After a few years in development Palm Equipment has revealed the Shuck helmet. I tried out a 3D printed Shuck almost two years ago but was sworn to secrecy. It took a few days to print and was super heavy.

Palm Equipment Shuck - First Look

Roll on a couple of years and the Shuck has been released into the world.

The Shuck is approved to CE water sport safety standard EN1385 and has a claimed weight of 533g in the large size. This example weighed in at 536g.

Palm Equipment Shuck - First Look

The Shuck is available in two varieties, the full cut which includes additional coverage of the ears and the half-cut version and it is the half-cut version that is shown here. However, both versions use the same tough ABS shell and multi-impact EPP liner.

The Shuck retails at around £80 which puts the helmet (in terms of cost) in the middle of the Sweet Wanderer helmet (£110) and Shred Ready’s Standard (£72). Although both of these and the Shuck can be found for less than RRP.

Now it is important to state that you should choose a helmet based upon how it fits you. Everyone is different and fit and protection/coverage should be the deciding factor before fashion and cost comes into play. I would therefore always recommend trying on helmets in a store that sells a number of different brands to find the one most suitable for the shape of your head.

The Shuck is available in three sizes Small (51-55cm), Medium (56-58cm) and Large (58-61cm). My current helmet is a Sweet Rocker M/L which is designed for a head circumference of 56 to 59cm and although I am at the top end of this, the L/XL is far too big. Trying on the Shuck in the store I found that although I could wear the medium there was definitely some pressure points, that indicated that over a longer period of time I would probably have issues wearing that size. I therefore went for the Large.

Palm Equipment Shuck - First Look

Palm Equipment Shuck - First Look

To get the fit right for me I needed to remove the washable Polygiene fabric comfort liner and add in a few of the provided self-adhesive foam strips. The liner was then reattached using the Velcro tabs and the helmet popped back on. This made sure that the helmet was both snug and comfortable with no side to side wobble. Additional tweaks could be made using the dial based adjustable occipital stabiliser.

Palm Equipment Shuck - First Look

If you have ever used a good cycling helmet you will be familiar with this dial concept. This system not only gets the fit spot on but it also helps prevent the helmet from tipping backwards and exposing the temples.

Most helmets have some sort of drainage system in the form of multiple holes in helmet shell. The Shuck does not have any of these.

On the colour front the helmet is available in red, blue, black and white. All have contrasting coloured straps and highlights to match in with Palm’s wide range of water sports gear.

We will be testing the Shuck over the next few months and will post a full review in due course.