For me a helmet is the 1st piece of kit I always look to pack before heading out to the mountains. There have been too many needless casualties due to not wearing a helmet. So what do you want from a helmet?

There are those that opt for the shiniest or most radical design new to the market but leaving the fashion element aside, essentially you want your helmet to be well constructed and a good fit ‘for you’. Wild Country products are usually well thought out and well constructed and the 360 helmet doesn’t disappoint. This helmet was purpose built to provide the highest level of all round protection and at first touch you can tell it’s made of hard stuff.

The interior foam protection extends further to the rear than most helmets on the market but in doing so, sacrifices none of the comfort. While Wild Country say the 360 is stylish, I found it quite simple and straight forward compared to some of the funkier designs out there, but that’s a good thing in my opinion. It comes in 3 colours – light blue, red and white. The adjustment system is by rotation dial at the rear of the head – simple and straight forward. There is excellent venting with 6 vents equally positioned around the helmet. There’s also a handy little sticker on the inside of the helmet for personal details should you leave it behind by accident.

You might struggle slightly to fit your torch to the helmet with heavy gloves but I’d prefer to see a helmet with tight flaps like this, than risk my torch pop off. Also, if you have a large battery pack for your torch, it might not sit neatly against the rear of the helmet due to a small fixed nub that protrudes at the back. In terms of fit, if you have a narrow head like me, the 360 may not be for you. I found that even when the helmet was fitted correctly, only the front and back points compressed, leaving very little contact to the sides of my head. Having said that, the helmet was always comfortable and at no stage did it feel like slipping. It's obviously just my pin head!

Remember, like all other pieces of personal gear, what feels good to one person might not suit you so you need to make sure whatever helmet you chose fits well with your head size and shape. All in all, the 360 is a rugged, well made helmet for any climber.