Do you love your helmet? Recommend it here!

[RubyTuesday]

I have a very small head (have a hard time with the length of sunglass arms because I am a pin head. So far the most comfortable helmet I have tried (tried Bell and Garneau) is a $40.00 Specialized helmet. It isn't the most stylish thing I have ever seen, what helmet is, but it fits my head very well and is pretty cool. Now if someone could just invent a helmet that doesn't give you helmet hair. I have medium length hair and no matter how I pull it back, I get a lovely crease in the back of my hair that won't come out till I was and dry it. Stupid hair.

[tzvia]

Generally, as the price goes up, the weight goes down, it may be easier to adjust, and it should ventilate/cool better. It may be a trick to find one that fits your head and budget well. I always go for better cooling, being in So Cal where cold means it is 70 degrees outside.

So for mountain biking I chose the Specialized Vice as it has awesome venting. It is CPSC, SNELL B90A, CE and AS/NZS certified (not all helmets are as SNELL is a harder cert to pass) and covers more down the sides, front and back than most helmets. Plus it fit me like a glove and it didn't hurt that the color matched my mountain bike. When I crash it I will buy another. It feels like it can withstand anything, a real solid helmet.

For commuting I just bought a Giro Saros. The fit is not quite as nice as the Specialized, but it feels ok, has good enough venting plus is lighter weight. I had been using the Spec Vice, but forgot it on a drive to the trailhead a few weekends ago as it was hanging off the commuter down in the garage (GRRRR). So I decided to buy a helmet just for the commuter. So far I like it. I chose a nice light white color and will be putting some reflective tape on it.

For road riding, I have a L.A.S Istrion. It is the bomb. No it aint cheap, but it is light, has great venting and adjustability and fits my head very well. The bug screen inside it is a big plus; I've had to take the helmet off and coax a bee out of it a few times so it has been useful to me.

Oh, I have another helmet, the Giro Stylus. Horrible. It does not vent well, but that's not its main fault. The straps are. Where the front straps mount to the inside of the helmet causes them to twist sideways and not lay flat against the side of my head. And they rest right on the little front bump of my ears, the edges rubbing them as I ride. Sucky. So it sits on a shelf as an emergency spare.

[nscrbug]

I realize that I'm jumping into this thread a bit late, but I wanted to chime in with my thoughts on my new Lazer O2 helmet that I just picked up today! I never knew how comfortable a helmet could be, until I tried on the Lazer. I put it on my head and it literally felt like it was "molded" to the shape of my head perfectly. It just disappears on my head. I tried it on with a variety of my own head coverings to make sure it would accommodate them all. The adjuster knob (which is on the top of the helmet and is super easy to reach) is simply an ingenious design. I actually put the helmet on and was walking around the house with it for awhile and all but forgot that it was on my head. Granted, I have yet to do a ride with it...but that test will come tomorrow morning, and I can hardly wait! I will finally get to do a ride where I don't experience a massive headache midway through because of an ill-fitting (I was wearing a Giro Prolight) helmet. Obviously, I do NOT have a Giro-shaped head.

Got my DH to try on a few helmets today too (he's in need of a new one badly) and he discovered that he has a Bell-shaped head. He really liked the Sweep, so now I know what to get him for X-mas.

Linda