Thanks for tuning in
today we're going to be reviewing the
POC Ventral SPIN
cycling helmet.
Optimizing aerodynamics means reducing
drag and that means
it's easier to go faster that's results
in a lot of aerodynamic helmets on the
market.
Today we're going to be looking at POC's
variation the POC
Ventral SPIN. This is designed from the
ground up to be an aero helmet
and shares a lot of commonality between
the other POC helmets.
Packaging wise as a lot of POC items
very clean and minimal
simple white with the black
graphics on the reflective POC logo on
here.
We'll go
ahead and take it out of the box and
while I do that we'll go over these
specs.
Now retail price on this is very steep
this is 290 dollars
so definitely a premium price helmet.
SPIN is actually their shearing pad
inside
design and even though POC was one
of the first to bring
MIPS into road helmets this is their
variation.
So it's an in-house solution that
actually does a similar idea to MIPS.
Now as with any aero helmet this is CFD
optimized to reduce aerodynamic drag.
It's available in 11 colors and as you
can see this mint green is really
beautiful,
they have a lot of other matte finishes
as well as a few glossy ones.
It has an integrated sunglass garage
which is the two side vents
with these little gripper pads and it
has their 360 degree adjustment system
which makes it really easy to adjust the
fit on the fly
as it wraps all the way around. So in
terms of what you get in the box you get
the helmet itself
some basic instructional booklet on here
actually quite thick.
I'll give you some more information
about the helmet as well as a storage
bag which is a nice
addition that you see with premium
helmets. This is a fabric bag
you can see i can throw the helmet in
here
and it's a great way to store it when
it's not being used avoid again dusty or
scratched up.
Now let's take a look at the weight of
the helmet,
this is a medium size variation
and it is the US market version. So it comes in at
290 grams so fairly heavy actually for
the
price but still being under 300 grams
you're not gonna really feel it on your
head.
[Music]
Now let's go over the fit and finish of
the POC Ventral SPIN helmet.
POC helmets have gained a lot of
popularity due their sleek styling
and colors, however they're often
criticized for their bulkiness
and the fact that they look a little bit
like a mushroom when you're actually
wearing it.
With the Ventral they've tried to combat
some of that stigma by making it more
narrow
and having a flatter top so a little
sleeker appearance when it's being worn.
They're also offering a variety of
colors and some of these color schemes
are really nice looking. You can see here
this is a mint green variation
with black accent
colors
that are extended all the way from the
straps to the head retention system to
the surround, so they really go the extra
mile.
It's also offered in a few glossy colors
and a variation of matte colors
so you can definitely find the one that
works for you.
Now what's really unique about the
Ventral SPIN is that when you talk about
aero helmets
it usually means blocking off vents
and that's how they reduce aerodynamic
drag by letting all the air go up and
over.
With the Ventral you still get five large
vents here
with additional vents near the top and
tons of vents near the back that funnel
the air
up and through. You can see you
have internal channels
that direct the air all the way through
so quite a unique design that
keeps you cool on the bike.
Also there are gripper pads here a
little bit hard to see because they're
black
but these are a little grippy
adhesive section here and that holds
your
sunglasses in place and prevents them
from sliding out.
On the side you have a traditional
aerodynamic profile you have that blunt
trailing edge
almost a flat top and a smooth curve
coming down
so very nice scalloping here this shares.
A lot of common with the other POC
helmets but you can see
the vents have been kind of sculpted
away
you also have very minimal branding
that's the always the nice thing about
POC.
These are very clean and distinct and
they really match
your cycling kit or your bike depending
on which color you pick
and you have these nice side vents here
as well.
Now if we go to the rear you can see you
have
very aggressive venting again with this
channel down the middle going all the
way through
a very thin section here so this
actually brings the air together
to reduce some of the turbulence behind
you and therefore reduce the drag.
You have this nice surround here with
the POC
as I mentioned this will be either white
or black depending on your main color
scheme. You also have a little bit
information on here
with the model number a little bit about
the
sizing and the actual materials used.
Now perhaps one of the best parts about
this helmet is the inside.
Now even though POC was one of the
first to bring MIPS liners to road
helmets
they've actually moved away from that
and developed their own in-house
solution.
This is the SPIN pad and you can see
it's actually just
a soft gel filled pad and this
acts the same way a MIPS liner would do
in that it rotates a little bit if you
have an accident so it
absorb some of the rotational force.
Even though MIPS liner itself is not
bulky you can see that without it
and just simple padding it's a very nice
compact solution.
You can actually see all the
internal air channels so you have better
ventilation with this helmet
as it's a much more open design the 360
retention system
is also really easy to adjust. They call
it 360 because you can actually see
it wraps all the way around and provides
a lot of
adjustments and again they've extended
the color scheme right down to the
plastic
all the way in this so this is all black
really nice detail. I also like the nylon
straps
so you can see it has this built-in
splitter in here
that's really nice and compact easy to
adjust and then soft against your head
too because you don't feel the plastic.
You feel the
extra material here instead and even
though it doesn't have a magnetic buckle
it has a cool curved buckle so a little
basic plastic buckle
but you can see it's actually curved
inward in the same way the
side splitters are curved inward as well
so you can keep the
straps nice and taut without any
discomfort.
[Music]
Now let's do a little comparison between
the POC Ventral SPIN and other helmets
on the market.
One thing i wanted to first show was a
different color variation for the
Ventral SPIN.
You can see this is a matte yellow and
we have the matte
green here you can see the accent colors
are different.
This is the black while this is the
white, as I mentioned they go the
extra distance here so white is all the
way down to the retention system
and then color match straps with the
yellow one
that really set it off with white
buckles so you can really find the color
that works for you.
Now if you look at other POC helmets you
can see
here we have the Octal. You see very
similar
design language between them and that's
one strong point of POC.
They have a really good brand identity
so whether you're looking at their
sunglasses or helmet
they all have a very distinctive style
to them it's easy to set them apart.
You can see the channel design very
similar essentially with the Ventral
it's a squared design
that has a slightly different profile
too so a little flatter
obviously less venting on the sides
with the back being
again optimized on the Ventral to be a
little more aerodynamic
otherwise quite similar.
Now the Ventral SPIN even though it has
a lot of ventilation
it's not really a match for a full road
cycling helmet. This is a Smith Trace
and you can see not only does the Smith
Trace look a little more aggressive
especially in the
get wild color scheme, it's also a little
bit less bulky
and a lot more ventilated. So you can see
again vents running down the center
you have the Koroyd road technology here
peeking out
and a less aggressive aero profile
than the Ventral. Now one
really fair comparison would be compare
aero helmet versus aero helmet
here we have the Bolle Furo MIPS
and you can see a lot of similarities
here. The Furo has
removable vent cover, they're open right
now but that actually gives you the
option to run aero or not but you can see
less vents here.
NACA duct on top versus the flat closed
channel here,
the Furo has a flatter profile as well
but similar design concepts here. You
want that blunt trailing edge
at the back to really funnel air through
and then side scallops to
bring the air around. Again the Bolle
Furo is less bulky you can see from the
side profile it's a much more shallow
helmet
and with the MIPS liner in here
it's pretty well integrated versus the
SPIN design of POC but again i think
the POC in terms of styling
really wins out as the Furo is only
available one or two colors
and doesn't quite have the euro look
that the puck does.
[Music]
Now let's get the POC Ventral SPIN on
the road, it's a really good looking
helmet that's very comfortable and
provides
surprisingly good ventilation despite
being an aerodynamic helmet.
Particularly in this green and black
color it also matches well with your
bike or kits
you can see the large vents in the back
as well as the large events in the front
that funnel the air right through the
helmet
the helmet also pairs really well with
the POC in sunglasses or other
oversized sunglasses
to provide really good protection
against the sun and the wind
[Music]
Now let's go over the pros and cons for
the Ventral SPIN helmet.
What we like about it is the sleek
styling it has a distinctive POC
design language as well as very unique
color schemes.
Despite being an aerodynamic helmet
the optimized air channels provide
really great ventilation
so even on hotter days you still stay
cool.
Also the attention to detail such as the
contrasting accent color is a really
nice touch from POC
and sort of justifies the higher price.
Some of the cons of the helmet
is that higher price this is almost 300
which is quite a lot given other
helmets on the market.
It also lacks reflective elements which
some of the previous POC helmets did
have.
Finally it's a little bit bulkier
than other aero helmets as it extends
a little bit further down and the foam
is a little bit thicker.
Taking everything into account would
give the helmet an 8.4 out of 10.
this is an aerodynamic helmet with
really great ventilation.
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This is The Sweet Cyclist reminding you
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[Music]