Kask Utopia Y helmet review

The Kask Utopia Y helmet represents a small evolution over the Utopia helmet, with the Italian brand addressing details such as fit and comfort rather than overhauling aerodynamic efficiency.

Such an arguably conservative approach to product development might disappoint fans of the original Utopia who may want to upgrade to the new model.

However, the changes made do improve the helmet overall, creating a highly competent aero helmet.

Kask Utopia Y details and specifications

The Kask Utopia Y features a seemingly identical aerodynamic shape to the original model, with an elongated body that tapers to a flattened point at the rear.

The exterior shell features three front and three mid (upper) holes for ventilation, with three so-called exhaust ports at the back.

The inner EPS foam core has been designed to funnel air over the top of the head, which in theory should help draw heat away.

The peaks of these foam channels have ‘Resistex Carbon’ padding held in place with Velcro. The padding is said to aid moisture dissipation which, along with the airflow, should work to keep your head dry when riding.

The padding distribution has also been altered, with it now covering the full width of the brow.

Kask says it has also upgraded the Octofit retention system – now called Octofit – to boost the Utopia Y's ability to cradle your head around the base of the skull. The system offers 50mm of vertical adjustment, in addition to the rubber-ringed dial’s circumference adjustment.

Kask says this helps improve the overall safety of the helmet, as well as comfort. Comfort is also addressed by the inclusion of Kask’s faux-leather strap design.

As with all its helmets, Kask has opted against integrating MIPS technology into the Utopia Y, instead preferring its own WG11 test protocol to help guard against rotational impact forces.

This sees the helmet tested at five different key impact points at a contact speed of 6m/s.

On the scales, a medium Utopia Y weighs 258g, matching the airy Specialized Prevail 3 helmet complete with MIPS AirNode technology.

The Kask Utopia Y will set you back £245/$300/€275/AU$410, which is competitive with most top-of-the-range aero road helmets.

Kask Utopia Y performance

It’s near impossible to be definitive about the Utopia Y’s aerodynamic prowess. Wind tunnel test results might only apply to the person in the tunnel and the baseline helmet used to compare it against.

For an aero helmet, the airflow is also impressive, with a noticeable draught penetrating the front and top vents. I never felt any hotspots (areas where airflow stalls and heat builds up), so it’s logical to assume that the rear exhaust vents and inner channelling do their jobs well.

I tested the Utopia Y through late winter and early spring, so I didn't have the chance to test it in summery hot weather, but the cooling has been very effective in conditions up to 14 degrees. I’m confident it could handle slightly higher temperatures given I never felt close to overheating, despite my tendency to ‘run hot’.

In warmer conditions, some aero helmets can build up condensation on the EPS foam inside, but not here. The Utopia Y seems to be very adept at ‘pulling through’ and expelling warm, moist air.

The helmet is also very comfortable to wear. Naturally, comfort will depend much on the wearer’s head shape, but even on my relatively wonky head, the padding is plush enough to offer a spongy cocooning effect with no distinct pressure points.

The faux-leather strap is a design feature I’ve been a fan of since I bought my own Kask Mojito helmet years ago, and it certainly results in less irritation on a stubble-and-sweat-covered face.

For those who don’t have facial hair, the leather feels soft against bare skin too, and it stops the strap from flapping in the wind.

The cranial adjustment system offers lots of flexibility to get your ideal fit. With many similar designs, I often need to extend the cradle down quite far (often close to the limit of extension) for an optimum fit, but the Octofit system is notable to me for its ability to reach right down under the base of my skull.

It’s the farthest-reaching system I can recall using, boding well for those with especially tall heads.

The dial pulls the circumference in or out, with positive clicks each way. It feels a little unrefined to action – when you grip it, you have to turn it somewhat before coming up against the next ratchet, making adjustments a little vague (especially on the fly).

The dial also looks quite plain and plasticky with its recessed design, though this obviously doesn’t affect performance.

WG11 versus MIPS

Regarding bicycle helmet safety, a MIPS liner is often seen as a gold standard inclusion. Kask doesn’t use the tech, though, instead opting to keep its benchmarking in-house via its own WG11 rotational impact test protocol.

Whether you think MIPS is worth having or not is, of course, up to you, and the arguments are more complex than they might seem at a glance.

At the very least, I can understand the point of view that for a premium-priced helmet, you should expect to see top-level safety tech as standard.

It's worth noting that the WG11-approved Kask Valegro scored 3 out of 5 Virginia Tech Helmet Lab tests, but the most-recently launched Kask Elemento scored a full five.

That said, it’s beyond the scope of this review to say definitively whether passing Kask’s WG11 test makes a MIPS liner redundant or not, and whether you should or shouldn’t want one.

Ultimately, the facts are these: the Kask Utopia Y passes all of the basic industry standard tests for bicycle helmets, plus its own internal tests, which it says exceed those standards.

Kask Utopia Y bottom line

The Kask Utopia Y sees some useful improvement over the original Utopia, although not in the headline-grabbing ways you might expect.

The updated padding and retention system are functional and comfortable, contributing to an aero helmet that could be used for more than racing.

A couple of elements (such as the cheap-feeling adjustment dial) niggle, while the lack of MIPS safety tech might be a turn-off for some. But aside from this, the Utopia Y is a very impressive aero road helmet.