As silly as it sounds, many people don't truly realize the value of a helmet. Honestly, we must admit, that we fell into that same group until just recently. You may think we are talking strictly about the fact that it protects your thinking goo .... you would be incorrect. What we are talking about is the fact that most people don't understand why some XC helmets are $150+ dollars and some DH lids can run $300+ . These dollar amounts seem strictly excessive for many of us "average wallet joe's" and you can make that argument if you choose. The beauty of something like Interbike is that you can get hands on with tons of products, that you may not otherwise find locally distributed in your area. One perfect example of what we mean is the offerings by POC Helmets & Armor. Read along as we look at a couple of helmets that shed some light on the price equation.
POC HELMETS - CORTEX FLOW FULL FACE
POC HELMETS - CORTEX FLOW FULL FACE
If your wondering why we picked the POC CORTEX FLOW to feature when this helmet was available last year, let us tell you. First and Foremost, POC is from Sweden and while a lot of riders have seen this helmet in magazines, very few have been able to find them at a local shop or see them on the trail. We have liked the looks of this helmet from our first sighting, but had no hands on experience with the Cortez. New for 2012 are a slew of cornea scorching colors that drew us into the booth like a moth to a flame. Everyone will have different opinions on style, but we love the simplistic mono-color scheme that is used on their full face helmets. We finally had the helmet in our hands and a chance to determine if we could justify the $250 price tag that goes with this brain barrier. When you consider that most of us spend thousands on our bikes, we really shouldn't be worried about a couple extra bucks to protect our heads, The Cortex Flow is definitely a very nice lid, with a feel of superior quality the minute you place it on your head. Comfort was immediately felt as the padding of the inner liner contacted our skin. On top of the comfort we were surprised to find that the non-carbon fiber version was still extremely light, coming in a little under 1 1/2 pounds. By comparison our Giro Remedy is over 2 pounds and you can definitely feel the difference when it is sitting on your neck and shoulders. Another feature that we found favorable was the chin bar length on the Cortex Flow. On the Remedy you have a compact offering with a short chin bar, giving you a fathead appearance. Our other DH helmet is a 661, which we find to be on the edge of too long a chin bar, bordering on awkward. We felt like the POC fell right into the sweet spot of those two extremes. If you talk to POC or visit their website you will see that a lot of what is supposed to make their product special is the superior protection that they offer Obviously, we had no way to test whether or not the helmet lives up to its hype, but the EPP liner is supposed to be able to take multiple hits without being replaced. That means money in your pocket if you like to test your lid out on the trails. Head over to their website for more information. POC Helmets and Armor
LAZER HELMETS - NIRVANA XC LID
For as much as we were impressed by the POC CORTEZ, we were even more surprised by the LAZER NIRVANA. LAZER HELMETS have been around since 1919, so you can bet they know a thing or two about building quality helmets. The NIRVANA has an incredible price point of $139 when you see all the features and quality built into this helmet. It starts like you would expect from a high-end XC helmet, with a well vented lightweight (260g) shell. The helmet features 21 vents, and although that won't win a numbers game with some helmets on the market, they are large and designed so even the inner cage does not prohibit airflow. We were surprised to see how much thought they put into the inner cage and its tightening system. Little details like a cutout in the middle of the rear portion, of the cage (for pony tails) shows the thought that goes into making an award winning helmet. The piece de resistance is the patented ROLLSYS tightening system which makes the helmet so flexible in its sizing that it truly only needs to come in two sizes, unlike some of the other helmets out there. The ROLLSYS system consists of a knob on the top rear portion of the helmet that you roll like a thumb wheel. This in turn shrinks the entire inner cage providing a snug fit and eliminating the pressure points that can be caused by rear tightening only systems. The padding in the Nirvana is composed of their X-static padding which is anti-microbial and a temperature regulating material. If all this isn't enough to wow you, then there are options available also, such as: Winter Padding for cooler climates and Insect Netting for those riders in locales with lots of bugs that could potentially fly into your vents while riding. The Lazer Helmet booth was bumping so we didn't get a chance to speak with their U.S. Sales Manager, but we hope to bring you a full review if possible in the near future.
DOWNHILL PROTOTYPES
DOWNHILL PROTOTYPES
What you see here are prototype offerings from Diamondback with their DF5 DH RIG and the KHS DH300 DH RIG. The KHS has actually moved past the prototype stage and will be available for 2012, while we havent heard any confirmation on the DiamondBack sled. We expect to hear more about both of these bikes in the coming months, as the word on the street has been positive for both. If you would like more info or pics of the KHS DH300 please check out this months feature with Pro DH'er KHS Rider - KEVIN AIELLO or click on the the video overview Logan Bingelli did at Interbike for MBA.