper rear of the helmet and although it looks somewhat similar to the sliders found on modern HJC flip-up helmets, it does not have the complicated spring-loaded action of the HJC helmets.
The Caberg slider uses friction to hold the sun visor in an intermediate position.
When the slider runs all the way to the top front (lowering the internal sun visor for the rider), it hits a detent which helps keep the sun visor “locked” and lowered and with good coverage for the rider.
The peak that makes the Tourmax a dual-sport helmet looks good, swings out of the way with the rotating flip-up visor and it’s also functional. Many peaks are not.
This one even blocks some of the overhead sun, which is more than can be said for others I’ve tried. It feels surprisingly rigid and overall we’ve impressed with the engineering that went into the helmet.
Score: The Caberg Tourmax has outstanding vertical visibility and excellent horizontal visibility. We’ll give it an “Excellent” rating overall.
Dual top vents hidden under the peak. Caberg Tourmax large chin vent array and rotating flip-up visor release button.Caberg Tourmax Ventilation and Air Flow
The Caberg Tourmax has a large chin vent “array” in the front. The air flows up on to the back of the face shield and there are no other vent channels through the chin bar.
The chin vent is “on” all the time; that is, it doesn’t have an on/off switch but this hasn’t bothered me in the cold weather so I doubt it will be an issue when it’s warm.
The top vent opens and closes via a rubberized slider button on top, just to the rear of the peak. The air flows into the helmet through channels in the liner.
The ventilation is about average for a flip-up helmet; that is, some air flows in but not an exceptional amount. There are no rear exhaust vents in the Tourmax for some reason, which may limit the amount of air drawn through the helmet.
Nevertheless, at least in cold weather riding, the ventilation is acceptable.
Score: We’ll give the ventilation system of the Caberg Tourmax a “Very Good” rating.
Caberg Tourmax Noise Levels
Yet another surprise is the low noise levels I have experienced when wearing the Tourmax.
I thought maybe the peak or flip-up parts would add some noise, but overall, the helmet is relatively quiet around the top and sides.
There is some noise that comes from the wind moving around the bottom part of the helmet below and behind my ears, but this is probably due to the slight mis-match between my head shape and the internal shape of the helmet.
Also, this should be helped by the increased cheek pad thickness on the production helmets.
The peak has good aerodynamics with minimal buffeting or turbulence, so no problems to report there either. But, as with any dual-sport or off-road helmet with a peak, you probably won’t want to ride at high speeds for very long. It’s just the nature of the design.
Overall, I rate the Tourmax as quieter than expected, with very good noise control.
Note that our helmet evaluations are a combined effort of several riders over time on different types of motorcycles with and without windscreens.
Evaluators wear correctly fitted, high quality ear plugs (even when evaluating motorcycle intercom systems).
Always protect your hearing when riding a motorcycle. See the wBW Earplug Reviews for more information on choosing and wearing earplugs.
Note also that perceived noise levels will vary, depending on the individual.
Noise can be caused by many factors, including helmet fit, the type of motorcycle and windscreen, wind speed and direction and even the rider’s clothing.
For more information on helmet noise, visit the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Noise page.
Score: We’ll give the Caberg Tourmax an “Excellent” rating for better than average noise control for this type of helmet.
Helmet Weight
This Tourmax in size large weighs 1775 grams, which actually is a good figure, all things considered. In fact, we were surprised that it didn’t weigh a lot more.
Flip-up helmets generally weigh more and then the additional peak and the internal sun visor could have added another 100 grams, but Caberg has done a very good job at keeping the weight reasonable.
Looking at some other helmets on the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Weights chart, theCaberg Sintesi 2 (review) flip-up in size large weights nearly the same at 1772 grams.
The HJC Sy-Max III (review) flip-up in size L weights 1778 grams and the Nolan N90 (review) flip-up in size large is 1784 grams.
The AFX FX-39 DS (review) is a true dual-sport helmet (size L) and weighs 1784 grams, so you can see that the Caberg Tourmax weight is very reasonable.
Note that all of the helmets reviewed on webBikeWorld have been weighed and the weights are available on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Weights page, along with a chart that lists the helmets by weight and shape on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.
Score: We’ll give the Caberg Tourmax an “Outstanding” rating for its relatively low weight and excellent fit and balance.
Miscellaneous
The Tourmax has a quick release chin strap retainer and the chin strap padding is comfortable and extra-long. We’re waiting for confirmation on the shell sizes.
The Tourmax meets the ECE 22.05 safety standards as a P and J helmet only.
Conclusion
The Caberg Tourmax is one of the most unique helmet designs we’ve seen. But there are no real compromises and the helmet works well as both a flip-up and dual-sport, with good looks and useful features.
It feels like a normal flip-up…and it also feels like a dual-sport helmet.
Add the other features like the internal sun visor and excellent visibility, along with good looks, and we think that Caberg will have no problem selling these by the boatload when the helmets hit the dealers’ shelves in February 2014.
Owner Comments and Feedback
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From “H.S.” (February 2014): “I bought the Caberg Duke mainly based on your reviews which were spot on for the strengths and weaknesses of the helmet.
An excellent helmet for the price (especially considering the 5-star from Sharp). Improved upper ventilation and lower noise abatement would make it near perfect.
Is it me, or is the Caberg Tourmax just a Duke with a dual-sport peak attached?
Profiles and vents (and lack thereof) look the same. Your noise ratings and fit are the only things that makes me think they might be different helmets.
Perhaps Caberg upgraded some of their internal padding to compensate for the noise on the Duke. That could account for the changed the overall fit from slightly round/neutral on the Duke to slightly narrow/neutral on the Tourmax.
Just curious if a comparison crossed your minds.
P.S. I agree the style and prices for Caberg and Roof would make a killing here in the States. I never understood the import problems for non-DOT helmets if there isn’t a nation-wide Federal requirement to wear helmets.”
Editor’s Reply: No doubt there’s a lot of Duke DNA in the Tourmax. Regarding the import issue, it’s not importing or meeting the DOT standard — that’s the easy part.
In the U.S., it’s the distribution, retail and support issues that are very difficult to overcome.