HJC Ibex Lotto Soudal helmet

The Ibex is HJC's top flight race helmet which, as you can see by the Lotto Soudal team logos on this model, is already being used by the pro peloton. It's a good weight, very comfortable and impresses on the ventilation front, but like most top end helmets, you have to pay for it.

• Pros: Shape and padding makes for a comfortable helmet, good at removing heat
• Cons: Pricey

The Ibex is very similarly shaped to the Furion lid, HJC's aero offering, so it's no surprise I find it very comfortable. The shape suits my head perfectly and with some decent thickness padding I felt no pressure spots anywhere once everything was tightened.

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Its lightness helps too. Weighing in at just 245g for this 57-59cm size, it doesn't feel as though you are wearing it at all.

My only real criticism of the Furion was its lack of ventilation, even for an aero helmet with minimal venting, but the Ibex doesn't suffer at all. It might not be a full aero helmet but compared with a lot of others on the market it does have minimal venting – 16 in total – so I was really impressed with the performance.

With four large vents at the front and two smaller ones (which are positioned so that they will hold your sunglasses should you need somewhere to store them), it really lets the breeze in.

There are more vents on the top and at the rear of the helmet to let wind through, and while it is difficult to confirm without seeing it in a wind tunnel (which HJC does actually have), the shape of the vents and shell certainly look like they have been sculpted to channel air over the top to keep you cool from front to back.

Right at the rear you get another selection of vents which work like exhaust ports.

Bearing in mind that a lot of the test rides were taking place in heat ranging from the mid-20s to low 30s, as long as I was moving at a decent pace the airflow was impressive.

The HJC confirms to EN 1078 and has a special cradle skeleton system which sits inside the polystyrene. In the event of an impact it's designed to keep the structure of the helmet intact should a secondary impact happen before you stop moving.

For fit, the Ibex uses a simple thrumbscrew to tighten the cradle at the rear. It's not as advanced as some systems I've tried but it does the job and with bare hands it's easy to adjust things on the fly. The thumbwheel is a little small to adjust with winter gloves on.

You get two sets of padding in the package and it is well positioned inside the helmet. It's called X-Static, and uses silver in its construction to kill bacteria. Should it get overwhelmed and needs a wash, HJC provides a mesh laundry bag to pop the padding into so it doesn't get snagged in the washing machine.

As always with top-end helmets, the Ibex looks like a lot of money for something that passes exactly the same safety test as one a tenth of the price but if you read my review of the £29.99 Raleigh Extreme Pro Helmet you'll see why I think it makes sense to spend as much as you can.

Saying that, though, a lot of very good performing helmets are a fair bit cheaper. Bell's Stratus MIPS, for instance, costs £129.99 for just a little bit more weight but Neil reckoned it was near perfect, really close to the top flight Zephyr model at £199.99.

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Another helmet used in the pro peloton is the Kask Valegro, which was designed for Team Sky. It costs £169 and weighs just 206g, so the Ibex isn't completely out of the ball park.

If the team look isn't your thing you can get the Ibex in matt black/gold, matt white/gold, matt teal/gold, matt/gloss black, glossy white/silver, burgundy/black and pale blue/white. There are three sizing options too: XS/S (54-56cm), M/L (57-59cm) and XL/XXL (60-63cm).

Verdict

A great all-round helmet for fit, ventilation, weight and comfort at a pro-level price