The Xen isThe original and now iconic all-mountain helmet. Its smoothlow-profile style hints at skate-style influence, but its big vents,light weight, and expanded rear coverage define it as a highperformance helmet forThe modern mountain biker. AndThe colors andgraphicsThis year are really something special. Sort of like art foryour head. WindTunnel Ventilation Internal Channels Roc Loc 4 Fit System InMold Construction with EPS liner, polycarbonate shell 17 large vents POV adjustable visor w/ 1
Strengths: Rear coverage, cool, looks a lot better than a road helmet. Protects your head!
Weaknesses: A little mushroomy, cost?
Bottom Line:
I crashed hard twice and both times ended up in the hospital with extensive injuries. Those injuries DID NOT include major head trauma. The first time I cracked the foam all the way through. The next I put a huge dent in the side of it. Maybe any helmet would of done the same. Maybe not? Bottom line is this helmet does what is supposed to do. $130 maybe a little pricey but it sure beats sucking your food through a straw...
Similar Products Used: Various cheap Bell and Giro
Bike Setup: 09 Epic
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
New Potty
a Weekend Warrior
from Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2010
Strengths: Very comfortable, great ventilation, great looks, decent quality.
Weaknesses: None at present.
Bottom Line:
It is superior to my old Louis Garneau helmet in almost every way. Feels great, lets in the air, and looks alright as well. Not as much of a mushroom head as the Garneau. I bought the Matt Chalk/White Weathered Camo. It won't heat up as quickly in the summer sun, and is a bit more visible on the road than some of the darker colours. By the way, it took a mere 3 days to arrive from Amazon, and that was across the Canada/US border. Very impressive!
Strengths: Perfect fit and comfortable. Looks good too.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
This helmet is really comfortable. I can't think of any way to improve it. And Giro Customer service is excellent (I needed padding to replace what I lost).
Submitted by
BokorSolo
a Weekend Warrior
from Prince William, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2009
Strengths: This is a great fitting helmet and I like the fact that it gives my head a generous amount of coverage and has nice big vents to keep my head cool in the summer. Color is great too.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
This was given to me as a gift from a friend who bought a size to small wore it once and found that it was too tight. Better to give it to me than let a perfectly good helmet go to waste. I love this helmet one of my personal favorites.
Submitted by
Hentaiboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide, SA, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2009
Strengths: Most comfortable helmet I've ever worn. After 5 minutes riding I forget it's even on my head. Stays horizontal (other helmets tip forward with the visor obscuring vision). Lightweight and reasonably cool. Got a great deal on an '08 model. Mine is the 'Fabric G' which really stands out from the masses and their camo helmets.
Weaknesses: Because there are only 3 sizes, fitting can be a bit tricky. I am right in the middle of M & L (59cm). Tried an L first, looked like a mushroom head. M is perfect with the adjustment system all the way open.
Bottom Line:
It's an expensive helmet and I have my concerns about the strap mounting system but at the price I got it it's a no-brainer.
Submitted by
Chino
a Weekend Warrior
from Draper, Utah
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2009
Strengths: This helmet provides good coverage, doesn't weigh too much and is pretty cool in hot weather. Plus, the adjustment allow for somethin' underneath in cold weather.
Weaknesses: A bit pricey.
Bottom Line:
This is the best helmet ever. I think it looks the coolest out of all the lids out there. Giro also has some cool color and graphic options available.
Submitted by
tbaier
a Weekend Warrior
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2009
Strengths: Fit system.
Weaknesses: Price.
Bottom Line:
You're probably here trying to decide whether its worth it to spend the extra dough on the Xen. The short answer is: probably not.
Is this a really nice helmet? Yes. Obviously it protects well, but more than that you want a helmet to fit right and the fit system is one of the best around. Better than the "center screw" type units that are quite prevalent. Ventilation is decent though its not as good as some reviewers say. Heck, its not even as good as the 10 year old Bell it replaced.
So here's the rub: I compared this to the Hex which is $50 cheaper and its pretty much exactly the same helmet. What exactly makes the Xen worth the money? I can't find it in practice. The only reason I have the Xen is because I got a fantastic deal on it and it wound up being cheaper than the Hex.
In short this is a great helmet, but buy the Hex, save some $$$ and be just as happy.
Submitted by
AsianPersuasion
a Weekend Warrior
from Flushing NY
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2009
Strengths: Strong, Good coverage and protection, looks pretty good, fits very well.
Weaknesses: Looks big, a touch heavy. Strap retention pins, came loose on one of them (quality control issue)
Bottom Line:
I AM ON MY FOURTH GIRO XEN!!!
I used to be very hard on gear because I used to be very hard on my riding. My third Xen was actually broken in a crash which I fractured my neck. And now that I am a much more conservative rider, I still rely on the dependability of the Xen for the "just in case" moment.
Helmets are a personal preference with FIT being key. Then Xen fit me as well as any of the Giro line. I stick with Giro as a whole because of it. I think the Roc-Loc has worked well for me since the original series back in my college days. The adjustablity is as good as most people will ever need.
Price is high for styrofoam but do you really want to skimp on what protects your melon? Again, I crashed hard enough, piledriven into the ground from 5+ feet up, fracturing my neck and compressing 3 discs. The helmet did crack as expected but I was able to leave the trail with a mild concussion instead of spilled grey matter. I have seen them on sale for as kow as $60 depending on the size you need. Considering what it protects, price is not really an issue.
Comfort wise, it is comparable to most. A cross between a skate lid and an xc helmet so you feel more stuff on your head in comparison to other xc lids. A little heavier due to the rear coverage. Ventilation is also slightly affected by that as well. Sure, I wish it's as light and vents as well as my road helmet, Giro Atmos. I also wish my bikes weigh as little as my road bike. It's designed use is just different and the penalty is minimal.
I did have 2 bad experience with the Xen. My first one was stolen. Never good. Who would steal a sweatty helmet? My second one had a strap pin come out of the shell. The little pin that keeps the strap attached to the styrofoam ripped out after a very light crash. I glued it back in but a few weeks later, another one did the same. I contacted Giro by email with pictures and after speaking to a rep, and filling out the necessary forms, they sent me a replacement under warranty.
I am sold on this lid. I will probably be replacing my Xedn with yet another Xen when it comes time. I'm just hoping it's later instead of sooner. I don't think this old body can handle the type of riding that warrants a yearly helmet replacement anymore. And I'm not too thrilled with the current season's color selection...
Similar Products Used: Specialized std. helment - makes youlook a prick into "just cycling along". The Fox Flux - nice but bulky. The Protect Cyphon - nice but bulky.
Strengths: good fit, flows loadsa air, Good looks,Survived big impact. Good Quality build and control on 2006 model
Weaknesses: Totally unacceptably poor build standard and quality control for 2008 model. Have Giro been corner cutting to maximixe profits at the expense of their Customers' safety?
On just the 2nd day of riding the 'Roc Loc' system broke whilst just standing around chatting to a friend then one of the tension adjusters broke off. It is sooo bad that i'll be demanding a Fox Flux rather than a replacement Zen.
Also i suspect the Zen is too rigid and rather than crack whilst absorbing the energy of an impact it stays intact and transfers a lot of energy to the user's head.
Bottom Line:
I'm really torn on this one. I had a 2006 Zen and had it for 2 years, great helmet. By using the adjusters at the back you could ride XC with the forhead band backed off a notch or 2 but come the downhill you could easily one-handedly ratchet it up for a nice tight fit and then back off a little for until the next DH. I had doubts, at first, whether the ratchet would last using it in this way but it has. I only had one major impact with this helmet and it appeared completely undamaged whereas i had a headache for 2 days. Previously i had used Met 5th Elements and went through 5 of them when significant impacts left them with cracks and me with no headache.In each case the impact was such that i would have changed the lid cracks or no cracks. Sooo is the Zen too rigid and transfers too much shock? hmmm the jury's out as you could say that a 5th elements might be smashed to bits in the one in a lifetime mother of all crashes leaving you with head injuries and the Zen might be cracked and you'd have a headache. Tricky decision.
HOWEVER, as with all major impacts i bought a new helmet after 1st Zen and the 2008 model may as well be a collander with a liquerice bootlace strap. Despite looking the same as the 2006 model this one has hideously poor build quality. On the second day of wearing it there i was chatting to a mate when i felt the tension in the 'Roc Loc' suddenly slacken so that if i tipped my head it wouldn't even stay on my head. I found that 2 of the anchor points near your temples are 'press stud' style attachments. The piece that bonds into the helmet was cracked on one of these locations and would not hold the press stud. Looking at the other posts on this website this is not an uncommon problem. The only way i could continue the ride was to use cable ties to hold the press stud in.REMEMBER this was only my second day wearing this Zen!!! later in the ride i was chatting to another biker and noticed his Zen had a cable tie in the same position and, lo and behold, his had done the same!!! Later on i loosened the adjuster at the back of the helmet after a downhill and one of the adjuster levers fell off. Remember my 2006 model never did either of these in 2 years yet my 2008 model breaks in 2 completetly different ways on only the 2nd day of riding with it. Therefore i summise that quality is now rock bottom therefore my grading is acorrdingly for their newest build.
I dread to think what the quality of the 2009 model is and they're charging something like UK125!!!!!
Similar Products Used: Met 5th element, Met Zolfo, Bell Bellistic
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Submitted by
ridefreeride
a Downhiller
from Riverside CA
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2009
Strengths: This helmet is the strongest, lightest, most agressive XC helmet I have evr owned!
Weaknesses: Somtimes the chin straps chafe on my eaars.
Bottom Line:
I love this Helmet. At first I wanted it in Black, but they only had Digi Camo. I didnt like it at first,but it gre on me. I got a super deal at Cambria Bike Outfitters $69.99 instead of Msrp Because I impressed the dealer(I almost got a job at the shop)
Similar Products Used: some Bell I cant remeber what it was called, Protec skate lid
Bike Setup: Haro x7 ODI Grips MRP Lrp Fox Van R Holzfeller Stem/Bars/Cranks
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
myitch
a Weekend Warrior
from san jose ca
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2009
Strengths: Lightweight enough for xc rides, Strong! I know cuz I cracked mine after a crash...just like it should
Weaknesses: pricey, but my head is expensive too
Bottom Line:
whilst traveling downhill at about 25mph, i lost control. hit my head hard enough to crack my 4 y/o Xen. the helmet cracked, just like it should and protected my head very well. no bruises, no aches on my head after. superb product. i'm buying another one right now.
I've been looking for some time on a [B]Giro Xen[/B] in [B]Size Large[/B] preferably in black or some other single color.
Anyone out there see anything?
I've been checking Read More »
I purchased a Giro Xen from Amazon.com without actually seeing one or trying one on in person, none of the LBS I went to had one for me to try.
Anyway, I sized my head based on Read More »
For those that have (or at least tried both), what is the difference in fit/comfort between these two helmets? After two full days of helmet shopping, The Giro Xar was the most co Read More »
Performance Bike having clearance on the Giro Xen helmet. Size and color is limited. There is a few Small, and medium but 1 large color left
[url=http://www.performancebike.com/ Read More »
