Reviewed: POC Octal Raceday helmet
The POC Octal is a fantastic summer helmet with huge vents and a good size adjustment system.
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Price: $240
Weight: 200 grams (size M)
You’ll get close to that wind-in-your-hair feeling with the light, airy, enormously vented Octal. The aesthetics are minimalist, but the coverage isn’t, with extended protection over the temples and back of the head. POC has a thing for safety, an attribute we appreciate in a helmet supplier.
The size adjustment system is easy to use. Just turn a dial on the back of the head and it adjusts up and down for a tailored fit. The straps around the ears, however, are not adjustable. This is increasingly popular, an effort to save weight and cost, but it’s a key adjustment point. Removing it is stupid (looking at you, too, Specialized Airnet).
This is a fantastic summer helmet if you’re after ventilation and don’t mind the occasional flying insect wandering through your hair. Poc claims the vents help improve aerodynamics as well, though we’re not exactly sure how; it stands to reason that more vents would equal more drag, though perhaps the air moves strategically through the vents. We can’t say for sure.