Giro Prolight helmet

The new Prolight from Giro is, they claim, the lightest helmet that has ever been produced. At 175g, but does light weight mean a better helmet?

The Prolight which will be available in the UK this month had its premier pro outing on the mountain slopes of stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France from Barcelona to Andorra Arcalis. Everything about this helmet is new except for the name.

Giro’s original prolight was launched in 1986 and was the first all EPS-foam helmet created by Giro founder, Jim Gentes. Time has moved on and as this new Prolight shows design is everything.

Riders from Astana, Rabobank and Garmin-Slipstream wore the Prolight during the Tour and they benefitted from a hefty weight saving over Giro’s other front line road helmet, the Ionos. The Prolight weighs an impressive 125g less than the Ionos, that’s nearly half the weight and the Ionos is hardly on the beefy side. My current helmet is a Giro Ionos and by comparison the Prolight feels and looks less bulky when worn.

The biggest weight saving has come from a complete overhaul of the tried and tested ‘Roc Loc’ retention system. The Roc Loc 4 featured on previous models has plastic moulded teeth and a slider bar to easily adjust the straps to fit your head correctly. The new system, dubbed Roc Loc SL , does away with the teeth and clip system and instead goes for a simple but ridiculously effective elasticated fabric band. The lightweight, fixed position webbing and the three position basket around the helmet is self adjusting for an extremely quick and comfortable fit. At first sight the fabric band and wire like plastic arms look incredibly flimsy but when in use the Prolight stays secure, comfortable and, due to its feather weight design, almost unnoticed.

To keep your head cool during warm climbs and long rides there are 25 large vents optimised under wind tunnel tested conditions to channel airflow directly where it needs to go. I found this worked well as, even in the hardest sprinted climbing sessions I didn’t sweat enough to have a problem.

At the end of the day all helmets have to pass the same stringent safety procedures (which is why the Prolight could be called the Pro(not quite so)light in the US of A where it will come in at around 200g due to tougher safety requirements. A £30 helmet has the same certificate to say it passed the same test as this £150 Prolight. You make your decision from there onwards based on fit, comfort, weight and perhaps looks.

So, fit: I had no issues at all. It was extremely easy to adjust and as it is so simple there were no complications when adjusting on the bike either.

Comfort: The elasticated band that crosses the rear of your head with ‘GIRO’ written into it is very effective. Why hasn’t this been taken up before? As it is soft it doesn’t press into your head but wraps around it without adding undue pressure.

Weight: Well it is certainly light. Is it the lightest? Specialized Piranhas etc from the mid 90s may come close but Giro’s claim for the lightest helmet available now certainly holds water.

Looks: Our test model (blue and black) was a subtle, unobtrusive finish but the red and black one certainly does a better job with the aesthetics. No doubt there will be a Livestrong flavour to get people reaching for their wallets too.

Verdict

A fantastically light weight helmet at a fantastically high price. Paying £150 for a product that delivers to the same basic requirements of a £30 alternative seems nuts but if you do hours in the saddle, want want comfort when riding and dont want to overheat this is the helmet for you. If you have a carbon or titanium bike built from the best, priciest and lightest components why add 100g+ to the riding weight by having a heavier helmet?