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review
Kask Sintesi helmet£90.00
VERDICT:
Low in weight and high in comfort, an excellent lid at a great price
Comfortable
Very stable
Decent airflow
Light for the money
Loads of colour choices
Weight:
237g
Contact:
This product has been selected to feature in road.cc recommends. That means it's not just scored well, but we think it stands out as special. Go to road.cc recommends
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
The Kask Sintesi is one of the best cycling helmets out there. It's light, comfortable, looks good, and is suitable for all styles of riding, from urban commuting and road cycling to gravel. It includes a number of useful features for an attractive price, and there are plenty of colours to choose from.
Its construction is based around an EPS (expanded polystyrene) inner and polycarbonate outer shell, with breathable, antibacterial and anti-static Blue Tech padding inside.
As well as meeting the usual standards, CE EN 1078, CPSC 1203 and AS/NZS 2063, the Sintesi has also passed Kask's own WG11 Rotational Impact test, its alternative to Mips. If you're not familiar with them, our Kask WG11 vs Mips feature looks at how the two technologies compare.
The Sintesi comes in two sizes, medium (52-58cm) and large (50-62cm), with a dial at the rear for adjusting the fit. The shape is neither narrow nor round, and I found it exceptionally comfortable, with the internal cradle cupping my occipital bone beautifully. This led to the helmet not only feeling comfortable, but also supremely confidence-inspiring in terms of stability – this helmet was going nowhere once dialled in, yet without needing to grip tightly.
With 13 generous vents, there were no issues with overheating, and the air is channelled very effectively by those vents.
The interior padding is comfortable and pleasantly breathable, with any moisture drying out nice and quickly. This padding has an antibacterial treatment, which should enhance its lifespan, but a replacement pad kit is also available.
At just 237g this helmet is in the weight territory of performance road helmets rather than the often beefier commuter lids. It certainly felt unobtrusive to wear; it's light but still inspires confidence.
Value
Compared with a variety of helmets straddling the recreational/commuter sector, it undercuts them on price and weight.
For example, at £100 the Met Vinci, which Stu tested a couple of years ago, comes close but weighs 264g, while the Smith Persist now costs £99.99 (up from £94.99 when Janine tested it last year) and weighs 300g.
The Cannondale Intake MIPS is £10 less at £80, but a heftier 284g, has less ventilation and fewer colour choices, and in his review, Neil wasn't impressed with its lack of adjustment.
Conclusion
Overall, if you're looking for a stylish lid for all types of riding, it's hard to find fault with the Kask Sintesi. It offers a comfortable and secure fit, decent venting and low weight, all at a very reasonable price.
Verdict
Low in weight and high in comfort, an excellent lid at a great price
road.cc test report
Make and model: Kask Sintesi helmet
Size tested: 52-58
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Kask says: "Urban commuters, gravel adventurers, and road speeders: Sintesi is for you. All. Its sleek design combines safety, comfort and style. Coming in 11 colourways, Sintesi is a perfect match for your favourite outfits."
Does a great job of appealing to all types of rider.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Kask lists:
EPS inner shell
Polycarbonate outer shell
Breathable, antibacterial and antistatic Blue Tech padding.
Ergo Fit adjustment system for a good fit and maximum comfort, even whilst riding on uneven terrain.
Passed the strict KASK Rotational Impact WG11 Test
Reflective strip on rear
11 colourways
Sizes M (52-58cm) and L (59-62cm)
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Very well made from good quality materials. Pads feature an antibacterial finish for prolonged life and comfort.
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Comfortable and stable on a variety of types of ride.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
High quality build suggests it'll last. Pads are antibacterial treated and should last longer as a result – and replacement pads are available.
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
9/10
Very light for the price and for an all-rounder design.
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
9/10
Very comfortable indeed.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Very good value compared with rivals for its combination of lightweight build and features.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I liked the variety of colour options, the low weight and the superb levels of comfort.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
There wasn't really anything to dislike.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It's very good: the Met Vinci is £100 but weighs a bit extra (264g), while the Smith Persist costs £99.99 but weighs 300g. The Cannondale Intake MIPS is £10 less at only £80, but is a heftier 284g and has less ventilation and tester Neil wasn't impressed with the adjustment.
Did you enjoy using the product? Very much.
Would you consider buying the product? Definitely
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's an excellent helmet: comfortable and secure, and light for the money.
About the tester
Age: 48
I usually ride: Liv Invite My best bike is: Specialized Ruby Elite
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,
Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling.
Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other.
She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting.
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5 comments
Thank heavens the lining is anti-static, I simply won't wear any other sort. Years, I tell you, years I've been searching for a helmet which isn't prey to the vagaries of the electro-magnetic spectrum. At last, I'm free. Into the sunset I ride, not a static affected hair on my head ......
( To be continued when they let me out of here.)
I got one of those static-inducing helmets - it was literally hair-raising.
Nice review. Can you store sunglasses in the front vents?
I think you've hit the nail on the head with your line of questioning. We wear helmets ostensibly to save us from head and brain injury, a conceit few of us believe with much conviction.
And yet there is so much more that a hat, if we must wear one anyway, could do. I'd like mine to:
Keep the bugs out
Stop my pate (and tops of ears) getting sunburn
Shade my eyes from the sun
Keep my head warm in winter, yet cool in summer
I'm sure there are other things too - like sunglasses holder.
Yes Indeed. I like to attach not only a headlamp with separate battery fitted at the back of the helmet but a gopro too. So that's three mounting points I always add to my helmets. The battery is able to charge the gopro and the headlamp at the same time but requires an adapter for that so I fix some velcro for the adaptor to fit to too.