It's nice to receive things in the post and after I had taken the wrapping paper off, it looked like I had received an enormous pair of glasses from Rudy Project as the box is the same, but bigger! When I opened the box there was a helmet inside, and what a very nice helmet it is!
Recently we reviewed two pairs of
Rudy Project glasses and also compared some other
sun glasses in a FAQ, so we have looked (no joke intended) at a lot of smart glasses lately, so it was nice to be able to look at the head protection from Rudy Project.
The Rudy Project Kontact
We know how stylish Rudy Project glasses are, but we had never been given the chance to have a good look at the Kontact helmet before now.
First impressions are always important and at first sight the Kontact is every bit as stylish as the Rudy Project glasses, we had the red, white and blue color scheme, its mostly blue with white and red stripes on the top protection bars (see photo), it is very blue and maybe will not match all my clothes, it's a good looking helmet although there is no mistaking it as a helmet from any other manufacturer as we counted Rudy Project ten times printed on the helmet, its even stamped on the strap adjusters, but that doesn't take anything away from the stylish look.
Sam, Helmet and Glasses
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The Ventilation System
The Box
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Overheating can be a big problem in warmer climates and when climbing long hills, the Kontact has 24 vents in the compressed polystyrene body and the plastic hard shell. The padding is similar to most other helmets, in all the right places for comfort and protection. The best thing about the padding is the one piece middle section, it has a built in "Bug Stop" to catch all the unwanted bee's, wasp's and fly's that manage to get in all those air vents. Nice touch.
The Fit Adjustment
The chin straps are how you would expect with adjustment buttons to get things comfortable round your ears and a "Fastex System" closure buckle under the chin with full adjustment.
The rear adjustment is the RSR 6 Disc retention system, which has a lot of movement, the toothed disc permits simple, accurate micrometric adjustment allowing it to be tightened or loosened whilst on the move. We had the small/medium to try and the rear system allowed a lot of different head sizes to wear the Kontact with comfort and security.
Rear View
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The Construction
The Kontact helmet is made of Styrofoam by "In-Molding" technology, this makes it possible to mold the polystyrene and outer shell of polycarbonate together which makes the helmet much lighter and stronger for more impact resistance, weighing in at only 269 grams/ 9.5 oz, you hardly notice you have it on.
The Rudy Project Kontact retails in the shops for just over $100, which puts it in the middle price range, but that's a very cheap price for a helmet as well made and designed as this one. It has everything you need from a bike helmet and with the attributes of some of the more expensive helmets.
"Bug Stop"
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How Does it Feel On Your Head?
Well, it feels very comfortable, as I said before you hardly notice you have it on after a little time riding, the padding is comfortable without rubbing or feeling tight, once you have adjusted both of the side straps round your ears and under your chin, then the rear disc adjustment is easy, and that's it all comfortable and safe.
After you have set the straps to the correct lengths you wouldn't need to adjust them again, the RSR 6 disc allows for easy fitting as it is so easy to loosen when you take the helmet off and then tighten it again after you put it on, as long as you don't let someone else use it and mess around with the fitting, it's a matter of seconds take off and put on.
Rudy Kontact
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The Kontact has an aerodynamic shape which helps it cut through the air, this also makes sure that you don't feel any turbulence, as I found out on long descents, no whistling or wind noise.
On the first day of my test the temperature was around 30C and on a long climb of just over an hour I found there was no problem of over heating although I did find the padding was soon full of sweat, but the perspiration didn't seem to run down my forehead and face and then into my eyes as much as some other helmets I have tried, it was channeled more to the sides.
This helmet is very comfortable, light and looks great, we didn't find out how it would react in a crash, thank god, but we are sure it would work like it should, let us hope nobody finds out!
Check out the Rudy Project web-site at www.rudyprojectusa.com
Sam and Kontact Helmet
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9 out of 10, Lots of Style.
Top View
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