Essential JOGLE kit

No8: Giro Aether Spherical helmet, £269, zyrofisher.co.uk

When it comes to helmets it’s very easy to get caught up in the weight or the styling and forget the main reason for wearing one: safety. The beauty of the Giro Aether Spherical is that it has some of the most impressive safety technology of any helmet but hasn’t compromised on looks or performance.

As most riders will now know, Mips is a ‘slip liner’ used by many brands, which can move inside the helmet, protecting the head from rotational impacts in the event of a crash. The Aether takes this concept one step further by having two separate layers of EPS, one rotating inside the other like a ball and socket joint. Fortunately I never had to test out its efficacy on my JOGLE ride, but I can attest that the Aether is very light (around 250g), very cool thanks to all those big vents, and so comfortable that on a few occasions I actually had to check that I had it on.