RoadWearier

You seem like the kind of guy who would buy one of those. Glad you like them! Do you have the one with the flowers on them?

veganbikes

Oh lord they sell those stupid 3 wheel "scooters'. Kids are so over protected these days. We can't have little Jimmy or Petunia having to learn balance now, can we, they might fall and oh no they will learn from it! We need to bubble wrap them twice.

Sorry I hadn't been to the Nutcase site in a while and got "triggered" as the kids say. The first time I saw one of those three wheeled nightmares I lost it. I had a two wheel scooter and survived just fine. I probably fell and probably scraped my knees up hell I tied a red wagon to the back of my BMX bike and had to be the first passenger and crashed and chipped a tooth but I am still alive with 97.65% of my braincells left. Granted I did wear a helmet. I did like some of the nutcase designs though but I don't love that style of helmet.

shelbyfv

Yep OP pitched that one slow and down the middle!

pepperbelly

I have a Bell bicycle helmet I bought at Academy Sports a few years ago. I needed a helmet and it was fairly cheap.
It was 87* here today and there isn’t much airflow with this helmet. It is ventilated.
What are some reasonably priced helmets with good ventilation, or are they all about the same?
I did a very quick search and saw a Specialized Chamonix 2 for about $35. I have no idea if it’s good or not but it has large vents.

The_Joe

You just have to ride faster!

I use a Specialized Align and I've never felt overly warm even on 90* days. It's a comfortable, affordable helmet, and it's got MIPS which I'm still out of the loop enough to assume is the height of safety features.

79pmooney

It's only partly about how big the air vents are. Good design counts for just as much. Continue your research and talk to people who've worn them. (I wish I could point you to a website that shows such research. Maybe another poster can.)

bbattle

I recommend going to bike shops and trying on different helmets and talking to the shop staff.

Buy the helmet that fits and works for you, no matter the cost. The added enjoyment you gain on the bicycle will more than make up for the money.

Iride01 

Giro and Bell do have some models that have decent airflow and for inexpensive helmets they have some highly rated in the crash tests. And it was a Giro interceptor that saved me in my one and only trip to the ER.

Everyone else is about the same with some that don't have much ventilation and many that do have a lot of ventilation. You just have to look and imagine how the air flows through them. Poc might be the one that impressed me as not having a lot of ventilation for such well speaking reviews. But perhaps the shop I was at only had those that didn't have much ventilation. I don't think I've ever looked on Poc's site.

pepperbelly

The one I have doesn’t have large openings.

Iride01 

But they have 19 different road bike/gravel helmets on their site. Of which 3 or 4 look pretty decent for airflow. And they don't show them on the first page. Though those were pricier and you might can do better with others, even Specialized.

I'm usually up in the $250 to $350 dollar price range since my crash. But still, like I said, Giro and Bell have some high scoring helmets for crash protection that are below $100. Or were.

My big gripe on Bell is the emblem on the front will make me feel like Teal'c from Stargate SG-1.

pepperbelly

I just looked at mine. It’s a Bell Passage.
The foam seems like it prevents air flowing through it but maybe they all do.

Ogsarg

Up until recently my experience was that there wasn't much difference between helmets in terms of ventilation. Then I found the Kask Protone Icon. Noticeably cooler. Huge vents all over. It is so much better than my previous helmets that I find I need something on my head in cooler weather to keep from getting chilled. Looking forward to a much more comfortable summer riding season. Unfortunatley it is not an inexpensive helmet.

As others have said, it's best to try helmets on. There are different shaped helmets for different shaped heads. As an example, every bontrager helmet I've tried on was horribly uncomfortable. It's not that they are bad, they are just not shaped for my noggin.

And if you don't mind odd colors, you can often find super discounts on helmets that didn't sell.

pepperbelly

From reading I really want a helmet with MIPS.

indyfabz

Cannot be emphasized enough. Unless you are buying a brand that you know fits YOUR head shape well, it’s best to try out different helmets. If I only had a dollar for every poor fitting helmet I’ve seen people wearing….And don’t get me started on the number of people I have seen wearing them backwards. IMO, it’s not worth the effort cheaping out by buying on the Internets fit untried.

pepperbelly

It sounds like SCUBA dive masks. You pick one that fits.

79pmooney

I have a POC MTB helmet with small holes. It is surprisingly comfortable in hot weather.

Edit: Yup, like scuba masks or for me, swim goggles.

Iride01 

And I'm the example for that. The Bontrager helmets with the wave cell back in 2020 fit my head the best of any I tried on. I just didn't believe that I'd get decent ventilation with it so I passed it up for a S-works Prevail II which didn't fit quite as well, but seems to have excellent air flow. But I think S-works has another out that is even better now for airflow. But can't remember the name.

Though it might be that if the OP is lacking hair on top like me, then a dew rag of some sort under the helmet will also help to soak up sweat to make more evaporative cooling in the breeze. Not sure if that works as well for those blessed with a full head of hair. I do feel hotter on the head when I forget mine. Currently still using Sweat-Vac.

pepperbelly

Yes, I am also follicularly impaired.

RoadWearier

Fit is definitely important! Amazon has a try before you buy program, although you can't cut the tags to return it so I'm not sure how well this works with helmets.

I just bought a Giro Aether helmet to replace an old Bontrager entry level helmet and I really like it. Plenty of ventilation, pretty light and very comfortable. I paid $90 on Amazon. Looked in some other sites and apparently it was a $350 helmet when. It first came out!

Speedway2

Big vents are great but ensure they are lined with a mess to prevent stinging bugs from getting sucked in....

NVFlinch 

Safety first! Then cooling and neato colors.

Virginia Tech does helmet impact ratings, check out https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicyc...t-ratings.html

Mojo31

I live just down the road from you, and have been battling hot head for a number of years and have tried a lot of helmets. I’ve boiled it down to the Lazer G1 and Trek Velocis (not Wavecell), both with MIPS. Spec has some that are well ventilated, but they do not fit me as well. The unfortunate thing is that a well ventilated helmet is costly.

Mojo31

Your Portland “hot” is our winter chill.

pepperbelly

What is hot for Portland?😎

veganbikes

No they don't, they just offer returns and sell your used helmets to some other schmuck who might not even be the wiser that someone else wore it or crashed in it.


Fit is 100% important and have a good helmet regardless of cost is important. The actual construction of the helmet is going to matter more than just vent holes as channeling that airflow is key. My ABUS Gamechanger was not heavily ventilated yet felt very cool because they designed basically forced air cooling and channels in it so at the right angles it would really do the trick. However venting is good and a lighter weight helmet will help as well. Not noticing you are wearing a helmet as much will help greatly in overall feel which will help on the sweating end as well.

In terms of MIPS or no MIPS all my helmets are currently MIPS-less not because it is a bad just because I don't think it is as crucial the right helmet that fits and is comfortable that you have actually tried on like a normal person not some return based stuff. If the right helmet that fits has a MIPS option great if not go for the helmet.