Hunt has made a name for itself in recent years with a no-nonsense range of affordable wheels – we’ve previously rated its TrailWide wheels as one of the best MTB wheelsets available. Starting out using only alloy rims, the UK-based brand branched out into offering a carbon option a couple of years ago. True to form, the price point on these All-Mountain Carbon H_Impact wheels is impressive. At £799 they are not exactly cheap, but for a full carbon wheelset they undercut most of the competition by a significant margin. And that includes a peace-of-mind free lifetime crash replacement warranty for the original owner. The generosity even stretches to throwing in tubeless tape, tubeless valves and spare spokes in the box.

Tubeless valves, rim tape and spare spokes are included in the box

Starting with the rims, Hunt uses unidirectional T24/30 fibres for the bulk of the rim construction with the spoke holes reinforced with 3k weave sheet. Hunt has chosen a hookless design which allows for stronger sidewalls and greater impact protection. This leaves a 28mm wide internal cavity which is a little narrower than some, but still works fine with popular tyres from 2.3in to 2.5in wide. Hunt has also used a special resin in the moulding process that it claims is less brittle than alternatives and should help the rim absorb impacts rather than simply cracking.

At 28mm wide internally, the Hunt rims are narrower than average

Although the front and rear rims outwardly look the same, Hunt has made an effort to optimise both ends by tweaking the carbon lay-up and the spoke count. As such, the front rim weighs a claimed 460g and gets 28-spoke lacing, while the reinforced rear rim weighs 530g and runs 32 spokes.

Microspline and XD driver bodies are available

Moving towards the hub, oversize, asymmetric hub shells allow for larger bearings running on 7075-T6 alloy axles. At the rear, the axle is also oversized to improve stiffness, strength and bearing durability. There’s a choice of freehub bodies including Shimano Microspline, SRAM XD and standard splined, and all three operate on a six-pawl system with 5º of engagement.

Up front, you can even specify Torque Cap end caps if you’re running a RockShox fork

Hunt uses traditional j-bend Pillar triple-butted spokes and alloy nipples, making finding spares a cinch (there are spares also included in the box). The only axle options available are Boost (148x12mm rear and 110x15mm front) but RockShox Torque Cap-compatible end caps are available FOC at the point of ordering.

Standard J-bend spokes are used front and rear, making spares a cinch to find

What about performance? I’ve not thought about these wheels since the day I put them on my bike several months ago. They’ve just worked. The internal width is good and works with my preferred tyre size (2.35-2.5in). They look nice. Which, let’s be honest, is a big reason why a lot of people buy carbon wheels.

Reinforced spoke holes and a hookless sidewall are the primary design features on Hunt’s rim

This test pair arrived with a SRAM XD driver body but Hunt sent over a Shimano Microspline conversion kit, which was easy to swap out with no weird tools or brute force required. Tubeless tyres went up no probs and held air as good as anything ever does.

Bearings still holding up well after plenty of muddy rides

So far, so good, but what makes me hesitant about these wheels is that I was hard-pressed to tell them apart from any alloy wheelset experience. At 50g under 2kg, they’re not even lighter than an alloy wheelset. But they aren’t harsh or overly nervous across cambered terrain like some carbon wheels can be.

Several months down the line then and nothing has gone wrong with them. The bearings are spinning fine, they’re still straight and true. The one very small niggle I can offer is that, upon stripping them down to write this review, the rim tape has started to lift a bit where it overlaps itself. This is not uncommon on any wheel really – and is easily solved with a bit of insulation/Gorilla tape – but is it worth pointing out on wheels costing nigh on £900? Even if they are very good value for a pair of carbon wheels.