CW EVALUATION KLIM KRIOS KARBON ADVENTURE HELMET
IGNITION
Getting the ADV lid to lighten up
Mark Hoyer
Motorcycling is becoming quite the mashup these days. Custom bikes are going crazy with wonderfully weird style combinations, and you can pretty much wear whatever gear you want no matter what you ride. So I don’t feel eccentric at all wearing the Klim Krios ADV lid on a Street Bob or FZ-09.
In fact, easily removable two-position-adjustable visor means you can strip it and make it look more like a “street” helmet if you’d like. But it’s really made to be the lightest adventure helmet you can buy.
It’s definitely light. Our XL (S-3XL available) weighed 3.25 pounds. A same-size Shoei Hornet X2 (DOT/Snell) tips the scales at 4.1 pounds, and an Arai XD4 (also DOT/ Snell) is 3.9. The Snell standard requires a thicker shell, which generally results in a slightly heavier helmet. The Krios gets lightness from its carbon-weave material and thinner ECE/DOT shell.
An XL Shoei or Arai fits me perfectly, and either brand is all-day comfortable. The Krios is not quite as cozy for me, with a forehead pressure point that didn’t “break in.”
For enduro and dual-sport riding, I enjoyed the Krios’ lightness above all other features. It’s also great to be able to flip the face shield way up and throw on a pair of goggles without removing the shield’s finger-friendly fasteners. Downside is the face shield negates, at high speed, the good aerodynamics provided by that ventilated visor. Just remove the shield if it’s a bother.
Riding at 80 mph on an unfaired motorcycle, wind pull from the visor felt on par with the Hornet X2. That’s a compliment.
The liner is made of Klimatek fabric over “adaptive smart foam” with anti-microbial and moisture-wicking properties. Full removal is pretty straightforward, and it’s only a little fussy to get all the padding back in and aligned. Ventilation was very good, and the large chin bar inlet gives the screen excellent airflow, but it can’t be closed. The closable forehead vent also flowed well.
A handy notch in the left neck roll fabric allows tidy wiring of your favorite Bluetooth unit. The Krios is quiet for this style of helmet and made for a good listening space, though I had to cut the liner foam to accommodate the speakers.
The Krios is versatile and price competitive. For an allday road lid, I find better fit elsewhere and so I was happiest wearing this helmet for harder dual-sport or enduro riding, where its lightness, good ventilation, and easy goggle/face-shield convertibility shined.
KLIM KRIOS KARBON ADVENTURE HELMET
klim.com PRICE: $549.99
UPS + Super light + Pinlock no-fog equipped + Get your Sena U10 factory equipped for $250 more
DOWNS - Liner refitting is fussier than that of best competitors - Good fit for our tester, not great - Only five color/graphic combos
