Thanks for tuning in
today we're going to be reviewing the
POC Octal cycling helmet.
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The Octal is one of POC first road
cycling helmets and it made a big splash in
2014 when it was first introduced.
It's an award-winning helmet with a very
unique ventilation and EPS foam design
and as with a lot of POC items it has a
very unique
design scheme that's associated with the
Swedish brand.
For 2020 they've introduced some new
color schemes which we have here. This is
the Kalkoprit blue matte
and it's almost a baby blue really
unique color scheme with the black
accents.
In terms of packaging as with all the
POC helmets and
sunglasses really simple white cardboard
POC logo with this reflective
finish. We'll go ahead and take it out
of the box and while we do that we'll go
over the specs.
Retail price on this is 200 so it's
about mid range within the POC helmet
lineup. It
has a variable EPS foam density which
means it's thicker in the back
and then thinner at more strategic
locations. It's highly ventilated,
it's a great summertime helmet and has a
built-in eye garage which is little pads
here and that holds your sunglasses
in place. It also has reflective elements
here
you can see on the top as well as on the
back side which is nice for
nighttime visibility. As I mentioned this
is the
updated color scheme it's available in
quite a few options so you can really
mix and match with your cycling gear or
bike
and that's really unique to POC.
Inside the box what you get is the
helmet
some simple tags explaining how to
use a helmet
and a little about POC itself. You also
get a little storage bag which is nice
it's a fabric bag and you can use this
to store the helmet when it's not being
used to prevent it from being dusty or
travel with it.
Now let's take a look at the weight of
the Octal helmet. Lets
go ahead and throw it on the scale and
that comes in at a lightweight 252 grams
for the medium north america version.
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Now let's take a look at the fit and
finish of the POC Octal helmet
as a lot of POC helmets they have a
very distinct design
and a very minimalist design language
that's present throughout their products.
The Octal has very blocky
design you can see very large vents
almost lego-like with really nice
sculpting around the edges.
It looks quite premium the edges are
really nicely done and it actually
the shell wraps all the way around and
inside and that really gives it a
more higher end appearance. This is
available in a number of colors but
this matte blue color looks really
good and you can actually get
sunglasses that match the style. With
this color scheme you get
black straps, black
head retention system and a little white
surround. With the different colors
they actually
either color match it or do white color
they really go the extra mile in terms
of the visual
design. Now starting in the front you get
these large aggressive vents and you can
see
right through the helmet and through
your head with these nice internal
channels. Without the MIPS liner anything
getting in the way
it's a very open and airy helmet. Now the
Octal does
get some criticism for being a little
bulky especially on someone with a
smaller head.
That's because it is a little bit wider
and taller very dome like almost profile.
Very minimal POC logos as well so you
have POC on the front
buck on the side and then POC on the
back. So really nicely done you don't
look like you're a Nascar driver
when you're wearing this. It also has the
eye garage here which is just these
little grippy pads
definitely help keep the sunglasses in
place.
On the side you can see a nice
aggressive design with the
blunt trailing edge and really nice
sculpting with the side vents.
You can see it's a two-part shell design
and actually very crisp you can see the
graphics actually line up really well
so it's a good looking helmet with the
still fairly domey design but still
aggressive.
On the back this is where you can really
see the variable
thickness foam you can see how thick
this part is.
So it's designed to really extend
further down than traditional helmets
and provide a little more protection.
There are also the reflective elements
which are just little stickers,
these work pretty well and I'm surprised
more helmets don't have this
as having reflective elements is great
especially when you're riding at night.
The other reflective element is a simple
sticker on top as well.
It has a nice aggressive design minimal low
goes and the
head retention system extends downward.
Now going to the inside this is where
the POC helmets really shine,
very minimalist design you can see
without the SPIN pads or
a MIPS liner. Really open and airy you
have these internal air channels that
are all exposed
it's a really great ventilated helmet
great for summer riding or slow climb.
It's also really clean in here you can
see the straps are actually run through
the helmet itself
you don't have any protruding elements
and the inside the
head retention system actually extends
all the way through and you can see it
wraps around so it really makes it easy
to
tighten this down. It is really easy to adjust
and very comfortable
the foam is a little bit thin though, I found
this a little uncomfortable
at least compared to the other POC
helmets with the thicker
SPIN pads. It is velcro attached so
it's machine washable
and there are
no
pressure points at least when you're
wearing. It there's no brim either so
you have to wear sunglasses and we found
oversized sunglasses actually fit pretty
well.
They rub up against it with really large
ones but other ones provide a
nice coverage and protection.
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So now do a little comparison with some
other helmets on the market. Here we have
a few POC variations we have the Octal
here on the left.
the Ventral SPIN which is the
aerodynamic version
and then the ventilated version which is
the Ventral Air SPIN NFC which has NFC
chip as well.
Now what's nice here is you can actually
see the development of POC design
language.
They share a lot of similarities even
though the Ventual spin is a newer
helmet.
They have the same elongated vent
designs the same unique colors the green
matte
and that same premium look with the
wraparound shell.
With the ventral spin they made it a
little bit more narrow and that
takes care of some of the criticism the
Octal gets as it's a little wider and
bulkier.
You can see the width is narrowed down
and profile wise it's a little
trimmer so for those with smaller heads
the Ventral SPIN is a good option
but again they share quite a bit of
commonality in terms of design.
The Octal offers a little more
ventilation and lower cost.
Now the most ventilated helmet in the POC
lineup would be the Ventral Air SPIN
and this is the NFC version which simply
has a a near field communication chip
integrated into it. You can see it shares
the same aerodynamic profile both have a lot
more vents.
So you have full vents in front which
almost look identical
vents all the way through the top and a
very aggressive rear end
but again the Octal is a more affordable
option and it doesn't have the SPIN
pads which is the POC variation of MIPS
which is a nice little secondary safety
feature. But again
same a unique design scheme colors a
little bit more affordable price with
the Octal.
Now comparing the Octal with some other
helmets on the market
we have the Smith Trace and this has the
Koroyd technology
which is this honeycomb structure that
complements the EPS foam
as well as a MIPS liner in here.
So this costs a little bit more than the
Octal but you can see with the get wild
color scheme it's also a lot brighter.
The Octal has definitely has better
ventilation you can see how it's
completely open
where the Smith Trace only has a couple
center open channels
but again i think the Octal is a little
bit bulkier
and it has a a thicker EPS foam designi.
As with a lot of POC items i think
the POC helmet definitely stands out
with the color schemes and design
elements.
Also comparing it to the Bontrager
Specter this is the Wavecel version
and you can see it has this
three-dimensional structure
between the foam and your head and it
has a lot of interesting safety claims
with it as well.
It's a good looking helmet with the
neon color but I think the POC stands
out more where the
Specter looks a little more common with
the smaller vents.
The more ventilated Octal definitely
stands out in the matte color scheme i
think it looks better than the glossy
but again they share the premium touches
like wrap around shell
and aggressive rear designs.
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Now let's get the Octal helmet on the
road, even though it is a little bit
bulky with the thicker foam
it's still a good looking helmet and as
you can see with the blue colar it
really pops
especially matched with the POC AIM
sunglasses in the same color. It's a
really good look and really gives you
good protection
and with the air vents here this is a
great helmet for summer riding or warmer
days.
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Now let's go over the pros and cons for
the POC Octal helmet.
What we like about the helmet is the
sleek styling it really carries POC's
distinctive
design language to helmets with the
blocky air vents
and the nice sculpting on the edges. It
also has a lot of unique color schemes
that really let you mix and match with
your bike or kits.
It also really has a great optimized air
channels for
ventilation so it's a very cool helmet
to wear especially on warmer days or
slow climbs.
It's also so light you might forget
you're actually wearing it at only 252
grams.
Some of the cons for the helmet is the
fact that the liner pads are a little
bit thin.
I wish they're a little bit thicker to
be more comfortable there aren't any
pressure points but you may feel them
through your head if you have thinner
hair.
Also it lacks any secondary safety features
such as SPIN pads or MIPS
which is a little surprising at the 200
retail price.
Finally it may look a little large
on smaller heads as it's a little bit
wider
and has more of a dome-like profile.
Taking everything into account would
give the helmet an 8.3 out of 10.
It's a very sleek helmet with some
unique color schemes and provides great
ventilation especially on the warmer
days.
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