The onyx visor, the stock one that comes with the helmet, has a silver mirror and grey rose lens. The lens has relatively low light transmission suitable for bright sun conditions, acceptable for cloudy daytime conditions. I need to turn up the screen brightness on my head unit to improve readability when using this visor.
The emerald visor's mirror is green in the center and fades to purple at the left and right edges. The lens is a punchy pink tint. Light transmission is greater than the onyx visor, suitable for cloudy conditions or low sun and dappled shadows. This lens has a visible color shift based on the incident angle to the lens meaning if I look straight ahead through the lens, colors appear differently than when I look obliquely through the edge of the lens in any direction.
While the contrast boost that the emerald visor offers is sometimes helpful, I find the vividness to be unsettling to my nervous system. The onyx visor is better in this regard though I wish both were a softer tint.
Glasses tend to slip down my nose while riding. I get annoyed having to occasionally nudge up the glasses and dislike the gap between the top of the glasses and the helmet. With the integrated visors, this helmet solves the problem.
This helmet runs considerably hotter in the summer than my others, Catlike Whisper and Scott Centric Plus. I like it more when temperatures drop below 70F.
The helmet shades the ears from wind.
Although somewhat heavy off my head, weight is not noticeable when riding.
The magnetic retention for upside-down storage on the front is too weak. Retention in place while riding is good enough. The occasional encounters with low branches or large bugs have not dislodged the visor.
The helmet and additional visors do not include a sheath, pouch, or case to protect spare visors. This is an unfortunate design oversight, as it is not unusual for me to swap visors during a ride (day to night or night to day).
This is my second pair. The first are still usable, but showing a lot of wear so I decided to get a new pair while they were on sale. As you might suspect, I really like them. What I said about them in my review of my first pair is still true, the only gloves I've found with continuous smooth padding from the base of the thumb all the way up to where the glove ends at the index finger. This is where I experience the most pressure and discomfort from riding up on the level hoods or down in the drops.
I bought this helmet to replace an aging Giro Synthe II helmet. The Giro Aries helmet fits my head better, is better ventilated, has a better impact safety design & rating (see Virginia Tech safety website). Because of the better ventilation, I feel that the helmet is somewhat "cooler" than my old Synthe II. I live at 35 degree North latitude & summers are hot, humid and windy. My riding routes are lumpy and between 25 & 35 miles long. The Aries helmet does a okay job at trying to direct sweat away from my brow but sweat still runs down onto my glasses.
If you have a round head this helmet may not be a good fit for you. I think this is a very good helmet and may be worth the asking price. It certainly is for me. Keep turning the cranks! ??
