Petzl Sirocco

The lightweight, and seemingly styrofoam structure of this helmet make it intimidating, but after hard use it has turned out to be an excellent helmet.

Finally fed up with my old Lucky brand helmet from the '90s I decided to shop for a new one.

I decided I wanted lightweight, and something much more comfortable then my current helmet. So my choices came down to the Petzl Meteor, Black Diamond Vapour, and the Petzl Sirocco. 

The Meteor didn't fit me, so that went out. Originally I had thrown out the idea of the Sirocco as it looked too ridiculous. The bright orange bellend shape. No thanks!

The BD Vapour looks excellent! Very slick cool shape. It felt good, was lightweight and comfortable. But all this still made the price unsettling. If it took a hit it would have to be replaced. On a multi-day trip this could cause problems. A broken helmet would cancel plans. Naturally injuries sustained from a helmet shattering hit would probably cancel plans as well, but I didn't want to be left vulnerable, or empty pocketed by the incident. So I can back to the Sirocco.

And now that I have it I couldn't be more pleased. I've come to terms with the style (seeing badasses like Ueli Steck wear it has helped). But the helmet is excellent at 165 grams you don't notice it. It's just no extra weight. And on your head you quickly forget it's there. I was scrambling the other day and when I braked for lunch at the summit, I ate, lay down, and 20 minutes later remembered I was wearing it when I went to put a toque on due to my head getting cold in the wind. 

All in all it's excellent. The polypropylene structure has repelled some hits already, though nothing major. One issue I have encountered is scrapping of the helmet across rocks leaves marks, and small dents in the foam. It's nothing that compromises the strength of the helmet, but it could add up. A plastic covering would have been nice, and altered the horrid fluorescent orange. 

But it's the best helmet currently on the market hands down. It's more durable then any other, and since it is a dynamic construction it takes damage well. Definitely a good buy.