Giant has added to its helmet lineup with a refresh to the Roost helmet. It’s aimed at all riders who want a well-priced, protective, and good-looking helmet. With this one, Giant has had to cut some corners when compared to the Rail helmet to get the price down, but the essentials haven’t been skipped thankfully, resulting in a very good value lid.
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Giant Roost – Technical details
Giant has included a conventional Mips liner in the Roost helmet, which aims to provide improved safety when it comes to rotational impacts to minimise the possibilities of concussions out on the trail.
The Roost follows the Rail, its bigger brother, with the newer, rounder head form, with the aim of making the helmet more compatible with all head shapes. The ratchet at the back of the helmet is easy to do up, and adjusting its depth is just as simple, with a single-clicking depth adjustment.
As with all good mountain bike helmets, the Roost also has a peak that has three positions of adjustment, from flat to very high. The buckle under the chin is the conventional click type and has enough adjustment that it should be able to fit most head shapes without issue.
There are five available colours for the Roost, coming in red, light and dark blue, black, and brown.
Giant Roost Helmet – Performance
I found the fit of the Roost to be very comfy, coming nice and low at the back, although around the ears didn’t quite so low as other helmets. This isn’t really noticeable when wearing the helmet, but only in the way it looks.
When doing up the helmet and adjusting it, the strap has plenty of adjustment, maybe even too much which left the excess to be quite long. Under the ears is easy to adjust, with plastic adjustment tabs that allow you to get the fit you want around the ears.
There’s a Mips liner inside the helmet, albeit it is the older version, not the newest Air Node Liner, but it certainly doesn’t add any discomfort. The only small drawback I have found with the Mips is that it has a tendency to creak slightly, this isn’t noticeable on the trails with everything else going on, but if you have to ride on the road at all it might cause some slight annoyance.
The one area which was a shame for me, was the lack of anywhere to keep sunglasses should you not want them on your face. This is the same with the Rail but it would have been nice if Giant could have included some kind of glasses dock.
The minimal design of the Roost also matches the Rail, Giant decided to not include their logo anywhere on the helmet, which I found to be a very interesting decision, this leaves the exterior of the helmet very clean and aesthetically pleasing and left me feeling like my head wasn’t being used as an advert. This is great for people who are loyal to a brand but want to try something a bit different.
There are 12 large vents across the helmet to give as much cooling as possible, I found it to be a little warmer than the Rail, but not to a point where there was any discomfort, and I found my head could breathe nicely in the warm weather.
The peak is easily adjustable, and I found myself using it in the middle setting. It has quite a taper on it, so comes to be quite narrow towards the end, I would prefer a bit more of a square shape, but that is only for personal aesthetics, and I found the peak performed as I wanted.
The helmet on test tipped the scales at 388g, so it’s not the lightest helmet ever, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s heavy on the head, and I didn’t get any neck fatigue because of it. It’s only 30g heavier than the Rail, so it’s absolutely not anything crazy.
Giant Roost Helmet – Value and verdict
At £90, the Roost is a well-priced helmet, coming with lots of trickle-down features from previous top-end helmets, but costing a much more reasonable amount than those. These include the Mips liner, the ability to adjust everything and the aesthetics.
Other competitors for a similar price include the Endura Humvee Plus MIPS, which got a great review, but sits a little high on the head, and the Lazer Coyote, which has the downsides of being a little fiddly, and also sitting a bit high, but is super breathable
If you’re after a comfy, good-looking, and well-performing helmet, for a good price, then the Giant Roost should certainly be on your list. With only a couple of small niggles which are quite personal, Giant has done a great job with this helmet.
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Build extra:
If you’ve ever felt a need to size up and cinch down to get the right feeling of width without pressure, the new Roost’s rounder shape offers a more balanced overall feel.
MAXIMUM PROTECTION
A trusted Mips rotational impact liner reduces rotational forces that would otherwise be transmitted to the brain during impact. With a five-star rating from Virginia Tech’s Helmet Safety Lab, it’s the standard for comfortable, lightweight protection.
COOL COMFORT
Twelve oversized, head-cooling vents and an intuitive rear height adjustment system let you think less about how your helmet feels and more about the trail.
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