The Radius Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Windshield Kit is a compact and versatile microphone windshield and shock mounting system for location sound professionals.
It features the award-winning RAD shock mount, which is claimed to provide exceptional isolation from handling noise, an ultra-lightweight 2-part magnetic pod windshield that can be fitted/unfitted in seconds, and a removable fur cover for added wind protection.
If you are not familiar with Radius, they are a UK-based company. Their founder, Simon Davies, began learning about sound recording and windshields when he was 14 years old, as his mum Vivienne was one of Rycote Windshields’ first employees. Vivienne went on to take full ownership of Rycote from John Gozzard in 1994 and expanded their small family business.
After training as a location sound recordist at BBC Wood Norton, Simon joined full-time in 1997. Simon originally started as a production engineer, then became technical director, and eventually took over full ownership and management of Rycote with his wife Odette (who also just happened to run all manufacturing operations and logistics) until they sold the business in 2018.
There is a ton of expertise behind Radius, and I sort of liken them to MID49 as new companies that bring a lot of experience in their respective fields.
Ok, so now that we have some background about the company, let’s get on with the review.
Compatible Mics
Sennheiser MKH50 
Sanken CS-M1
The Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Windshield Kit is suitable for microphones 95mm – 160mm in length. Below, I have listed what microphones the various kits work with.
Mini-ALTO 115
- DPA 4018c
- Schoeps CMC1 Series
- Sennheiser MKH 8040 (w/MZX)
- Rycote SC-08
- Neumann KM 100
Mini-ALTO 180
- DPA 4017C
- Deity S-Mic 3S
- Neumann KM 184
- Rode NT5
- Sanken CMS-50;
- Sanken CS-M1
- Schoeps CMC6 Series, CMD42, MiniCMIT, CMCIU-KMIT
- Sennheiser MKH50
Mini-ALTO 210
- Audio-Technica AT875R; DPA 2017, 4018A
- Sennheiser MKH8060
Small & Compact
The Mini-ALTO was designed to be fast and easy to use with almost all small condenser, short shotgun, and standard shotgun-sized microphones. With a diameter of just 85mm, the Mini-ALTO is the smallest full-coverage zeppelin windshield available in the professional audio recording industry. Even at this size, the Mini-ALTO is claimed to achieve wind reduction for up to -40dB with its included fur cover, which is comparable to larger pill-shaped windshields.
What do you get?
The Mini-ALTO windshields come in full kits, which include the windshield, a RAD-2 Mount, spare hoops with different suspension firmness, a fur windcover, a smiley face adaptor, and a magnetic stowage holder for the windshield with a carabiner clip. The full kits are available in versions with and without custom-fitted XLR cables.
The following items are included in the Mini-ALTO kits:
- RAD-2 Shock Mount fitted with 72D Hoops & Universal Clips
- Smiley Face Adaptor & Cable Gland – fitted to RAD-2
- RAD-2 spare pairs of RAD Hoops (55D, 62D & 82D), Hex Key & Screws
- Front Pod & Rear Pod
- Fur Windcover (Black or Grey)
- Windshield Stowage Holder with Carabiner
- 2 x Cable Straps
- Spare Cable Gland
- 3 x Travel Straps
- With or without 9″ XLR Cable (optional)
Build Quality
The Radius Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Windshield Kit is made in the U.K. Everything is nicely put together and well thought out.
Despite only tipping the scales at 235g (8.25 oz), the blimp is very robust.
The Mount and Hoops are also nicely designed.
Quick to set up & break down
The Blimp is very easy to remove, as you can see above.
The magnets on the Mini-ALTO full-coverage zeppelin windshield are nice and strong, and they hold it together firmly.
Above, you can see how the magnets work.
Smiley face adaptor
The Smiley face adaptor is held in place with 3 x screws (M3 x 12mm). The centre screw MUST always be fitted to secure the smiley to the RAD-2. The outer screws hold both the RAD hoops or the Single RAD hoop to the smiley & RAD mount.
Cable Gland
The cable exit is designed for cables up to 6.0mm in diameter. For cables up to 3.5mm in diameter, the supplied cable gland acts to secure the cable in the cable exit and create a seal. Larger cables do not require the cable gland.
Windshield Stowage Holder
When the 2-part basket is not in use, the windshield stowage holder can be used to connect both sides together magnetically. With the use of a carabiner, the basket can then be clipped to a D-ring on a harness.
XLR Holder
The XLR Holder is integrated onto the boom adaptor. When the mount is not fitted to a pole or stand, the XLR Connector can rotate around the boom adaptor and will click as it does so.
Once screwed into 3/8″ female thread, the XLR holder is tightened and won’t move.
When you first receive the mount, you may notice the movement or wobble of the XLR holder on the boom adaptor. Don’t worry, this is normal! This part needs some play to allow it to rotate, but it can also be removed if necessary. To remove the XLR Holder, if you look under the mount at the brass 3/8″, you’ll see three lines in the plastic on the boom adaptor. Next to this is the release latch. Push the release latch with a small flat-headed screwdriver whilst pulling the XLR Holder away from the boom adaptor to remove. In reality, you’ll likely never need to take it off.
Boom Adaptor
The Boom adaptor has a standard 3/8″ UNC brass, with a 20mm depth. The UNC female thread will accept all boom poles with either 3/8″ UNC or British Standard Whitworth (BSW). The pivot of the mount is controlled by the male pivot knob that screws into the female M6 thread of the boom adaptor. This is moulded during the manufacturing process and should never loosen.
Mount
The Mount combines the bracket, bar & retained male (M6) pivot knob. Unscrew the knob fully, and you will see it is retained with a small silicone O-ring on the M6 thread. This retains the knob and allows it to be switched between boom adaptors and pistol grip handles.
The Mount has a number of cable posts. They have been designed to provide a twisted path for cables from 2.5mm to 6.0mm in diameter. The central peg features a press-in slot for 3.0mm cables. and the others act like miniature cleats to secure the cable.
The top surface of the Mount has three sockets for receiving the Hoops. Out of the box, the Hoops are spaced at the end sockets with 40mm centres. The Hoops can be positioned at 20mm centres, either from the front or rear of the mount, by moving one of the Hoops to the centre socket.
Hoops
For each version of the RAD mounts, two pairs of Hoops are supplied. The Standard Hoops (Black) that come fitted are the 72-shore hardness versions.
The set of Lite Hoops (Light Blue) made in 62-shore hardness provides a softer, more flexible isolation. The Lite Hoops tend to provide more handling noise reduction for lighter, compact microphones. You can experiment with the Hoops either with the same hardness front and rear or mixed hardness front and rear to find which combination works best with your mics, so you can share your experience with other sound recordists.
One key point about the Hoops, if you do reposition them, the angled portions of the Hoops can face towards themselves or away from each other, but never in the same direction.
Above, you can see that we have used the Lite Hoops for the Sennheiser MKH50 and the Standard Hoops for the Sanken CS-M1.
Mic Clips & Safety ‘H’ Strap
The Mic Clips are attached to the top of the Hoops using M3 screws (RAD-1 is 8mm and RAD-2/3 is 12mm). The clips can be taken off and put onto different Hoops. Always ensure to tighten fully after refitting. The clips will securely hold microphones from 19-25mm in diameter, including any of the slab-sided MKH range. For 23-25mm mics, it may help if you squeeze the sides of the hoops to give you more space underneath the clip to insert the mic.
The safety ‘H’ strap can be on or left off during use. Its primary function is to secure the mic when not in use and prevent it from jumping out of the clips whilst in transit. The straps can also be used to tighten the clip onto itself with the mic removed. This is useful if you often switch between a larger diameter mic & smaller mic and want the clips to retain their memory. The side pegs on the clip allow the strap to be tightened depending on the diameter of the mic.
The Fur Windcover
The Fur Windcover in the kit fits well.
Working with the Sennheiser MKH50
The Sennheiser MKH50, while fantastic, is a notoriously difficult microphone to work with when it comes to handling noise.
A lot of sound recordists use the Cinela E-OSIX Suspension Mount.
Above, you can see how the Cinela E-OSIX Suspension Mount compares to the mount that comes with the Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Kit.
The sound recordist I usually work with, Skirmantas ‘Spider’ Ivanauskas, tried the Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Kit out with a Sennheiser MKH50, which is a notoriously difficult microphone when it comes to handling noise. He found that there was no handling noise when using the softer hoops without the blimp. If you do use the blimp, he found it’s best to go with the harder hoops at the front and softer ones at the back.
He liked the size and the magnetic quick-release system on the blimp.
In the blimp with the Fur Windcover it provided very good wind protection when using the Sennheiser MKH50.
Above, you can hear a wind test with the Sennheiser MKH50 being used in various configurations with the gain set at @-30dB on a Sound Devices 8 series mixer/recorder.
Price & Availability
The Radius Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Windshield Kit is available to purchase for $459 USD.
Thoughts
The Radius Mini-ALTO 180 Blimp Windshield Kit is an excellent product. It is well made, well designed, and most importantly, it provides very good results.
