Review: Kali Avita helmet
Originally posted on July 29, 2011 at 0:00 am
By Josh Patterson
The Avita is Kali’s take on an XC/all-mountain helmet. Despite its burly appearance, the Avita is quite breezy—15 forward-facing vents and nine exhaust vents move air through the helmet. A removable, but not adjustable, visor keeps late afternoon glare to a minimum. The shell is constructed from four pieces of in-molded fiberglass.
Two features I immediately appreciated: a cam lock chin buckle for set-and-forget convenience, and forward straps secured to the base of the helmet, rather than internally, meant I didn’t have to remove my eyewear when putting on and taking off this lid. The rear of the Avita does not offer as much coverage as I expected. In fact, it sits quite high.
The retention system uses two ratcheting closures, which can be tightened on the fly, but requires both hands to make precise adjustments. The retention system sits comfortably low, but there is no method to raise/ lower it for personal fit preferences. Furthermore, the rear straps are not secured in the retention system. It didn’t bother me while riding, but I had to make sure the straps were not twisted each time I put it on.
Though the Avita meets both CPSC and EN 1078 standards, the lack of rear coverage (relative to comparable helmets) and the rudimentary strap/fit system (relative to other helmets in this price range) make this a helmet I personally would not buy.