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5/5
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3
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$
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Description:Cross country, all-mountain, downhill, enduro, dirt jump, huckstyle, slopestyle, slalom, four-cross, trials, urban assault, freeride, froride - it seems like riding a knobby-tired bike has a million different names. Maybe we're simpletons, but at Bell we like to call it "mountain biking." And for the mountain biker, Bell presents the new Variant helmet for the rider that does a bit of everything, but mostly just has fun.
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Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from Fremont, CA USA
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Amazon.com | | Strengths: | Style, comfort, padding, adjustment system, low price. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | Bell X-Ray | | Bike Setup: | N/A | | Bottom Line: | Great helmet. Found this on Amazon cheap and with free shipping. I thought my 5 yr old X-Ray was comfortable but the Variant is a much better fit for me. The one piece pad is also an improvement over the smaller individual pads of the X-Ray. Highly recommended. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al
a Weekend Warrior
from League City, Texas, USA
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Whichever one I get to ride with my daughter. | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Sun and Ski Sports | | Strengths: | Fit and finish. It's a fine helmet that fits me like they made the mold from my own head (and I tried bunches of others). Interesting ability to move the visor up and down a bit to help with light/glare. Cool design, not too over the top as I see many helmets. Slightly smoother and rounder (and possibly a bit safer because of it). | | Weaknesses: | 'Twas a bit on the high side (for me) at $100 since there were other helmets I thought would serve just as well at lower prices. | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Raleigh F500 Mountain Bike (Police Patrol Bike) | | Bottom Line: | As mentioned, I tried on lots of helmets (mostly focusing on Giro and Bell and focusing on those with good reviews that I had done careful research on). I didn't buy this one blindly but did several days worth of off-and-on research before carefully checking out the 8 to 10 helmets on my list (and trying one a few others as well). Never found a Giro quite as comfortable as I would have liked and I really wanted to like them. The Bells generally seemed to fit me better, but it wasn't until I tried on the Variant that I found the best fit for me. For some reason, from the comfort standpoint, this one stood out and felt like it belonged on my head. (But remember, we're talking about my head here and not yours. Your mileage may vary.) At $80, it was the helmet for me.
Side Note, Not Helmet Related but Purchase Related: I was originally going to purchase this helmet at Performance Bicycle, who had an outstanding sale going on at the time with this relatively new model helmet on sale for $80 (no one else, as far as I could tell, had yet offered any "sale" prices on this helmet, I think since it was a relatively newly released model). But, Performance Bicycle had it in only gray and I wanted a bit different color for both safety and aesthetic reasons. I had seen that Sun and Ski Sports had the model in a color I liked, after asking them about it Sun and Ski agreed to price match the Performance Bicycle price. But I have to say that the particular manager at Sun and Ski made the price match a rather difficult process and I came away from the experience of asking if they would price match with a slight sour taste (and an extra 20 minute of standing around the register area while he made verification phone calls, etc., to make sure Performance Bike actually had the helmet on sale). He even went so far as to tell me that if Performance Bike did not have the helmet in the exact same color that they could not price match (he later gave in on this point and allowed me the different color helmet for the same price). But his stand seemed a really dubious and non-customer friendly approach to me. Maybe the manager in question was just being moody or having a bad day, since everyone else there was exceptionally nice dealing with me as a customer, but I found his approach kind of a put-off. Thought I should comment on that as part of my "purchase experience." (Not trying to make a soapbox complaint out of this review, since this is about the helmet and not the store, but telling it like it was in terms of the buying experience.) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen
a Weekend Warrior
from Omaha, NE, USA
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Comfortable, precise adjustment system, good looks. | | Weaknesses: | Relatively expensive. | | Similar Products Used: | Tried lots of Bell and Giro helmets. | | Bike Setup: | It's a helmet. | | Bottom Line: | I tried on almost every helmet out there, but this was the one that fit me the best. Padding inside is extensive and the low-profile back looks cool. Great ventilation. Seems durable. Adjustment system is great. The bottom line with any helmet is that it fits well enough that you'll wear it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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