Kali Protectives Avatar Helmet – First Look
We slip our heads into the Kali Avatar Full Facer – check out our first impressions…
Kali are a protection company based in California, but with worldwide roots. The founders are bikers, snowboarders and racers, as well as engineers. Kali is actually the wife of Shiva (the Hindu God) and has a fearsome description in ancient scripts.
Kali is represented with perhaps the fiercest features amongst all the world’s deities. She has four arms, with a sword in one hand and the head of a demon in another. The other two hands bless her worshippers, and say, “fear not”! She has two dead heads for her earrings, a string of skulls as necklace, and a girdle made of human hands as her clothing. Her tongue protrudes from her mouth, her eyes are red, and her face and breasts are sullied with blood. She stands with one foot on the thigh, and another on the chest of her husband, Shiva.
Her likeness is clearly an inspiration for the graphics, which are certainly distinctive. If skulls aren’t your thing they have a range of more mellow graphics and colourways available across their range of helmets. Other than the skulls, the first thing you notice is the weight. I’m not normally compelled to weigh my gear, but this lid is crazy light coming in at just under 800g, and you can certainly notice it.
The helmet is constructed from one piece bonded foam rather than a glued in foam insert. The construction methods allow them to use a lower density expanded foam which improves the impact absorption and spreads the force as well as making the helmets lighter. In addition to that, Kali lids now use a dual density system with cones of foam packed together disperse energy all the more effectively.
The padding of the liner is ever so slightly silky and feels lovely on windburnt cheeks and sweaty foreheads. The white graphics inside might not stay white forever but they certainly add to the powerful look. The fit is very adjustable with the multitude of pads and inserts, allowing most head shapes to get in there and more importantly, stay put.
A spare peak is supplied as standard which is a nice touch, as is the way the peak is attached. The middle section is fixed to the main peak but is designed to break away on impact, hopefully I won’t get to test this but who knows!?
The helmet has a few well placed vents, as well a massive opening at the front. My Electric EG1 goggles don’t even come close to filling the space so I’ll have to try a few brands. The large front should make for a nice cool lid, a real advantage with Enduro being the new black.
The buckle is a motorcycle style pair of D-rings to keep things nice and secure, and the strap opens fully to allow you to remove the lid without having to unthread the strap.
The first few rides indicate that this is a super-comfy helmet, and with the designers having an innovative passion for safety, I’m looking forward to many days (and nights) in this lid.
The Avatar has an RRP of 199.99GBP, and is also available in a carbon model for 265GBP.
http://www.kaliprotectives.com/
