The Xar...Giro's Latest Trail Helmet

I have been pedaling around for the last few months wearing the latest trail rated helmet from Giro, the Xar.  Here is what Giro has to say about the design of the Xar.

"Carving turns. Shredding rough descents. Attacking climbs. All Mountain riding is all about conquering the elements with speed and efficiency. Giro’s new Xar is the perfect helmet to compliment this rapidly-evolving category.
In 2003, Giro changed the look of freeride mountain biking with the Xen. With its muscular shape, increased rear coverage and skate-punk attitude, the Xen was the first helmet of its kind. A lot has changed since then. The same riders that used to focus on big hucks and airtime are now the ones crushing long climbs and covering vast distances to get to the best descents. To fill these specific needs, we introduce the Xar."

"While its brawny aesthetics are reminiscent of the Xen, the Xar is much sleeker. Giro’s engineering and design teams worked overtime to reduce weight while retaining all the features of a premium trail-riding helmet. The in-mold construction includes three parts (upper, lower and rear) for added protection and progressive styling. Along with the streamlined shape, you’ll find a flat surface on top – the perfect place to mount a headlight or helmet cam. Add Roc Loc 5 to the equation and riders can dial-in a fit so comfortable that once it’s on, the helmet practically disappears. "

There are some cool features in the Xar, such as the RocLoc 5 which allows for one handed adjustment of fit-tension and a limited amount of vertical change.  The P.O.V. Visor has 15 degrees of up-down tilt.  Roll Cage, X-Static padding that is anti-microbial and removeable for washing...yeah, this helmet has lots of catchy-named features that the Marketing Minions worked hard on, no doubt.  But all these cool names need to come together into a helmet that not only protects your head, but fits well, cools well, and looks good too.  That is a big order.  The Xar delivers.

I had been riding another AM type helmet, the Vice from Specialized.  The Vice is a very comfy helmet and has a lot of protection, but is also a bit bulky and large for XC use.  Coming to the Xar from the Vice was a loss of 77 grams and you can feel that when you strap on the lighter Xar.  It is also a sleeker build, looking much more like an XC helmet.  Still, it covers down on the back of head pretty well and looks very well vented.  I have worn it on rides into the mid 90s for temps and I never felt I was pedaling in a pocket of dead air.  I always wear a Buff under the helmet as a sweatband and that was no issue with the Xar.  The RocLoc is easy to adjust to allow for the extra thickness of the head cover.  The vertical adjustment of the RocLoc is kinda cool, but it is a bit too easy to move it by accident when you push on the helmet.  It would not be bad if there was more ‘stick’ to the position detents.  I read another review where the wearer was very impressed with the visor adjustment.  You can tilt the visor up or down within a 15* range.  I am less struck by that as I never found that I wanted to run the visor in the ‘up’ position.  Even all the way down, it never got in my field of view.  But, it is there if you need it.

The Xar is everything I was looking for in an all around trail helmet.  It ventilates well, looks quite nice, covers the brain container nicely, and adjusts to fit different types of sweat bands/head covers.  While the fit and shape of each head differs, the Xar is well worth a try-on at your nearest Giro dealer.



Video From the Giro YouTube site.

2010 Specialized Vice MTB Helmet

The Cyclist has been testing some samples of a new helmet from Specialized: The Vice.

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