Specialist helmets

[Bones]

Specifically the Tactic.
It's my lads birthday and I was going to get him a new helmet.
Seeing as I have a local specialist shop, it's going to make having to take it back a lot easier should it not fit right.
There seems a few various model numbers, ranging from £45 (the amount I want to spend) to £90.
Anyone using that helmet?
Thoughts please.
Quick edit. Stif cycles are also nearby, but they seem to have put their prices up so they can knock a bit off and still be overpriced!

 

[Stihldog]

IMO, fit and comfort , besides safety, are the most important things to consider.

Some helmets don’t fit or feel good regardless of which size I choose. I had to buy the Bell with MIPs.

Just a suggestion but …you may want to walk into the LBS with him. Let him decide and try different brands.
As a bonus…get him a bell…you choose the colour .

 

[Semmelrocc]

Both the Camber and the Tactic are currently on sale on their website (50% off, at least in GER). You certainly can't do much wrong with those.

 

[steve_sordy]

When I went into a large bike shop to buy my first MTB helmet, I was prepared to spend up to £80 if I absolutely had to. I had no idea on brand, colour size, shape, nothing; I was a complete novice. It was the first headgear of any kind that I had bought in my life and I wasn't looking forward to having to wear a bike helmet, but it was a requirement for my bike skills course I had booked.
I tried on what felt like every brand and type helmet in the display and looked in the mirror as well. Most helmets felt uncomfortable and most helmets made me look like a dork. There was one that didn't and at £30 it was also the cheapest MET XC helmet on the shelves. Because it was comfortable AND didn't make me feel like a dork, I wore it, got used to it and have not ridden without a helmet since. (The fact that all my hair has fallen out since is merely a coincidence!)

@Bones I agree with @Stihldog's approach. if your lad gets to choose, he will wear it even when you are not there to make him put it on. It's worth a few quid extra to achieve that. If he can't find one that he likes, don't make him choose, because he will not wear it willingly. Find another bike shop with different helmets. You know it makes sense!

This tactic worked with my grandson. He would wear his helmet even when all his mates were bare-headed. Result!

 

[Bones]

Yes I will take him to the shop next time he comes to visit.

 

[Weeksy]

I say no on them... the Straps are in completely the wrong place, weirdest fit ever...

Which is a shame as the helmet itself is really comfortable.

 

[Bones]

I say no on them... the Straps are in completely the wrong place, weirdest fit ever...

Which is a shame as the helmet itself is really comfortable.

The straps were a minus in a review I have just read.
Definitely needs trying on
I am passing the shop today so I will pop in and have a look

 

[Semmelrocc]

I've ordered a Camber for my 12 year old. He'll try it on today so I can give a report later, especially about the straps.

 

[Bones]

I've ordered a Camber for my 12 year old. He'll try it on today so I can give a report later, especially about the straps.

I've tried one on today and it doesn't feel right on my head.
Obviously everyone is different and my 37 year old son might like it

 

[steve_sordy]

The helmet makers all do research on the shape of people's heads to make a form called a "last". These lasts have been produced at different times and the researchers would have been given different criteria to select their people for head measurement.
Consequently, all the lasts are different and each helmet feels different. I just know that any MET helmet of a size Large will fit me so I don't need to try one on to buy it. I also know that Bell helmets suit me as well.

If you don't feel comfortable in one helmet buy a particular manufacturer, it very likely that no helmet of theirs will feel comfortable. Some people of course have such a weird head shape that any helmet will fit them!

 

[Stihldog]

Apparently there’s an expiry date for some helmets. 3-5 years? The foam must degrade over time.

Probably don’t taste very good also…I’ll get the door

 

[steve_sordy]

Apparently there’s an expiry date for some helmets. 3-5 years? The foam must degrade over time.

Probably don’t taste very good also…I’ll get the door

It might be the bond between the foam and the shell. I had one helmet that separated and had to be scrapped.
It might also be from an accumulation of knocks, bangs, dings, dents, scratches, scuffs. General wear & tear in other words. I had one of those as well.
But mostly I break them, so they never get old enough to suffer from one or other of the above ailments.

PS: I was at a £1m+ house in London yesterday and they produced a Specialized helmet from the decrepit shed leaning against the side of the house (what the local estate agents call a garage). They asked me if I could use it. It was a child's helmet and the mice had been chewing at the exposed polystyrene at the back. The straps looked as though they were rotting, but it might have been green mould.
I said err, no thanks, I already have one. Very diplomatic, I thought.

 

[Bones]

My helmet expired years ago

 

[Semmelrocc]

This is the Specialized Camber. Looks great, fits perfectly, also the straps. Setting the correct length was easy (photo was taken before though).

 

[Kingerz]

I won a Tactic and gave it away because it was chunky, the straps were oddly uncomfortable, it felt clumsy and heavy and the sunvisor was too high up to do anything at all.

 

[Weeksy]

This is the Specialized Camber. Looks great, fits perfectly, also the straps. Setting the correct length was easy (photo was taken before though).
View attachment 142774

I so wanted it, because it matches my Status 160.

 

[steve_sordy]

This is the Specialized Camber. Looks great, fits perfectly, also the straps. Setting the correct length was easy (photo was taken before though).
View attachment 142774

That looks too high on the head. The bottom of the cradle at the back looks to be above the inion (the natural bump at the back of the head. It marks the bottom of the skull where it attaches to the neck muscles).

 

[Semmelrocc]

That looks too high on the head. The bottom of the cradle at the back looks to be above the inion (the natural bump at the back of the head. It marks the bottom of the skull where it attaches to the neck muscles).

I'll look into it this weekend before our next rideout. Didn't really have time for more than the photo above this week.

 

[Wilko58]

I'll look into it this weekend before our next rideout.

I'd agree with @steve_sordy that it is too high at the back and above the ears, probably need the next size up (or the Boa dial is would fully in).
Also make sure any helmet you do get has MIPS or the makers own version of rotational protection.

 

[Hotrod]

Whatever you do don't skimp on the helmet and get the most coverage you can, around the temples and base of skull. I had a bad crash recently and my head hit the ground hard then slammed the top of my helmet into a rock lined ditch. It saved me from serious head injuries. I was using Bell Super 3 with mips and chin bar. Helmet is toast but did it's job.