The Chiru MIPS from Lazer is a budget-friendly trail lid that brings the rotational impact protection of MIPS down to an accessible price. It’s as impressively comfortable as it is breezy, but its looks might not be to everyone’s taste.
- Bontrager Blaze WaveCel mountain bike helmet review
- The best helmets you can buy for under £100
- Buyer's guide to mountain bike helmets: get the best bike helmet for you
With the Chiru, you get Lazer's Turnfit Plus fit system, 15 pretty large vents, a non-adjustable visor, and of course the bright yellow cradle of MIPS.
MIPS uses a cradle secured to the helmet with elastomers to allow the lid to rotate independently of your head. The idea is to reduce any rotational forces on impact, as they're actually pretty common when you crash at speed.
You'd be forgiven for believing it would be uncomfortable due to its lack of comfort padding. But you would be so very wrong.
The Chiru hugs the head extremely well; well enough it’s easy to forget about padding, although one unfortunate side-effect is that long hair can get trapped in the cradle. This kept happening to me, but short-haired folk will be fine.
The Turnfit Plus retention system is very comfortable, keeping even pressure around the skull.
While the shell won’t be winning any prizes for the prettiest helmet about, it certainly is cool. The 15 vents work exceptionally well at encouraging airflow and I’ve never found the hat to get anywhere near hot.
My biggest complaint (and the only one of any substance) is in the non-adjustable visor. Being someone who likes as little in my vision as possible, the visor on the Chiru fills a lot of my field of view, so when head down, putting in the effort, I wasn’t getting the full picture of what’s ahead.
If you’re just dipping a toe into the vast world of mountain bike helmets, er, don't. Dip your head instead. The Lazer Chiru MIPS is very difficult to knock (unlike your head). Kitted with an adjustable visor it would surely impress even the pickiest of trail helmet connoisseurs, but, given the price, its niggles are easy to accept.