Cycling can be hard work – and if you overheat easily when putting in the effort, or you just don’t like to feel constrained within a helmet, then Catlike’s Mixino might just be what you’re looking for. With an unbelievable 39 vents, it’s seemingly more hole than helmet, and with 19 of those vents facing forwards, there’s no escaping the onrushing air at any speed.
- Highs: Class-leading ventilation
- Lows: Unique looks will polarise opinion
There are plenty of premium helmets with fewer than 19 vents in total, and although quantity doesn’t necessarily equate to cooling – with the Mixino it does. Short of not wearing a helmet at all, we’ve never experienced such a wind-in-the-hair feeling when riding; there’s a veritable gale blowing through there.
To effectively cool your cranium the air needs to be channelled to pass quickly across the skin and expel heat. The compact Mixino has seven distinct internal channels running from front to rear, of which the middle five are the deepest, with the central one raising the underside of the vented skeleton more than 30mm above your head.
It is so deep that when you’re wearing it, unless you’re sporting a luxuriant thatch, there’s a clear view from front to rear. As such, the helmet does have a pronounced raised appearance, which won’t be for everyone... and can invite comparisons with Klingons.
Breezy does it
But you’ll have the last laugh on hot days in the mountains, when your mates have sweat running down their faces. On the other hand, on cooler autumnal days we had to wear something beneath the helmet at all times, to prevent brain freeze. If it rains, the virtually open top won’t keep any weather out – if it’s sunny, sunburn could be a potential issue.
It is tough, though, with an internal Aramid cage that spreads any impact evenly throughout the structure, and a beautifully finished Graphene nanofibre outer shell that continues under the rim for durability. All that airiness and its high-tech materials keep it pretty light too, our large lid weighing 241g.
A look at the retention system
The MPS eVo retention system is adjustable for height, and is tightened using a small wheel, between the soft-feeling, width-adjustable rear cradle pads, providing a great fit with ease.