BUDGET HELMETS
Protecting your head, staying cool and remaining comfortable has never been easier
You needn’t break the bank to keep your head safe, comfortable, cool and dry. We test 16 lids with a top price of 80 quid.
If you ride enough, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll fall off at some point. Hopefully, like most crashes, it’s a simple case of getting up and dusting yourself down, or dealing with a little road rash at worst. That said, more serious crashes can happen, and with most deaths and traumatic brain injuries in cyclists occurring from head impacts, we believe it’s a no brainer to wear a helmet.
Long gone are the days of heavy, ugly and sweaty brain buckets. Today, helmets are so light you barely notice you’re wearing one. On warmer rides ventilation and inner channel airflow systems are so good that you’re kept cooler by wearing a helmet than not. That improved ventilation is possible because some helmets use an inner skeleton to increase the strength of the inner EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) shell that takes the impact in the event of a crash.
While the EPS shell is designed to take direct linear impacts, a more recent safety measure found on some helmets is MIPS (Multi-Directional Impact System). This is designed to help with rotational impacts by allowing the outer EPS shell to move up to 15mm over the inner liner. This reduces energy transfer that can cause concussion or more serious brain injuries.
New and simple-to-use retention systems, from dials to push and slide systems, make fitting and wearing helmets even easier, allowing you to achieve the perfect fit in seconds, even if you’re wearing gloves. When fitting keep the helmet level on your head with the front just above the eyebrows and adjust so it’s snug yet comfortable and doesn’t move around.
Helmet choice often comes down to budget and here we have kept ours at £80 and under. Many of those tested will be all you’ll ever need, seeing the inclusion of top-end features thanks to filter down technology. Not all helmets fit the same, and we all have different shaped heads, so it’s worth trying before you buy.