The usage of Helmets is one of the hottest topics in the biking world at the moment. Do you or don’t you? I’m a do-er. Admittedly for my quick 2 mile sprint to the train station each morning, the practicality of having a helmet with me for the rest of the day, isn’t too appealing, so I don’t bother. However when I go out on my road bike, I do. When you’re flying down a hill at 35-40 mph, the appeal of a helmet is massively apparent. Helmets have always been discussed heavily in the media, some claiming to be life savers, others an unneeded annoyance.
Anyway as I said earlier, I used one when I go out for a ride. Picking a helmet is never easy. The local shops around me had a poor selection so I was forced to shop online (which adds the inability to try before you buy). So there I was, searching online for ages, reading reviews and trying to work through the various size guides. My head measured 61cm, so I was stuck into between the medium and large range. Annoying.
I had a budget of 60-70 pounds to stick to. I had tried the Kask Mojitio, which fitted and felt lovely, but at £120 it was double what I wanted to buy, so I was forced to find a similar substitute for half the price (easy right?!?!). I was also looking for a plain, dark style. I finally settled on three helmets. The Mavic Syncro (in a medium)…, the Met Estro (in large) and the Lazer 02 (unisize [will explain more detail later on.]). They eventually showed up, after a monumental mess up by Chain Reaction Cycles. The Mavic looked good (as always), but unfortunately the medium had no hope of going on my head. The Met was massive, and pretty ugly to be honest, but the large was seriously big. So that left me with the Lazer. When I went to try it on for the first time I was praying it would fit, and my whole purchase wouldn’t have been a complete waste of time. It fitted!! And was comfortable and looked cool, perfect. The Lazer has a pretty unique fitting system (they refer to it as ‘Autofit’). Most helmets have a twisty clasp at the back that tightens a plastic lining, whereas the Lazer has two differences. Firstly the tightening mechanism is on the very top of the helmet. This sliding wheel operates a series of plastic wire that runs all the way around that inside of the helmet. This offers a nice, secure fitting around your head, with the ability to be very precise. Ive worn this lid a few times now and when Im wearing it, I forget its there. It is very comfortable, lightweight and I assume strong. I should also mention that the Lazer came in a nice carrier, protective bag. Not an essential feature, but a nice added touch.
Its hard to recommend helmets, because if they are ill-fitting then you may consider it the worst helmet in the world. So get the fit right first and foremost. But I would say, if you find the Lazer 02 fits you, get it. For £65-70 it is extremely good value. It is also lightweight, and well made. I am also a big fan of the unique tightening feature that Lazer use. I would really recommend this helmet for this price. Just check the Lazer range fit your head before you fully commit, because if your helmet doesnt fit, it will be the first thing you notice after 2 hours on the road.
