Well, our friends at Fizik were kind enough to send us theirs to test. new helmet: Kudo. But it's not just the new model. Together to the aerodynamic brother Kudo Aero è the first road helmet ever produced by the Venetian company which, as is known, has always had shoes and saddles as its core business.
«But if they send it to you for review – someone might ask – with maybe even a commercial agreement behind it, then How can we believe that the above review is objective? and not tainted by any interests whatsoever? And that would be anything but an irrelevant question. It's good to always be a little doubtful in a world dominated by clickbait and fake news.
To dispel these legitimate doubts, let's say one thing right away. At first glance, Kudo is definitely a nice helmet, but not exactly the lightest you can find on the marketThe kitchen scale purchased from China that we have for testing claims 333 grams in size L (Rear light included). A nice little thing, in short, in a world where helmets in the same price range weigh around, or even less than, 250 grams.
All the air you need
Now that we've perhaps gained a little credibility, let's move on to the rest. What is certain is that Kudo has many ventsIt's difficult to say exactly how many. If we consider the central longitudinal openings as single holes, then there are 11. If instead they are considered divided in two by the horizontal bridge, the number rises to 15..
However, there are many, so there is no doubt that Kudo is a helmet that does its job very well even in summerIn this regard, a special mention goes to the two horizontal front openings that direct air straight over the forehead, because to pedal well it is best to keep your thoughts as fresh as possible.
Against any impact (hoping it will never be needed)
We mentioned the horizontal bridge that crosses the dome and the air intakes. Well, this kind of internal wing is very beautiful, with a very thin profile that just looking at it gives the idea of space aerodynamics. Then, from what we've been told, it also has a very important structural function, because in case of impact (fingers crossed) it serves to distribute the forces evenly across the entire surface.
Speaking of impacts (fingers crossed ll) and safety. Could the first helmet made by Fizik not have the latest innovation? MIPS system (which we remember is a mobile layer that protects the head in the event of an oblique impact)? Maybe it could, but they put it there anyway. In this case, it's the Mips Air Node, which is very light, removable for cleaning and, above all, protects our dear old brain if ever (fingers crossed?) we even had to take rotational blows.
Safety is nothing without comfort
An old advertisement said that power is nothing without control. Similarly, one could say that, For a helmet, safety is nothing without comfortTo be completely honest, when we first put the Kudo on, it didn't feel like the most comfortable helmet we've ever worn.
Something about the fit wasn't perfect. But then Fizik revealed a secret to us, or rather two. The first one is called Custom Crown AdjustmentLet's try to explain it as simply as possible. In practice, the plastic crown which encloses the whole intent in the helmet and ends in the classic rear micrometric wheel, It is adjustable in three different positions which correspond to as many fits: oval, neutral or round.
The helmet is by default in position 1, also indicated on the lower edge of the shell. By raising the Mips padding in correspondence with the number a red pin magically appears, which secures the crown to the helmet. By pulling (with a certain amount of force) the pin comes out of the cap and you can insert it in this way in the other two positions, resulting in a change in fit.
The second is a little less secret, but still quite crucial. In the back the crown can be adjusted up or down in five different positions, always with the tried and tested system of pulling with a certain amount of vigor and then repositioning as desired. This is to say that, in our case, moving the red pin from fit 1 to 2 and lowering the rear binding by two notches made all the difference in the world: from a so-so, “nice but I wouldn’t live in it” fit, to a helmet that perfectly accommodates everything from ear to ear.
And the light was
We're almost done, I promise. But before we finish, a couple of lines about the taillight. Inside the box, in addition to the helmet with its beautiful handbag, You will also find a LED light with USB-C charging.It's not mandatory to attach it to the helmet, for goodness sake, you can also choose to save those 18 grams (always according to our Chinese scales). But come on, it's a great favor done by Fizik to us cyclists who always talk about safetySo, no more excuses and let's get to the rear light (which also has two modes, steady and flashing).
Not bad, Fizik!
Having said all this, yes, perhaps Kudo weighs a little more than other helmets, and – personal opinion – could have been a little more rounded at the base, which instead ends almost at a right angle.
But it's a really nice helmet, the design is minimal and very elegant, and allows for a large number of customizable settings. It also really has everything you could want to protect our cycling headsConsidering it's one of the very first models Fizik ever produced, not bad guys.
Ah, it's available in four colors: white, bronze, anthracite and black, and costs 290 euros.
