Giro Foray Mips Road Helmet

Product Information

Adding MIPS increases the weight — the large now weighs 282g — but the increase is just 20g more than the standard ARX. And frankly, low weight is not the first thing we look for when it comes to safety. The Giro Foray is a sleek, stylish road cycling helmet that offer great value. The tough In-Mould polycarbonate shell to offers the best protection as you ride. Internal channeling on the Tonic keeps air moving across the head, and probably reduces the weight a little, too. Ventilation is very good for a helmet at this price point — not as airy as something like the Prevail but much better than helmets in its class. Deep internal channels align with the large frontal vents to rush cooling air across your cranium, and the horizontal brow vents do a fine job of managing sweat and drying the front pad. It's very good for glasses storage when not wearing them too. Zero RH+ Z Alpha MIPS

Specialized has taken its ultra-aerodynamic S-Works Evade lid as the template for the Airnet, although it still has touches of the old leather ‘hairnet' helmets (hence the name) worn by racers from the 1970s. The first thing you notice about this road bike lid is the streamlined sporty design of the Foray. Plenty of venting at the front and big exhausts at the rear offers a great through flow of cooling air, even on the hottest summer rides. MET's Rivale tips the scales at just 257g (for a large) and is said to save 3 Watts at 50kph, equating to a second's advantage over comparable vented helmets at the same pace. As well as that, it complies with CE, plus the tougher Australian AS and American USPC standards.

With a very competitive weight (228g in size Medium), ample venting and good looks, the Bontrager Velocis stands toe-to-toe with similarly priced competitors such as the Giro Aeon or the Specialized Prevail. It may have been around for a long time, but the Specialized S-Works Prevail helmet still delivers on all fronts: styling, comfort and ventilation are all superb. It manages to look both chunky and supremely vented at the same time, with muscular shaping and aggressive vents.

With its sweeping, almost conventional shape, and 22 sizeable vents, the Z Alpha looks very open for an aero helmet. The snap-on front cover is said to provide the biggest aero gains at over 40kph. It only hides the central four vents, but has a slot to channel some air through. The Foray drafts off the bold design language of our premium Synthe helmet, and offers many of our key features including durable in-mould construction and the Roc Loc 5 fit system with two-way fit adjustment. The slim design is very light, offers great ventilation and is available in three Super Fit sizes so that you can get a helmet that looks, fits and feels like it was made for you. MIPS models are available with the Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. We believe MIPS can redirect energy and offer more protection in certain impacts.

Spec overview

Specialized's rear Mindset adjusting cradle offers five height positions, well placed pads and a rotary dial. Older Specialized helmets used to be quite narrow, but now accommodate rounder heads very well with no squeezing or pinching. The straps are fixed by clasps at each side, but are ideally positioned to let the pliable chinstrap do its job. Its MIPS system adds to the cost, but for that you are also getting great reassurance, and along with the super-adjustable Roc Loc 5 cradle is an excellent fit. Four internal pads keep things comfortable and five pronounced internal channels ventilate the majority of the head very well at all speeds, making this model an attractive, safe and great-value choice. I’ve worn a Giro Synthe Mips on and off for a few years now; it’s my go-to road helmet. Being au fait with its Roc Loc closure system and Mips interior – designed to rotate with the helmet in the unfortunate case of any ejector seat moment, rather than digging in and jarring the skull on impact – pulling the Giro Foray on to my head for the first time felt satisfyingly familiar. This lid's aero emphasis means ventilation is reduced to a single central vent, which is helped by internal channels that begin at the brow. In normal conditions it's very comfortable, with a constant flow of air across the head and no obvious hot spots, but it probably wouldn't be our first choice for a summer Alpine assault.

It's worth noting that this is an older version of the Velocis and we have the latest generation of the helmet in for test currently. Giro Foray MIPS helmet In-Mould Construction - In-mould construction fuses a tough polycarbonate outer shell with the helmet’s impact-absorbing foam liner. The fusion process allows Giro to sculpt better ventilation systems, so In-mould helmets can be lighter and cooler than traditional helmets.

Giro Helmet Size Guide

That means they work with ponytails and/or particularly bony skulls, and it's a really neat, genuinely comfort-boosting feature for the price. It also keeps weight down to a reasonable 294g (for the medium). The Foray Helmet shares the sleek styling of Giro’s premium cycling helmet, the Synthe, with a light, slim design that offers impressive ventilation and superb head protection at an affordable price. The ventilating aero mesh on either side of the silicone-edged sunglasses ports has been replaced by a finely ribbed plastic. The Giro logo and aero mesh covering the truncated tail's central port have gone too, and the only branding on the helmet is a single Rapha logo on the very top. The occipital cradle of Scott's Halo Fit System has three heights and circumference adjustment is via a rotary dial. A clever separator keeps the straps far apart so they don't clash with your ears, all helping to make the Cadence Plus one of the best fitting and most secure helmets we've tried recently. The price for a top-flight lid with MIPS [Multi-directional Impact Protection System] additional protective technology is good.

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Giro Foray MIPS helmet

Our proprietary Super Fit™ sizing system is based on “human scale factors” data and over 25 years of handcrafting helmets. By creating helmet moulds in up to 4 adult sizes to match the human body’s form, our Super Fit™ sizes comfortably and securely fit riders, and feel like they are custom made just for you. A continuous pad across the forehead is suspended slightly away from the wavy EPS inside of the helmet, allowing for a little ventilation and some conformity to various head shapes. The removable, antimicrobial pads do their job well. In days of sweaty riding without washing in between, the helmet never smelled bad. The fit should suit most head shapes, with the Mindset rear cradle offering plenty of vertical adjustment and the dial allowing you plenty of adjustability around the circumference of your head. Specialized S-Works Prevail The shell contributes to its 325g weight, but provides extra protection from accidental damage, while inside the padding is made from Merino wool for super-soft comfort. There are 32 vents in total, ranging from large inline strip vents and boxy exhaust ports to small square vents that punctuate the diagonal arch architecture of the helmet and extensive internal channelling helps keeps fresh air flowing. Performance