POC Omne Air Bike Helmet - Whether cycling to work, exploring gravel tracks or on the local trails, the helmet gives trusted protection

Product Information

There are two parts to consider when it comes to a helmet. The first is the technical side. Said simply, you need a helmet that is safe. This might sound obvious but it's worth consideration because there is a lot of confusion surrounding what that might mean. You'll find lots of claims but remember, every single helmet on the market will have gone through testing as mandated by the location you are buying it in. The Omne Air also features the MIPS Integra system. This brings together POC’s ‘whole-helmet’ safety and design ethos with the fully integrated brain-protecting technology of MIPS. This holistic approach sees every detail of the helmet engineered to work in harmony with each other, giving you new levels of seamless safety, comfort, ventilation, fit and function.

The other thing you'll find inside all of the POC Omne family helmets is the 'Adjustable 360-degree fit' system. With most helmets, the rear cradle connects centrally in the rear of the helmet plus one spot on either side of the helmet just ahead of the ears. For this system, POC still attaches the cradle centrally to the rear. In this case it's adjustable and it attaches a bit farther forward compared to other helmets plus it uses two small points instead of one larger central mount. Those details aren't that important though, the 360 part is that it never attaches to those spots ahead of the ears. Venting is pretty good, too, with noticeable airflow in particular on the forehead. It’s certainly not as airy as something like my Octal or a Giro Synthe road racing helmet (the two road helmets I wear most often), but I think it’s good enough for hard riding on a hot day. The helmet is, true to POC’s intention, also lower-profile and, in terms of aesthetics, probably more universally appealing than the Octal—I even got a compliment on it, and the comment, “Wow, that’s a POC?” It’d look natural worn with casual clothes, and for riding around town I’d much prefer it to the hot, heavy, skateboard-style lids often billed as commuter helmets.

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Whether on the morning commute or a long weekend club ride, the Omne Air MIPS pushes you to go further. Optimal liner Thousand Helmets makes stylish city helmets that might be a good choice for any kind of casual riding. The latest Heritage 2.0 adds more ventilation and gets a better Virginia Tech score. It might have made the list but it's brand new.

If you want to dive deep, Virginia Tech goes into great detail covering the science behind the number. For the purposes of this guide though, the lower the number the better and right now the top-ranked helmet, out of 188 tested, has a score of 8.4. If you also see a star ranking, that is the same testing displayed in a different way. Any helmet with a score below 14.00 will have a five-star ranking. Do you need MIPS in a budget bike helmet? you choose to ride. Developed in line with POC's Whole Helmet Concept™, the Omne Air Resistance MIPS delivers This is the style section. It's something that people think doesn't matter but ends up being one of the questions I get asked about the most. Style matters and it's important to trust your intuition. Ultimately it's the results that matter. If a brand is able to make a helmet without MIPS that is safe, there's no reason to insist on the MIPS brand. This is one of the reasons we report the results of Virginia Tech testing when it’s available. What does it take to find a comfortable budget bike helmet? The Mips system is designed to provide added safety for helmets in many accidents. For certain impacts, the Mips system can reduce harmful rotational motion that might otherwise be transferred to the user’s head.The latest technology from brain protection specialists MIPS enhances rotational impact protection. PC Shell The vertical adjustment requires an internal plastic ratchet to be rotated 90° and slid along a channel to change, which can’t be done while wearing the helmet. Even after several attempts, I found this function difficult to use as the plastic pieces are so small. It’s not an ideal system but this isn’t an adjustment you’re going to be making frequently.

The Omne Air Mips has a shallow fit but still wraps around the head to a decent degree. I chose a size medium, as my head measures 56cm circumference. The shallow fit gives the initial impression that the helmet is smaller than it is but when fully adjusted, this size was a good fit. You don't lose out on anything with the POC Omne Ultra MIPS. The weight penalty is an additional 10 grams but you do get the Recco reflector in exchange. Otherwise, there's the same longer coverage in the rear as other POC helmets and the same large vents are the Omni Air. There's also the same fit and 360-degree tightening system. There's very little to take umbrage with. The 360-degree retention system ensures a personalized and comfortable fit (Image credit: Aaron Borrill) Performance Read more details in our Giro Escape MIPS commuter helmet review. How to choose the best road bike helmet Despite the low-volume design, weight does seem to have added up a bit. The size small Prevail 3 I tested came in at about 10 grams over my copy of the Giro Aries. 10 grams is, admittedly, not much but the Giro is a larger size as well.

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The one thing I do wish this helmet had was a Virginia Tech score. This doesn't mean anything on its own, but helmets that have a test score from the independent testing facility allow consumers to compare their level of protection in an unbiased way. It's a nice added feature even when it just confirms what we already know. Another reason that not every helmet carries a score seems to have more to do with the volume of releases. There are a lot of helmets and Virginia Tech has only tested 188. Even brands like POC, who have submitted older helmets, have newer helmets without a rating. If you are looking for a helmet to handle commuting duties, there are a ton of options out there. Integrated lighting tends to be a big feature as well as extended coverage and a style that looks good without being too over the top for a mellow commute to work. Many of the choices that fit in this category are expensive with a lot of features. The Giro Escape MIPS keeps it all very simple.

For less than a third of the flagship product price, you get a lightweight helmet that is stylish enough to work on a gravel or road ride but still uses Kineticore. You also give up features, though that is only a consideration if you miss them. One detail that's changed for the worse though is the material used for the straps that's now a lot heavier.The Bontrager Circuit Wavecel starts with a very capable all-around option. The weight isn't the best but it's reasonable. Wavecel technology is yet another way to handle energy dissipation and rotational impact, and it scores well with Virginia Tech. When things wear out, both the cradle and all the pads are replaceable. Those are all good features, but with the Circuit you also get magnetic mounts for lights. It might not be the cheapest, but you can use the Circuit Wavecel for gravel, road, and commuting duties. Just add or remove the lights as needed. While there are still a few brands that make women-specific helmets, we interviewed a host of people from around the industry as well as a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience to ask ' do women need a women-specific helmet?' What really makes the Omne Air MIPS work as a gravel bike helmet is that it has a casual style that lends itself to the more upright position you often find on a gravel bike. That also works for endurance road bikes as well and POC has some very cool colours available. Stylistically you should be able to match a lot of riding. Sweet Protection isn't as well known as some brands but the brand has been making high-quality helmets and cycling sunglasses for a number of years. You might also recognize the brand as the helmet partner to Pas Normal. It's the sunglasses connection that ultimately landed this helmet on the list though. Whatever the reason, as I weighed all the helmets, the Limar Air Atlas + MIPS was the lightest I found. There are some caveats though. The Air Atlas uses a removable fairing at the rear of the helmet that Limar refers to as the UFO. The low weight is with that tail removed but removing it also reduces aero performance. In my testing I found no noticeable impact on cooling performance so I suspect most people will leave the insert in most of the time. That will put the actual weight at 279 grams.