Ever needed an open face helmet for touring? Wished it had a Bluetooth communication unit? Or a visor and an inner sun visor? An active ventilation system as well? Searching for that perfect open face lid that will keep you happy for years? Well, look no further! Caberg’s ‘Uptown’ helmet may be just what you need.
With the ‘LADY’ graphic which has been expressly designed for the female audience, the Uptown is also available in solid black and white colors as well as ITALIA and GEAR version.
So let’s take a look at this high maintenance…err…high quality helmet from Caberg.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
What Would You Love?
When you lay your sights on one of these, you immediately see familiarity with the Caberg Ghost, without the face mask. You will notice that the silhouette, when viewed from the side is somewhat similar. The difference comes in a more aerodynamic shape and an aggressive gradient at the rear, which makes the neck orifice much smaller in the Uptown.
The LADY graphic is very subtle and chic, with interspersed light blue, dark brown and slightly colored lines on a clean white background, branching out into what looks like leaves and chamfered squares based clipart. The name and graphic sure are congruent in this one. Kudos to Caberg for staying away from pink and purple clichés.
Moving away from the Double D ring despite its advantages, Caberg has included a Micrometric buckle for a single handed operation, preferring user friendliness.
Uptown also has a ring with which you can attach the helmet to your motorbike and secure it.
The Top Features to Look Out For
A quality lid from Caberg which has the potential to tick all the default boxes on an open face helmet. What’s more?
Shell
The shell is made out of polycarbonate. It is a kind of plastic or a polymer chain, and has the ability to withstand high velocity impacts.
Caberg has provided two shell sizes and distributed the EPS sizes equally in them. You have the small shell size which houses the XS, S and M sized EPS (that’s 53 cm to 58 cm). And then there is a large size which has your L, XL and XXL dimensions (60 cm to 63 cm).
The finishing of the helmet is magnificent and there is no manufacturing defect that can be found when you feel the helmet in your hands. The ECE 22.05 certification should be more than enough to quell any doubtful thoughts.
Weighing in at just 2.6 pounds or 1200 gm at the maximum, this is one of the lightest open face helmets you can find in the European market.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Visors
The face shield has a belligerent look about it, almost as if they’ve made up for the absence of the face mask which was a popular feature in Ghost. The equipped face shield has been made PinLock ready, which means that you can buy a PinLock anti fog lens and mount it with minimal effort. Caberg has also given it an anti-scratch treatment for those incidents involving light skirmishes with the tarmac.
An inner sun visor is also provided which diverts the overall feeling from the true open face nature. No goggle strap support here. But the sun visor does its job of UV protection pretty well.
Ventilation
Ventilation! Hell yes. Caberg Uptown now has a functional venting system at the front as well as at the back.
There are two vents at the top of the brow line with sliders to open or close them. The vents connect with channels and route that incoming air down to the exhaust vents at the extreme bottom near the neck line.
The slider toggles for the front vents look extremely stylish, sitting in line atop either brow, close to the visor mounts. The slider housing is parallel to the brow line and the angular decline portrays correct use of a trim. It looks a bit like a panel which houses both sliders and feels like it can be removed, but that’s for you to find out.
Padding and Lining
The cushion is a mix of meshed fabric, leather liner and soft breathable inner liner. The meshed fabric hugs the shell outline, which houses the leather neck roll, which houses the soft fabric cheek pads. The comfort liner and the cheek pads are very easy to remove (no fiddles) and can be washed with cold water. Caberg recommends drying it naturally in the air.
The fabric has an impressive capacity to soak up sweat and still keep you comfortable on one of your longer rides.
Customer Reviews
There is very little to complain about this helmet, but with the addition of the ventilation system, people have started comparing noise levels and cooling efficiency. The more you add, the more it is at risk to be compared and ridiculed. Luckily, there have not been any major complaints yet. Just the odd, incorrect fit here and there.
We have worked closely with RevZilla, Amazon and 2Wheel over the years to provide our testers with products to review. They are all great partners and unique in their own ways, so make sure to check out their prices. Please don’t forget we may get a commission if you buy from them.
Bottom Line
True open face enthusiasts may be turned away with the addition of bells and whistles, but they are necessary to keep up with the times. Besides, Caberg has not pre-installed anything that can mar your experience; rather aid you as a tourer.
The important thing is how appealing this ‘Uptown’ helmet feels to your ‘LADY’ friend, and at a very reasonable price at that. Three birds in one stone?