UKC

Gone are the days of heavy helmets - and gone are the days of any excuse not to wear one!

In this review we test some some of the best and lightest helmets out there on the market. The lightest - the Petzl Sirocco - is just 165g! The rest of the helmets don't weigh much more, and all could save your life.

None of the helmets we have tested were bad, in fact they were all good, but this review might just help you find one that's better than 'good' and one that suits your exact needs.

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In reply to UKC Gear:

Great review - cheers

Dear Petzl & other manufacturers - please make things in colours other than orange. e.g. green, or blue.

In reply to UKC Gear:

I don't care that it's orange (I quite like bright colours), I don't care that I look like an idiot climbing easy routes with "pro" helmet, but damn, Sirocco is just brilliant.

I have Petzl Meteor for local cragging so I don't get weird looks. It does not matter that much on a single pitch crag, but when you spend most of the day (and sometimes approach, because it's so light!) with the helmet on, it makes a big difference. I once sat in a car with a helmet on...

In reply to UKC Gear:

If you're going to review something, why cant you test what it's meant to do? I want to know what happens if a rock falls on them, and does the orange mushroom get knackered if you bump it into overhead rocks a lot, as I tend to with a lid on. Not a review imho, just a fit and fashion test. Sorry!

In reply to PPP:


Really? I have a meteor and have worn it for 10-15 hours at a time and can't say I've ever noticed the weight of it on my head.

In reply to planetmarshall:


Soldiers could say similar things about their buckets and it would still be valid. It might be that Sirocco just fits my head better than Meteor as I wear glasses as well. If it's really hot, I would definitely prefer Sirocco.

Personally, I feel Meteor as a helmet on my head and Sirocco as a beanie. It might just be me though.

In reply to AsleepOnBelay:
I believe that's what the ratings are for - helmets aren't going to be sold if they can't do what they're supposed to do. Plenty of videos and such out there (especially for the Sirocco) of them getting destroyed. I thought it was a fine review.

In reply to Graham:

I thought it was good too. What I would like though, is a real-life photo of all the helmets side by side, to compare relative volumes.

I use an old BD Half Dome and an old BD Tracer. They're both good helmets that fit well, but they differ in external dimensions so much that not all my shell jacket hoods fit over both, at least so that they can be zipped up. Given that a new shell is 3x the price of a new helmet, but a helmet is so important, it's kind of handy to get the combo right!

In reply to Graham:

Having now looked, I can't find any videos of Sirocco helmets being destroyed, just some petzl promo vids of testing. Please link to the ones you have seen.

More usefully, I did find that the Sirocco has UIAA 106 certification whilst the Vapor does not. The UIAA 106 requires 20% less force to be imparted to the climbers head in some tests. That would have been of interest to me in a helmet review.

In reply to AsleepOnBelay:

I've had my Sirocco for two years in the Canadian Rockies. I climb in the alpine a fair bit. I've had taken numerous rocks to the dome on many occasions. The Sirocco is damn near invincible. Scratched a fair bit on the surface, but still totally safe and useable.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Why was the fact the Vapour failed to get a UIAA rating not mentioned? The sticker on the inside says " Rock Climbing Helmet only, not for any situations with serious rockfall potential". I feel this is kinda the most important part of the equation.

You missed one of the industry standards here: Kong Scarab (245 grams).

I have one and I think it outperforms at least two of those you listed. Plus, while designed for climbing, it meets these other standards: EN 1078 for cycling and skateboard, EN 1385 for boating and rafting, EN 1384 for horse riding.
http://www.kong.it/en/2-products/items/f3-helmets/p371-scarab

In reply to McT:
I wonder if "failed to get a UIAA rating" is the correct terminology.
We don't know if the helmet actually failed the test, or didn't bother to take it. Lots of companies don't bother. It looks like BD's half dome helmet isn't UIAA rated either. Or CAMP's Speed 2.0 , Or Mammut's Rock Rider. Or the Shield Lite. Or the Kong Scarab. Or... I couldn't easily find info on the Tendon or the Edelwiess. UIAA testing is expensive and unnecessary (from the point of view that you don't need that certification to sell your product). Many companies don't see the point.

Had I written this review, I'd like to think that I'd point out that the Sirocco was the only helmet that HAD passed the UIAA certification in this review, but I don't think it's fair to jump on the reviewer for not pointing it out. I would wager that most climbing helmets on the market do not have UIAA certification.

In reply to McT:

Just FYI - here is a good article explaining ratings: http://www.rockandice.com/gear-guide-tips/making-sense-of-the-uiaa-ce-and-3...

In reply to Graham:

Found a handy little tool to check UIAA status on products without relying on manufacturer's websites: http://www.theuiaa.org/certified-equipment.html

For whatever reason, most manufacturers only list the CE rating, instead of both the CE and UIAA rating on their websites, hence some misinformation in my previous post. I retract my wager but the point still stands.