Be a friend of BS
Bern Watts Helmet
July 3, 2009
I have never really worn the "bucket" style helmet for a couple of reasons. Firstly they never seem to fit me. The 3 size options with extra pads just never seem to feel righ on my big head. The other is that they all kinda seem the same. I feel like I should be a 12 year old boy at the skate park. Bern has a fresh new take on this style of helmet and with there new look I will avoid using the term "bucket" helmet. Bern offers a brimmed helmet that has a nice new look, and to top it all off they have some amazing sizing features.
The Bern Watts is a vented visor lid. This helmet is available in two versions, we tested out the EPS foam version that is rated for bicycle use. The first thing I noticed about this helmet and Bern helmets in general is the sizing options. The Watts is available in 5 different sizes and fits a lot deepr on the head with their low profile "sink fit". The helmet also sizes up nicely with a zipper style adjustment at the back that fine tunes the fit.
Now as much as this is a vented helmet it still offers no where near the ventelation of a lot of helmets on the market today. Although it offers an equal amount to similar styles. On these hot summer days I found the 10 vents to be great ventilation on shorter rides under 20 minutes, but after that the ventelation was just not cutting it. Spring, Fall and Winter this helmet would shine, or even on casual cruiser rides in summer, but if you are thinking of doing longer rides in the heat you may find yourself breaking a sweat sooner than you thought.
The shape of this helmet is nice. With the visor it is somewhat reminiscent of a baseball batting helmet, but in a new stylish way. Because of the low profile fit, the short visor does actually work to block some of the suns rays as well.
After using this for a few weeks I am pretty impressed. Helmets are something I always have trouble fitting, and although I first felt like it was a little on the snug side I think I am getting used to them now. These helmets fit pretty true to size, but since you can adjust the fit, I would recommend one size up if you are concerned at all. This great fitting helmet is going to see alot of use.
Price: $49.95 USD
Details: A new look bike helmet
Pros: Adjustable fit, looks cool
Cons: Not a whole lot of ventilation
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Bern
Reviewed by: Ryan