3/20/2023 0 Comments Jpeg jackalHaving spoken with helmet designers from many different brands over the years, the people tasked with figuring out how best to reduce head injuries all seem very knowledgeable, dedicated and serious about finding solutions rather than generating profits. It's too early in the year to really test ventilation - mid day temps are still hovering around 10 degrees C. The Jackal's light weight adds to the comfortable feeling. You do not notice KinetiCore's blocks and channels with the helmet on - there are no pressure points or any indication that they're in there. Small tweaks to the straps took very little time to get them clear of my ears and get the magnetic buckle in the right spot under my chin. The twisting buckle is easy to locate at the back of the head and operate with gloves on and a quick adjustment while riding is dead easy. It feels like one of the most effective examples of this type of fit adapter. The Turnsys buckle primarily grips the sides of my head just behind center and a bit at the temple. It's on there, but not uncomfortably tight. The fit is very secure: the adjustable harness envelops the back of my head snugly and any amount of upside down head shaking with the strap undone will not shake it loose. However, that's more a function of the other features built into the Jackal, as Lazer has rolled out six new helmets with KinetiCore altogether, including one aimed at kids and one for toddlers that retail for a very respectable 65 CAD / 50 USD.Īs I mentioned earlier, there hasn't been much time to ride with the Jackal yet, but first impressions are positive. MSRP of the Lazer KinetiCore Jackal is set at 285 CAD / 220 USD, so that advantage was not realized over its predecessor. Lazer also says it ventilates better (albeit only by 5%, which I doubt will be noticeable), but the absence of added material and bulk makes for a helmet that fits well and doesn't snag hair. KinetiCore is light (the new Jackal KinetiCore weighs 50 grams less than the Jackal MIPS, other Lazer KinetiCore models dropped even more weight). It also addresses many of the issues that riders have with MIPS. It is a simple and elegant approach to the problem. Rather than employing a slip plane, KinetiCore is composed of molded blocks and channels that form part of the helmet's Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Foam to create controlled crumple zones, designed to work the way modern cars do, to dissipate impacts through deceleration and absorption. Where systems like MIPS use various methods of separating a helmet's layers to isolate the head from the helmet's rotation, Lazer's approach is different. However MIPS and its rivals have their disadvantages: hair can get caught in the slip plane, causing discomfort they add weight as well as cost they usually compromise the fit of the helmet (due to added bulk) and ventilation also suffers. In a short span of time, the concept of rotational impacts became prominent, and MIPS especially has been successfully marketed as a good way to address it. Unfortunately I only received the helmet a few days ago, so my time with it is limited, but initial impressions are positive, and KinetiCore is quite interesting. The helmet I have here to test is the Lazer Jackal KinetiCore, which replaces the Jackal MIPS. However, Lazer has been working on their own system for a while, and they're calling it KinetiCore. Until now, Lazer used MIPS across its line, which made good sense because MIPS is now by far the most recognizable brand in rotational impact safety for helmets. When addressing rotational impacts, manufacturers have to decide whether to work with existing providers of this technology - MIPS being both the first to the party and the one with the most uptake - or to develop their own, as Leatt has done with 360 Turbine, POC with Spin, Kali with its Fusion and Low Density Layer, Trek with WaveCel and so on. That seems logical, since it's easy to imagine that most bike crashes involving impact with your helmet would not involve straight vectors between momentum, gravity, body language, and uneven surfaces, your head is subject to a lot of competing forces that cause oblique impact angles in a crash. In recent years, bike helmet manufacturers have all embraced technology that addresses rotational impacts.
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