Smith Optics Podium Mips Aero Helmet

Smith Optics Podium Mips Aero Helmet Info

Smith Optics Podium Mips Aero Helmet utilizes both their Koroyd liner and their ChromaPop lens technology to make a fast, comfortable aero helmet that you can see better out of.

Helmet shapes have changed over time. Bob-tailed shapes such as this are designed with the idea that you typically move your head around a bit as you’re riding on the road, rather than keeping it in one place, which you might do for a short time in a wind-tunnel. The result is that this helmet is faster in real-world situations. The integrated eye shield further smoothes the wind as it flows around your head, and the small vents don’t interrupt the wind flow much, either.

Smith was first an eyewear company. ChromaPop is their latest lens tech. It’s a means by which they’re able to enhance both clarity and color so you can see better, more easily. They’ve found the result is less strain on the eyes, which is one less thing holding back your best performance. There’s also a conventional clear lens packaged with the helmet. both take advantage of a magnetic attachment system, which means you can easily pull it off and pretty much just drop it back into place. It can also be turned up 180-degrees so it’s still attached to the helmet while not covering your eyes. Yes, you can also ride without the shield and with your favorite eyewear, but that’s slower, and Smith’s lens quality is such you won’t feel the need.

Koroyd is their impact protection layer. It is a plastic that his hollowed out vertically. The result is it appears solid from the sides but, when viewed from the top, appears to be made of tubes. The way this stuff protects you is that it crumples on impact, just like conventional EPS foam liners. They’ve placed Koroyd panels at the back of the helmet, to serve as part of the exhaust venting system. The rest of the helmet is more conventional EPS foam, and it features channels on the inside, starting with the two vents in the helmet itself and three vents in the eye shield. These channels go around the top of your head and end at the Koroyd.

The helmet adjusts to your head via the Vaporfit adjustable fit system. This includes the single-layer webbing, which is thin, light, and flexible, while not stretching. The pads are covered in X-Static synthetic fabric, which moves sweat off your head and dries quickly. The final element of the fit system is the secondary retention system, which can be adjusted for height when off your head, and easily tightened around your skull with one hand while riding.

The helmet also features Mips. Multi-directional Impact Protection System. The basic idea is that the helmet should move around, just a little, when secured to your head. The result is experienced when your casque-covered noggin collides with some heavy object, like the ground. Your head can rotate a little to reduce rotational forces on your head and reduce overall impact. It achieves this by lining inside of the helmet with a “sliding enabler” material and then creating an internal structure called the “Mips Low Friction Liner” which goes around your head and allows the helmet to move while still being secured to your head. The Liner itself is extensively cut out, mimicking the helmet vents to keep cooling and comfort the same as it would be without Mips.

The Smith Podium Mips Aero Helmet is super-fast and very safe.