62 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
tech talk
R OAD TEST
Product Tested:
Kask
Mistral Helmetstrong magnets, which keep it firmly in
place. Having the previous iteration of the
visor, we can say the new design is
definitely better at staying in place, as the
magnets sit into a magnet shaped groove
on the helmet’s rim, as opposed to the old
version that was just a flat rim. Another
benefit of both the new Mistral and
Bambino Pro is the ability to remove the
visor mid-ride and flip it, so it sits on the
top of the helmet but still attaches firmly
to the magnets to ensure it’s not lost.
This option is perfect for those really
humid days where the choice of the visor
might not be best for an entire race, or to
momentarily allow some more air flow
through before you put it back in place.
Now, there is no doubt that with the
visor on it is hotter than with it off. Having
said that, in the majority of conditions we
think you should be able to wear the visor
on the Mistral, as it is definitely cooler than
the Bambino, which could end up a hot
box in certain conditions. Still, it was worth
giving it a good test without the visor on
and to our surprise over three runs we
barely saw any difference to wearing the
visor. What we did notice was the obvious
- a little better air flow through the helmet
and over the head, without the visor on,
but with sunglasses instead.
We took both our current KASK
Bambino and the new Mistral to the
velodrome for Craig to test against each
other and it quickly became apparent that
the Mistral was a much better fit for him. It
eliminated the gap between his neck and
shoulders and smoothed out the transition
from head to back, while allowing him to
hold his head in a comfortable, neutral,
position. For this reason, Craig never really
dipped his head into the zone where the
Mistral makes a noise.
While all of this doesn’t necessarily
mean the Mistral is faster, it did appear,
over a number of runs at the same power,
that the Mistral was slightly faster. Taking
into consideration that this was not in a
controlled environment and was, of
course, dependent to Craig’s position, we
still think that unless you really struggle to
hold your head position and/or look
around a lot, the Mistral will be one of the
fastest time trial helmets you are likely to
wear. Of course, if you do move your head
around a lot, then the Bambino is probably
the best option available.
One other major plus of the Mistral
over the Bambino is the ability to hear a
lot more around you, like a normal road
helmet. In the past using the Bambino we
noted how snug the earflaps are giving
you a “cone of silence” type feel when
riding. The Mistral, on the other hand, with
greater airflow and room around the ears
provides more auditory information, which
is a safer option when around more traffic
or fellow athletes in close proximity. As weinferred earlier, that extra space around
the ears can also save precious time in
transition with a much easier to get on in
the frantic rush of T1.
In our opinion, this is the best TT
helmet for multi-sport athletes given its
versatility over a pure TT helmet. We love
the fact that KASK has designed this
helmet to take into account the needs of
bike racers who do more than just ride.
With a price of approximately $530 for
the helmet and $100 for the visor you
want to be sure that you are going to get
plenty of use out of this helmet, but
should you decide that it’s the helmet for
you expect to get years of use out of it.
Our five-year-old Bambino is
testament to the fact that a helmet with
top quality construction will last the test
of time. For those of you who think that
the full TT look is not quite up your alley at
this stage, remember that KASK has a
range of helmets that can meet all your
needs as a triathlete, road racer, mountain
biker, etc. If you are looking at a helmet to
suit you for both training and racing the
Utopia, Protone or Infinity are all great
options and offer great aero benefits over
normal road helmets. We’ve personally
tested both the Protone and the Infinity
and can say they are also some of the
most comfortable helmets tested. While
we can’t vouch for how fast they are, the
fact that Team Sky helped develop all of
these means they must provide more than
a marginal gain.Fun Fact
Most of the KASK helmets are
named after the process of
their creation. For example,
the Bambino received its name
because the development was a
labour of love for so many that it
was like their baby. The Protone
was named so because the
Prototype number one ended up
the best design, and so on.KASK: rear helmets are the Protone, Infinity, utopia. front helmets are the
Mistral and Bambino.
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