Product reviews

The MET Roam is the feature packed trail/enduro offering from the stylish Italian helmet manufacturer. With great coverage, a large visor and plenty of adjustability we were keen to get it out in the field. We had the MIPS model which only weighs scantly more than its simpler counterpart, size medium is only a 25gram gain which for the benefits is an easy choice. At $279 it sits comfortably within the upper offerings of the of the mid to high end helmet marketplace. On the topic of sizing, MET offer three shell sizes meaning the right fit can be achieved even with the highly adjustable dial retention system MET calls SAFE-T Orbital which is a 360 degree all-round belt that holds the head securely. Australia will have two colour options available and will only be bringing the MIPS model in being the safest choice for riders. MET claims the Roam has your back in the wild and we agree, the rear coverage is generous without feeling restricting. The polystyrene foam core is barely visible anywhere, most importantly the rear and rim of the helmet, The Roam is clad in three separate polycarbonate shells securely covering the helmet anything coming its way from branches to bails. We found ourselves in a broad range of conditions requiring us to wear sunglasses, goggles or fair the wet with our glasses stowed securely in the perfectly placed vents. The vents are the right distance apart and sunglass arms don’t interfere with the visor or protrude into your scalp. Even when riding the steepest of steeps they never budged, not once! When using goggles, the goggle strap sits snuggly under a purpose molded tab on the visor stop it from migrating up or down and can be stowed underneath the visor that can be run in three positions. Ventilation was good, with air following the deep internal channels from front to back through the 18 vents in the shell and 4 in the visor itself. The straps are anchored to the outer edge of the shell meaning you can be wearing your shades and put it on and take it off with ease, no interference what so ever, it’s the little things that you notice when wearing the Roam that make it a staple. The more we wear it the more we like it, nothing jumped at us initially but then if you don’t notice it on your head that’s a win. Although the Roam does come with a light mount/GoPro recess in the outer shell and a groove in the foam to keep a strap from moving we would have loved to see a dedicated mount at this price point. The ability to clip on/off a light or camera would make this helmet more appealling in our opinion but there would most likely be a weight penalty and take away form the Roam’s clean lines. We liked how the Roam felt from the get go and found it fit our heads well. If you are in the Market for a trail helmet, don’t look past the Roam. Get into your local MET dealer and try one on as like all touch points, all riders are different shapes.