Since 1 January 2026, the FIM Racing Homologation Programme for Helmets Phase 2 — FRHPhe-02 — has been mandatory for riders entered in FIM championships, this one included. It is the first FIM helmet standard written for off-road, and it sits deliberately above ECE 22.06, Snell M2020 and JIS T8133 rather than alongside them.
The official homologated off-road list has grown steadily through the season and now stands at fifteen models from fourteen manufacturers. All of them passed the same tests. So the question for a Hard Enduro rider is no longer "is this helmet legal", it is "which of these legal helmets is actually built for six hours of Hard Enduro?"
That is an editorial opinion, and what follows is exactly that. Read the caveats at the bottom before you spend anything.
What FRHPhe-02 Actually Tests
Phase 2 was developed with the helmet manufacturers from 2022, and the FIM tests every submission in a single laboratory to keep results consistent between brands. On top of an existing international certificate, each size is tested across four samples with impacts at randomly selected points from twenty-two pre-established locations.
The additions that matter most to us are the ones that mirror how riders actually crash off-road: oblique and hemispherical anvil impacts to measure rotational loading, a quick-removal cheek pad test for extraction by marshals and medics, and a new Skull Fracture Criterion. Hard Enduro is not a discipline of clean high-speed highsides. It is a discipline of getting pitched sideways into a rock at walking pace with a bike on top of you. Rotational and low-speed energy management is the whole ball game.
The Full FRHPhe-02 Off-Road List
6D ATR-3 · Acerbis Airstrike FIM Racing#2 · Airoh Aviator 3 Evo · Alpinestars S-M10 and S-M10 FIM Racing #2 · Arai MX-V FIM Racing#2 · Bell Moto 10-GP · Fly Racing Formula S · Fox Racing V3RS · Just1 J18 · Leatt Moto 9.5 · LS2 X-Force Pro · Nexxpro X.Rally FIM Racing #2 · Scorpion EXO VX-22 Air FIM Racing #2 · Troy Lee Designs SE5-06.
Our Picks For Hard Enduro
The one already proven at the front: Fox V3RS
A Fox V3 RS, and it is the pick that needs least justification. Carbon shell, Mips Integra Split sitting between two EPS densities, and, the detail that matters here, a swappable mouthpiece that routes a hydration tube from your pack, through the cheek pad loops, to your mouth. Enduro21 measured their long-term test helmet at 1280g and reported no pressure points after a year of mixed enduro use. Fox quote 1270g ±50g in medium across five shell sizes.
The featherweight: Leatt Moto 9.5
At a quoted 1195g ±50g, the Leatt Moto 9.5 is among the lightest homologated options, and it carries Leatt’s 360° Turbine discs plus a hydration side port. On a Roof of Africa length day, a hundred grams off your head compounds into real neck endurance. Check availability in your size before you commit, Leatt’s homologation has been rolling out size by size.
The ventilation and fit pick: Alpinestars S-M10
Sixteen intake vents and five exhausts, a carbon shell at roughly 1260g in medium, and the A-Head fitment system that lets you tilt and raise the helmet on your head rather than living with where it lands. Hard Enduro means long spells at zero airflow; a helmet that moves air at low speed and can be dialled to sit right under a goggle strap is worth a lot. Both the S-M10 and the S-M10 FIM Racing #2 appear on the list.
The low-speed impact specialist: 6D ATR-3
6D built its reputation on Omni-Directional Suspension, an EPP outer liner and EPS inner liner joined by elastomeric dampers, and the ATR-3 is the fifth generation of it, with a 3K carbon shell and around 100g shaved off. 6D also rebuild the liner assembly after an impact, which no one else offers. Expect roughly $795–$850.
The value play: LS2 X-Force Pro
LS2 were first to a FIM off-road homologation and the X-Force Pro remains the accessible way in, a 9K carbon shell at around 1300g ±50g, at a price point well under the premium bracket. If FRHPhe-02 has blown up your kit budget, start here.
Also strongly worth your time: the Airoh Aviator 3 Evo (four shell sizes, carbon from around 1270g), the Troy Lee Designs SE5-06 (16 intakes, six exhausts, Mips Integra) and the Fly Racing Formula S, whose Rheon energy cells and Conehead EPS are aimed squarely at low-speed linear and rotational hits.
Three Things That Will Catch Riders Out
1. The label is the homologation. Owning the right model is not enough. Approval is confirmed by the FIM homologation label and QR code sewn onto the chin strap. An older helmet of the same name will not pass technical control.
2. Not every model is homologated in every size. Several are approved in a limited size run and expand over time. Check the live list for your size before you buy, not on scrutineering morning, back protectors caught international riders out at the ISDE for exactly this reason.
3. This is not a safety ranking. FRHPhe-02 is pass or fail. Every helmet above cleared the same bar, and the FIM does not rank them. Our picks are about suitability for Hard Enduro, weight, airflow, hydration, fit, not about one being safer than another. Fit beats every spec sheet ever written, so try before you buy.
The Rest Of The Kit
A helmet is the one item the FIM now mandates, but it is not the one that decides your day. Tyre choice is still the single biggest performance variable in Hard Enduro, championship partner Plews Tyres build specifically for this discipline. S3 Parts cover the contact points and protection that take the real abuse, and Factory Links handle the linkage and bearing work that quietly destroys a bike over a season of river crossings.
Next Up: Forza Orza, Sweden
The championship resumes at Forza Orza on 20–22 August 2026, Sweden’s first ever round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and Round 4 of eight. Raw Scandinavian forest, rock and an endurance-focused format — and a home round for Eddie Karlsson, currently seventh.
Manuel Lettenbichler leads on 88 points from Mitch Brightmore on 75 and Teodor Kabakchiev on 68, with five rounds still to run and Billy Bolt and Wade Young both needing results after scoring nothing at Silver Kings. Full championship standings are here.
Whatever is on your head in Sweden, make sure the chin strap has the label.