Giro Aries Helmet Review: More of Everything

When someone says the words “What helmet should I buy?” Many helmets and brands come to mind but none as prominently as Giro. Giro has a 40-year history of providing some of the best helmets for all types of bike racing, and they have now released their most advanced helmet ever.

The Giro Aries is their newest road racing helmet and is designed to be light, breathable, and protective. Giro held nothing back when designing this helmet and it shows.

SHOP GIRO ARIES HELMETS IN STOCK

OUT WITH THE OLD: GIRO ARIES VS GIRO AETHER 

The new Aries replaces the beloved Giro Aether. For those wondering, how did they improve upon the Aether, which was already an incredibly lightweight and breathable helmet, but they managed to go above and beyond all our expectations? Between the Aether and the Aries, they preserved the breathability and the Spherical MIPS system, while making it sleeker and lighter. 

The Aries will slip into their line-up next to the Giro Helios helmet, another lightweight road helmet equipped with the Spherical MIPS system. The Helios has only 15 vents, compared to the 24 vents offered on the Aries helmet, so the Aries will be much more breathable. The Aries almost makes all other road helmets look outdated, when in direct comparison, it isn’t even fair to put another helmet against it. 

LET'S TALK TECHNOLOGY

The most important thing about a helmet is how safe it is and this helmet is certainly safe. Virginia Tech has a lab that specializes in rating helmet safety, and the Giro Aries tops the list. When I say it tops the list, it tops the list in every category of bike helmets. There is not a safer helmet on the market. For those of you who want the safest helmet, buy this one.

To achieve its high safety rating, Giro combined many different technologies to create the safety love-child of all of them. Starting with the long-proven MIPS system, which allows the helmet to rotate under impact to take the brunt of the force, Giro adapted it. To adapt it Giro made their Spherical system, where they use their Progressive Layering Nanobead EPS foam to make both an inner and outer shell that can rotate upon impact. This structure makes their helmet safer than what we have ever seen before.

Giro set out to make the Aries well-vented, so your head won’t overheat with it on. They added 24 vents to the helmet, making it suited for even the hottest summer days. They tested the helmet in their Therminator system, which shows where the hot spots on the helmet are, and they were able to get rid of any hot spots with their vents. Well-vented helmets usually lose some protection (more vents=less foam to protect your head), but Giro added their AURA II Reinforcement Arch to give it incredible structure with all the vents. This arch allowed giro to put in a well-worked ventilation system that, even with the two-part helmet design, lets air run directly across your head and keeps it cool. 

With all the high safety ratings and the multitude of technologies that went into the making of it, some may be thinking “How much does this weigh?” The answer, is not a lot. A medium helmet will only weigh 265 grams, making it so it does not feel like you are wearing anything on your head. You could forget you are wearing this helmet and only realize when you reach up to scratch your head. 

Giro added a DryCore sweat management system to protect your eyes and face from being overwhelmed with sweat. This feature is an extra absorbent pad that runs the length of the forehead of the helmet to provide a buffer between your head and eyebrows. 

I can go on and on with all the details and the technologies that went into making this helmet the forefront of the cycling world, but if I did that this article would not be a short read. Instead here is a list of their key features and technologies.

Key features:

• Spherical Technology 
• Mips Brain Protection System
• Progressive Layering Nanobead EPS Foam
• AURA II Reinforcement Arch
• 24 vents and deep internal channeling
• DryCore Sweat Management
• In-Mold Construction
• Full Lower Hardbody Coverage
• Ionic + Antimicrobial Padding

CONCLUSION

The new Giro Aries is the one of the most advanced and safest helmets on the market. This helmet is soon to be all over the cycling world, whether it is in the Pro Peloton on the casual Sunday group ride.

Want a Giro Aries for yourself? We have this helmet have them in stock now, available in a complete size run and six different colors. Check out our website, or give us a call at (801) 364-0344, or come to our Park City or Salt Lake City location and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. 

Words by Joseph Bonacci. Images by Carter Hall and Giro.