Kali’s Maya trail helmet offers a reasonable amount of coverage and some nice design touches. The back of the helmet sits fairly low offering a touch extra protection than a traditional XC lid if you come off the back of the bike, and there’s a bit of protection in front of the ears too, with the EPS foam and outer shell dropping a touch here.
The peak is fairly large, offering decent rain and sun protection, and it’s secured with a couple of big turn-wheels. The range of adjustment isn’t huge, and you can’t quite fit a goggle under the peak for that oh-so-cool enduro look on the climbs.
Ventilation is perhaps the Maya’s weakest point
The fit is relatively neutral, but in being so is very comfortable. Unlike some helmets that only seem to contact the head in a few places, the Maya’s 360g weight is distributed over the whole head.
The cradle can’t be adjusted in height, and has no padding, but I didn’t find this an issue — it’s well shaped, and while nice and adjustable, is a bit fiddly to do so, requiring two hands. The straps are relatively thick and stiff, but are placed well into the helmet, so never interfered with my ears.
Ventilation is perhaps the Maya’s weakest point. There are 12 vents, five at the front and seven exhaust ports at the back. The front vents are well shaped, but all 12 are, in my eyes, too small.
There are also no vents at the side of the head and the forward facing vents have a bug-mesh behind them, hindering air flow through the relatively shallow internal channels. Cutting the bug mesh out should increase airflow a touch, however.
A GoPro/light attachment for the peak is provided. It clips to the top of the visor securely but the forward position of the mount means that, while your light or camera is less likely to be hit by a low-hanging branch, the helmet can feel unbalanced. The extra weight didn’t shift the peak though, even on rough trails, when tightened properly.
