If you want to dive deep, Virginia Tech goes into great detail covering the science behind the number. For the purposes of this guide though, the lower the number the better and right now the top-ranked helmet, out of 188 tested, has a score of 8.4. If you also see a star ranking, that is the same testing displayed in a different way. Any helmet with a score below 14.00 will have a five-star ranking. Do you need MIPS in a budget bike helmet? The Omne Air Mips is made from a standard polycarbonate shell with an EPS – expanded polystyrene – liner with Mips Integra crash protection. There is no Virginia Tech rating for this helmet, though others from the brand scored 4 out of 5. You don't lose out on anything with the POC Omne Ultra MIPS. The weight penalty is an additional 10 grams but you do get the Recco reflector in exchange. Otherwise, there's the same longer coverage in the rear as other POC helmets and the same large vents are the Omni Air. There's also the same fit and 360-degree tightening system. There's very little to take umbrage with. Another reason that not every helmet carries a score seems to have more to do with the volume of releases. There are a lot of helmets and Virginia Tech has only tested 188. Even brands like POC, who have submitted older helmets, have newer helmets without a rating.

When it comes to the downsides of the Circuit, it centres around the WaveCel rotational impact system. Unlike Kineticore which actually adds breathability, WaveCel is a system of cells that cuts down on breathability somewhat. I've never found that to be a big deal but I have found myself bothered that I can't reach through the vents and scratch my head. I also would always prefer a lighter helmet over a heavier helmet This is a question of style as much as anything. Don't be afraid to consider how you look in your helmet. As an example, if you like to go fast and ride hard your bike and your clothes probably reflect that. If you match the style of helmet to the style of the rest of your gear you will almost always end up with exactly what you need. From there, helmet companies look for other ways to differentiate and the sky's the limit. Aerodynamics, weight, sunglasses retention, the list goes on. Every kind of feature you might want is a potential advantage for a particular helmet. Think about what you might want in a helmet and there is likely some brand out there thinking the same thing as you and offering a product to fill that need. What are the best helmets for women?This leaves you free to decide on your helmet based on the type of riding you actually do. It has to be comfortable, but for some that will mean light and airy while others will prefer to aero optimise. Whatever makes sense to you, I've tried to include a standout item and maybe even two. There are options at different price points and features that cater to different types of riders. The helmet has 10 ventilation holes and five internal channels, which run uninterrupted in an attempt to allow maximum airflow.

Don't like wearing a bike helmet? Guess what: nobody does. But we all really should be wearing one any time we hop on our favorite man-powered, two-wheeled transportation. (If your favorite two-wheeled transportation is a motorcycle, I double down on my point.) The other thing you'll find inside all of the POC Omne family helmets is the 'Adjustable 360-degree fit' system. With most helmets, the rear cradle connects centrally in the rear of the helmet plus one spot on either side of the helmet just ahead of the ears. For this system, POC still attaches the cradle centrally to the rear. In this case it's adjustable and it attaches a bit farther forward compared to other helmets plus it uses two small points instead of one larger central mount. Those details aren't that important though, the 360 part is that it never attaches to those spots ahead of the ears. If you feel like a particular helmet doesn't match your bike, there's probably more to it. People tend to have an idea of the type of riding they do and the type of rider they are. Even when someone isn't able to voice exactly what that means they will often have a feeling about how a helmet should look to match that style of riding. Find yourself a helmet that feels right to you aesthetically and it's going to match how you see yourself as a rider. If you’re interested in POC Omne AIR SPIN, and you want a slightly unique take on the same helmet, then the Rapha + POC Omne Air might be up your street. As with the standard Omne AIR SPIN, Rapha’s version features the same excellent SPIN safety system, high level of comfort and low weight. It’s also got good ventilation, though you could easily wear this on cold winter days without getting brain freeze. Although there will always be government safety testing, Virginia Tech goes further. Certifications from agencies like the CPSC only state that a helmet meets a minimum requirement. They give no indication of how that performance ranks compared to the competition and impact testing only covers a specific type of impact. Virginia Tech has emerged as the only unbiased organisation to use a standardised and comparable test to rank helmet performance compared to other models. Virginia Tech is also a pioneer in the idea that off-centre impacts are different.

POC Omne Helmet Size Guide

One of the basic tenets of an aero optimised helmet is that it's hot. At least that's what everyone believes. The reality is that modern aero helmets make use of exhaust ports to speed up the flow of air through a helmet by carefully managing the flow. Keep moving and a good aero helmet should never feel hot. Things change a bit when you stop moving though. As you, for example, climb a hill at slow speeds, there's not enough air flow to evacuate heat. It's in these situations that Swedish brand POC feels different.