TESTED: Met Lupo helmet
The Met Lupo is a fresh design right out of Italy. But beyond the good looks and euro styling, the Lupo offers rock solid retention and ventilation.
Words: Adam Fernyhough
Images: Robert Conroy
Met, an Italian helmet and other clothing accessory manufacturer offer the Lupo as their leading edge, lightweight, trail and all-mountain helmet. Irrespective of what marketing term you prefer, the Lupo is a fine head piece for those who like to push the limits of trail riding but may not want the added bulk of the heavier duty Parabellum helmet. It’s a ‘regular’ open face helmet with a skull hugging design offering good protection to the rear and above ear mark. Obviously not giving the protection of a full face helmet the Lupo hits way above its low weight of 270/320 grams depending on size.
The lid features an adjustable visor, Kevlar straps, anti-pinch buckle and adjustable ‘Safe-T Advanced’ head cradle with an easy to use dial on the rear. Removeable soft padding is designed to channel perspiration to the rear and avoid it gathering on your forehead. With a Dual Gel front pad designed to not absorb sweat, the padding has a claimed longer lifespan than regular gel pads. The Lupo is available in 4 two tone colour options, Black/Fuchsia Pink, Petrol Blue/Cyan, White/Silver and Black/Black, to please your wardrobe.
With a generous 21 vents, including venting built into the lower part of the lid, to help guide air over your skull and keep the lid reasonably cool, the Lupo is certainly cooler than many other helmets in this genre. Available in 2 sizes (54-58 and 59-62) I opted for the large size, which fitted well with easy adjustment. I would be interested to see how much smaller the medium size was, just as a comparison and would recommend buying from a local bike shop, rather than on line to assure choosing a perfect size.
A standout part of the helmet design is its compatibility with glasses or goggles. I found my regular riding glasses to be virtually unnoticeable when using the helmet in both arms inside and arms outside of the straps. Goggles also fit snag free inside the front of the lid so you can release your inner Enduro with style.
Hits: – Ventilation and precise fit
Colour choices and eyewear compatibility
Misses: None
RRP: $189
From: Advanced Traders
