Thanks for tuning in this is The Sweet
Cyclists, today we're going to be looking
at the Lazer Cameleon MIPS cycling
helmet. Here we have the Lazer
Cameleon MIPS helmet in its original
packaging. As you can see a pretty
standard helmet box. Lazer is pretty well
known for their large selection of
helmets and it's really exciting to see
lower cost to MIPS versions out here. The
retail price for this is $89.95 for the
MIPS version, they describe this helmet
as an all-around helmet for mountain biking, road
biking or commuting so it's not really
specific to any sport. It's not a super
aero helmet but it has all the large
vents you need in a really general
style you can wear in any type of
activity. The great thing about this
is the MIPS liner as well. So if we
take a peek inside you can see you have
that little slip layer that you can
actually manipulate with your hand a
little bit. This will rotate and
absorb some of the impact if you have an
accident, it's a really nice feature to
see here. The color I chose was this navy
blue although they have other colors I
think this ones are pretty good choice
as it has a nice contrasting look to it.
You have the darker and lighter color
here. You have a standard retention
system and what's interesting about this
is it uses their top mounted dial rather
than the lower dial. They
describe this as ponytail friendly so
if you have longer hair this is a pretty
good helmet to choose. You have the same
basic kind of BOA dial, a dual
direction adjustment. You have standard
plastic buckles and soft nylon straps
here. It also comes with a integrated
visor which you can pop off, you can
see there's some plastic tabs and then
you can take that off and have a cleaner
look to it. Now let's take a look at
the weight of the Cameleon helmet, this
is the medium size.
If we put that on the scale with the
integrated visor on, which doesn't really
weigh anything, it comes in at about 332
grams. It isn't a super lightweight
helmet but it's also not the heaviest on
the market. Now let's look at the fit and
finish of the Lazer Cameleon helmet and
I think they named it really well as
this can be both a road, bike mountain
bike helmet or even a commuting helmet.
The styling fits all of them and you
have all the functionality and features
you need overall. Design wise you have
really big vents this almost reminds me
more of a mountain bike style as you
have horizontal vents instead of large
vertical than so you typically see on
aero helmets. The overall profile is quite
dome like, you can see it's very round
here you don't you have less of a blunt
trailing edge and more of this
aerodynamic style helmet where it sort
of ends back here. The built-in visor on
here is also a nice feature I know a lot
of people probably don't like. The built
in visor especially the more weight weenie
or other style riders so when it's
off it also looks great but I actually
like these they provide some relief
from the sun. I really like this two-tone
color it is dark blue and you can see
some of the graphics here on the side
has these lighter colors that correspond
to the logo as well. Nice design
detail on the back, we have this nice
upper mounted dial. This is a little bit
unusual in the market but something
Lazer has done before and it's nice it actually
frees off this area and makes
adjustments rather easy. You do fumble a
bit before you get used to it
when making adjustments as you typically expect it
back be back here but once you get used
to it I think it's a nice feature. Again
big large vents this thing is a great
for summer riding for sure, and the
ear cutouts here are also rather large
too so it extends down and provides
pretty good fit. On the inside this is
where you can see why this is a
lower-priced helmet. You can see the
shell here just stops and you have the
exposed foam. It gives a less premium
look and it ends up with this bare edge
here,
it's a more common on lower price helmet.
Straps are also not magnetic it's the
typical plastic buckle which is really
easy to use and soft enough. The
adjustments are also really large and
easy to use. The inside padding is not
quite as plush as you might see in some
other helmets, it's a softer foam but
it's quite large and really easy to
remove. You can see it's just velcrod
on so you can easily machine wash that
as needed. Now let's take a look at
the helmet on the road, you can see here
that's a really nice profile and
sleekness to it. The removable visor also
really helps with blocking the sun and
overall I really like the navy blue
color as well as the ponytail
feature is also really nice with the
high mounted dial. You have a lot of
space for those with longer hair. Now
let's do a little comparison between the
Cameleon helmet and a standard Las
helmet that's not MIPS or anything
and the Bontrager Specter WaveCel.
If we compare this versus a standard
helmet you can see my Las helmet here,
it is a lot more aggressive in terms
of design. This one is a more of a
simple design less
vents but they're larger and more
obvious. I think profile wise this one
has a little bit more of a blunt
trailing edge and obviously it seems
more aerodynamic than this would be. It's
also nice to see the straps aren't
mounted on the outside that's one thing
I never liked about this Las helmet.
Now lets
compare the Lazer
versus the WaveCel. This is where it's
a little bit interesting, this $150.00
helmet while this one is the $89.95 and
you can see these are the two competing
technologies here. We have WaveCel on
the right and on the left we have MIPS.
You see one of the advantage of MIPS is
it's very small it is just a simple
slip layer between the EPS foam and the
inner liner so it doesn't add too much
bulk. You get all the airflow you need
and because this is some open I think
this would be great for someone with
larger hair or for warmer weather while
the WaveCel
liner is a lot denser. You can't really
put any clips or mount anything on the
helmet because you can't get through the
liner. It also reduces the airflow and it's
likely bulkier. One thing I really like
is the retention system, by mounting it
up here you have to get you through a
little bit to adjust the dial up there.
It's a cleaner design and it reduces
some of the bulk on the bottom and
obviously allows for ponytails or other
hairstyles so it's a nice feature.
Another thing to point out here is a one
reason this is cheaper are the little
details. Aside from the WaveCel you
can see how the shell here extends all
the way down and you have this really
nice sculpting. This gives it a much more
premium look then the Lazer helmet which
has a shell that just ends here and you
have the exposed foam. It also seems
slightly thicker
appearance-wise. Now let's go over the
pros and cons for the Cameleon helmet. I
really like how they included MIPS at
this price point and it's really sleekly
integrated. It's cutout around all the
vents so you hardly know it's there. Also
the top mounted dial system, although it
takes a little bit getting used to makes
the rear the helmet really open so it's
great for those with longer
hair or ponytails. Finally the design
makes this helmet really great for any
type of discipline, it's not just a
mountain biking helmet or road bike
helmet. You can really use it for any
type of ride. Some of the things I don't
like about the helmet are the thin liner
padding.
The foam here is a lot softer than you
see with more premium helmets, also the
visor attachment points are rather small.
I often found myself pushing down on
the foam in the wrong location before I
found the actual spots.
Lastly the large vents will really let
bugs in, I really wish Lazer would
include some kind of inner liner that
you could optionally wear. Now let's give
this a final rating out of 10 I would
give this a 9, it's a really nice helmet
very versatile and comfortable. I really
like the overall features especially at
this price point. Thanks for watching
this review, please like and subscribe to
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reminding you to enjoy the ride!