Giro Synthe MIPS II Helmet

The Giro Synthe MIPS II helmet is sturdily safe, good looking and nicely made, but it's also a little heavy and expensive. Also, while the overall shape and fit is great, I personally found the cradle became uncomfortable as rides went on.

The Synthe has some impressive features. Obviously it has the MIPS system to allow a degree of 'float' between the outer shell and the bit strapped to your head (which helps reduce sudden, damaging rotations during a crash), but beneath the skin there's more.

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The Synthe hides an 'SL Roll Cage' skeleton inside its expanded foam padding, to better keep it in one piece under impact, while the job of securing the whole thing to your head goes to a Roc Loc 5 Air cradle that gives two-way tuning. That just means the rear band can be moved up and down the back of your skull, as well as cinched in tight with the usual dial.

The wide straps are easy to adjust both under your ears and at the buckle, and sit flat and comfortably. The X-Static padding is fairly minimalist both in thickness and area, but doesn't seem to suffer for it.

Large cutouts in both the front padding and the retention band allow a decent amount of air through the otherwise broad plastic strap, and along with the 19 substantial vents, cooling seems good... although I tested this in winter. I didn't find it unusually chilly, though, and my guess is it'll also be fine – if not necessarily outstanding – in hot weather.

It's the sheer mass that makes me think this, as it feels pretty substantial and looks, on the scales, a little heavy. At 282g it's more than 20g heavier than the label claims (maybe that's in size small; this is a medium), and similar to some much cheaper helmets.

The Lazer Sphere MIPS, for instance, is a near-identical 280g and only £119.99, while the MET Rivale MIPS is significantly lighter at 236g, and cheaper too at £140.

> Buyer’s Guide: 19 of the best lightweight high-performance helmets

Even the Scott Centric Plus is £30 cheaper than this Giro, and at 222g it's fully 60g lighter too, yet it still has MIPS.

> All you need to know about MIPS

The overall shape of this lid suits me really well – I don't get on with very round lids, such as the Kask Mojito3, so it's obviously on the more elongated side.

The Roc Loc cradle I found trickier.

While entirely comfortable at first, I found even before rides reached an hour I'd be shoving it around, trying to adjust out faint but irritating pressure points. Mostly these were at the back, and manifested just as slight sensitivities or hot spots that just got more noticeable. No matter where I adjusted the rear band, or how loosely/securely I wore it, the problem never went away.

It's odd, and I've never had this with another helmet – and I can only think it's just me. Certainly Mat didn't find Giro's Aether MIPS anything but comfortable, and that uses the same retention system.

Overall

I like the sturdy build, impressive safety features, great overall shape and good looks of this lid, and I think most people will find it comfortable and decently cool. The relatively high price and weight are a bit of a downer for everyone, though.

Verdict

Solid and safe-feeling helmet that looks good, but a bit heavy for its high price, and you might not get on with the cradle