Met Xilo helmet

The Met Xilo helmet hails from the Italian brand's 'active' range aimed at budget conscious sports minded road and trail riders who want a lid that will perform in both contexts with nominal compromise.

Frankly, for the money I'm seriously impressed - but a comparatively shallow cradle gave the sensation of it being perched atop my head, so I'd strongly recommend trying before buying.

Build quality and detailing are very impressive. In mould construction where shell and EPS liner are formed simultaneously often seems a little rough around the edges but our gloss black/ anthracite was impeccable and surprisingly visible under street/vehicle lighting. Staying with the exterior a moment, we've a modest fifteen vents, insect netting and relatively shallow detachable peak.

Met employ a very interesting fluid flow analysis computer simulation for assessing airflow and this is represented by two different figures, based upon how much contact is made with the head and quality of ventilation. According to their data, the Xilo has a score of 68% and a middling cooling factor 5 (ten being optimum) implying it's better suited to mid winter cross meets in Derbyshire than trailblazing through Texas.

Occipital retention systems are another slightly confusing buzzword, but in this instance simply refers to the well-behaved adjuster wheel. A detachable means effortless morphing between road and mtb wardrobes, providing some protection from sun, rain, snow and mud without restricting peripheral vision.

Clipping along at a steady 17mph, ventilation was pretty efficient,and very temperate with buff worn beneath. A seashell-like whisper shouldn't stifle conversation or compromise hearing.

Prolonged descending at 35 mph hasn't given rise to frontal lobe pain, although perspiration was more pronounced when grinding up taller gradients. And I never found it interfered with rucksacks.

Verdict

Extremely competent and competitively priced dual purpose road/trail lid.