£94.99 Light and airy head protection
The Good
Good looking, low volume design; comfortable on the road
The Bad
Rear isn’t quite as cooling as the front; only two sizes
THE UNO MIGHT sit third in Kali’s range of road helmets, behind the aero-optimised Tava and Hoodoo, but it still comes with plenty of premium details.
The EPS foam core, for example, uses Kali’s proprietary Contego 3 foam that the Californian brand claims disperses energy more efficiently than standard foams. The three-point mounting straps are made from a soft-touch weave polyester and use quickadjustable splitters, making it easy to secure a good fit. And the hard outer shell extends all the way under the helmet’s edges, protecting the foam core from accidental damage.
This L/XL test lid tips the scales at a scant 326.8g. Seven large, forward-facing vents and deep-cut channels within the inner aid cooling, as well as cutting weight. The rear cradle features a microadjust dial and anchors only on the flanks of the helmet’s main body, making the Uno longhair friendly. At the rear, six exhaust ports keep the air flowing but there’s still plenty of material here. That’s great for safety but does make it hotter than the front.
Kali uses its own design to provide similar anti-rotational properties to wellknown slip-plane system MIPS. Kali’s LDL system boasts low-density liner pads that sit under the cotton antibacterial pads.
These honeycomb-like strips gently grip your head. In a crash, the soft, foam-like inserts can move in all directions to reduce rotational impact forces by a claimed 25% and reduce low-g linear forces by up to 30%.
It seems more like the latest MIPS SL system you’d find in premium helmets than the regular MIPS.
With just two sizes (S/M 55cm to 61cm, L/XL 60cm to 63cm), try before you buy.
Rivals…
Bell Avenue MIPS £64.99
Bontrager Starvos Wavecel £104.99
Giro Foray MIPS £79.99
G-Form Slip-In hip protectors
£33.95
G-FORM’S SLIP-In pad is designed for road and gravel riders. It slips inside your Lycra shorts and sits on your hip, and if you’ve ever come a cropper on your bike and slammed your hip on the road, you’ll appreciate how painful that can be.
The 8mm-thick flexible padding stays put impressively thanks to the form-fitting shape. Its Smartflex material is soft and pliable in normal use but hardens on impact to provide great protection during those incidents when things go wrong.
Torque Covert 7
£39.99
EVER FORGOTTEN YOUR multitool? This is where the Torque Covert 7 comes in. It’s designed to slide into a hollow crank 21mm or more in diameter – which just happens to fit the hole in Shimano’s GRX cranks.
The 138mm-long tool comes with 3/4/5/6mm hex bits, T25 torx bit and a crosshead driver bit that fit into a standard 8mm head, so you can easily change them. It’s versatile, easy to use, weighs 127.4g, stays put on rough stuff and, thanks to neodymium magnets, the bits are secure, making it a fantastic fit-and forget tool.