I used to own a Volvo. A boxy, solid looking 850T5 wagon, like the ones they used to race. It was luxurious to drive, when it was going, and like all Volvos it just felt safe. Like you could run it into a truck and the truck would come off second best. The point I’m making is, the Swedes have a reputation for safety, comfort, and quirky design, as pioneered by Volvo and now exemplified in cycling by POC.

Like my old Volvo, the POC Tectal Race helmet combines those essential qualities of comfort, protection and unique style. Though the Tectal looks a lot better doing its job than the 850 ever did, that familiar feeling of safety is on the same level.

When you slip this helmet on, you know your head is in it. It has an enclosing feeling, like swaddling your cranium in a personally fitted cocoon. I don’t think I’ve had a helmet that fits this good and offers as much coverage. The helmet uses a EPP (expanded polypropylene) liner that can absorb multiple impacts without permanent deformation, and an Aramid bridge (around the two coloured sections) to add extra strength with minimal weight gain.

All the hardware on the Tectal is high quality, with metal used where plastic shouldn’t suffice, like the alloy adjuster screws on the visor. Plenty of up and down range for the visort too, to get that tilted back moto look.

Straps are routed into the EPP body through these ports in the shell…

… which are anchored with steel pins.

Metal hardware on the adjuster harness.

Adjustment is done via this wheel, which has a good range of micro clicks to get the most comfortable fit, though it isn’t the easiest to access due to the closeness of the wheel to the helmet shell. This position is the lowest setting.

Nice and wide plastic strap junction thingy… what is that called? Don’t know, but the straps sit nicely against the cheeks because of them.

More metal = more good. Alloy Allen bolts hold the visor on.

That’s a good looking helmet. The Tectal’s performance is the real star here, with a fit that is hard to beat and a tonne of features built in (like the RECCO reflector in case you get trapped in an avalanche or worse). The feeling of having your head enclosed in a super-protective shell that you forget is there due to its comfort and light weight is a great combination, and after you think “this feels great” you’ll forget about it altogether. Win.