Giro Synthe Mips II

£179.99, zyrofisher.co.uk

For years there was the Aeon, Giro’s 200g lid that seemed to suggest the company had nailed helmets once and for all. But then out of nowhere came the Synthe. It took everything the Aeon had and somehow smartened it up to set a new benchmark. Since then the Synthe has gained a few grams with the addition of Mips, and now, with the Synthe II, it has had something of a facelift. Gone are the plastic mesh side vents, replaced by larger, restyled cooling channels which Giro claims actively funnel air through the helmet to keep the wearer cooler.

Mips is still also in attendance, so too Giro’s Roc Loc fit system, the original rear-mounted dial to form-fit the helmet’s internal webbing around the head. Weight is a claimed 250g for a medium (extra safety comes at a weight cost), the same as the outgoing Synthe Mips. Which all might lead a cynic to say there’s little difference between the two helmets overall, to which we’d reply that while the original Synthe was superb, The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars.