The Payroll is available with or without a crash sensor called Aleck, which uses bluetooth to connect to an app on your phone and costs £45 more. I’m testing the regualar Mips version without Aleck, it has a more angular shape and less Koroyd in the shell than the brand’s other more recognisable premium helmet, the Forefront.

Now I’m a big Forefront fan, but some folks’ bugbear with it (I’m looking at my colleague Mr Kesteven here) is that the wraparound Koroyd cylindrical tubes don’t deliver sufficient through-flow ventilation as you ride along. The best mountain bike helmets have to balance protection and breathability, and Kesteven the tester man reckons the Forefront has it wrong.

Smith has pared back the Koroyd honeycomb layer, leaving bigger vents at the front and rear for cooling

Smith Payroll Mips need to know

• Premium open face helmet from Smith, optional crash sensor costs £45 more
• Koroyd protection works alongside regualar EPS and a Mips liner for protection
• 19 fixed vents, three-position visor, eyewear mount, Ionic+ padding, four sizes

But unlike Guy, I always stop for a rest at the top before dropping back in to session the downhills. I love how the Forefront magically radiates heat and moisture out through said Koroyd tubes, a bit like a heat sink, where other helmets trap it. But I also get what he’s saying about the Smith Forefront 2 not pumping air onto my noggin quite as effectively as regualar open vents from other top helmets.

Smith Optics presumably had some of the same thoughts coming up with this new Payroll. It gets the brand’s top-tier finish and detailing, but leaves out a chunk of the honeycomb on the top and front of the skull in favour of extra venting.

Big vents are everywhere on the Payroll

The Payroll only wraps the zone around and above the temples in crushable, energy-absorbing, impact protection, where the Forefront 2 envelops the whole head. This leaves bigger openings for cooling air to flow straight onto my head in the front upper section, and wide-open exhaust ports to dump excess heat and flush it out of the interior. The Payroll has 19 fixed vents in total, and also uses less bulky single layer webbing on the chin strap for better comfort and cooling.

Design and specifications

Smith’s helmet comes in four sizes to ensure a closer fit for peanut (45cm) to Shrek-sized (65cm) heads, and anywhere in between. That’s one or sometimes two more sizes than many other brands offer. Smith also uses its Vapor-Fit dial adjustment system that can be cinched tighter one-handed. A rear retention dial is hardly unique, but the Payroll’s system is superior to many with tight increments and a solid feel that I found absolutely locks the lid in place without digging in or causing any hot spots at the rear cradle.

All Payroll interior padding is absorbent, cushy and comfy and also anti-microbial, so it resists getting too stinky with ‘sweat-activated odour control’ technology. I’ll admit to thinking this part sounded like marketing BS, but over time, the Payroll never got too minging and stinky. Considering I sweat loads, Smith’s claims seem legit. The wraparound pad on the brow is thick enough to absorb sweat so it doesn’t drip down into my eyes when really working hard either.

The Payroll has more venting, but there’s still a solid skeleton of EPS wrapping your head

The full rim and outer shell are wrapped, so the helmet is more protected from knocks and dings when transporting it. The glancing impact absorbing Mips liner is also very slimline and neat, so the overall volume isn’t too motorbike-like.

In terms of the material that defends against crashes and proper knocks, the hard outer shell is reinforced with a roll-cage style skeleton hidden inside for extra strength and impact protection. This means the Payroll is e-bike certified (which demands bike helmets protect your head at higher speeds) and harder to puncture or penetrate in the event of bravery overtaking your skills. The helmet also has a three-position visor that accommodates sunglasses or goggles underneath, and front glasses storage channels that work with the ventilation system so they don’t steam up when stashed and working hard.

Smith has concentrated Koroyd around the temples where it’s needed most

Performance

Key to the excellent cooling and air flow here is more than just using less Koroyd on the front and top. There’s also the big slotted port on the forehead section that pumps cooling air straight onto my brow. On top of this, three deep slotted grooves sit vertically on the inside of the shell and behind it that help further air circulate over my forehead and temples and keep my head cooler.

The Payroll looks a bit like Smith’s cheaper Session Mips lid or the older Engage model, but I’ve found it much more comfortable and cooler than either. From the first time I put it on there’s that wraparound and secure-feeling other dished out lids like the superlative Troy Lee Designs A3 generate, cocooning my head from the world.

The TLD A3 is still the best mountain bike helmet out there, but the Payroll runs it pretty close… it’s cheaper too

On my 58cm head, the fit of the medium is pretty much perfect, something I chalk up to the multiple sizes. Smith’s latest lid never wriggles or rattles and the visor never slipped out of whatever position I set it in (usually the middle). The excellent fit and cooling here together with the comfort and absorbaancy of the padding make this one of my favourite lids of recent years.

The £175 price tag is steep though, so I’d also recommend the much cheaper Specialized Ambush 2 if nearly £200 seems like too much for a piece of expanded foam. That helmet has similarly excellent cooling, ventilation and comfort, but I prefer Smith’s more stable and planted retention system to Spesh’s slightly quirky SBC integrated fit dial. Yes it works, but Spesh’s system tightens from the shell of the helmet rather than on a cradle, with a dial that connects to the rear of the skull. Another similar lid with superb ventilation that’s worth considering is the Sweet Protection Trailblazer Mips lid, but that is a similar price to this Smith Payroll.

Smith’s Payroll Mips leaves you to focus on the trail without any distractions