A look at the new, colorful Octal helmets from Poc. © Cyclocross Magazine
The Octal is Poc’s latest (and arguably most standard looking) helmet. Known for their bright colors and interesting, high-profile helmets, the Octal keeps the brightness while offering a more standard looking, lower-profile shell. It’s designed first for safety, but also for optimal ventilation and low weight. The weight is kept low with a fully wrapped unibody shell.
At 190 grams for the small size, the helmet is one of the lightest on the market. © Cyclocross Magazine
The $270 Octal comes in small, medium and large, ranging in weights from 190g to 205g, making it one of the lightest helmets on the market. It’s made with a high performance EPS liner and a fully wrapped unibody shell for “improved protection and resistance.”
The straps are molded into the liner, and the padding is “temperature regulated.” It comes in several bright colors, blue and neon orange, and white in both Octal and Aero Octal. While it the Octal may not be the warmest helmet for a winter ’cross race, weight weenies and those who love the Poc’s bright colors but not the more classic Poc styles will rejoice.
The Octal is well-vented, with integrated straps. © Cyclocross Magazine
The $299 Octal Aero is designed similar to the Octal, but, as the name would suggest, is more aero. The body is fully wrapped, which is both aerodynamic and potentially warmer for cold or rainy races.
A first look at the Poc Octal Aero. © Cyclocross Magazine
While not many cyclocrossers are rockin’ the Poc helmets yet, Poc reps assured us that they are looking for top-level talent to wear their helmets next season. We can’t name names, but these guys are thinking big. We’re currently testing the MIPS-equipped Trabec helmet — stay tuned for that test but Chief Lackey Andrew Yee has been wearing that helmet quite a bit, if that’s any indication of his opinion.
