Price: $140

Weight: 6.6oz

Sizes: S/M (53-59cm), M/L (58-63cm)

Shell: Polycarbonate

Foam: EPS

Colors: 6

Adjustment: 2-handed, plastic

What We Like: Extremely lightweight, Added Kevlar and carbon

What We Don’t: Fragile polycarbonate shell

Lightweight, stylish, and a touch expensive are all of the words that come to mind when examining the Black Diamond Vapor. This helmet is built for climbers who spend big days on the wall and want lightweight protection. It comes with excellent ventilation at one of the lighter weights for helmets on our list. At $140, it is also the most expensive (non-MIPS) helmet on our list. Is this still a value-driven helmet? Read on to find out.

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Construction

The Black Diamond Vapor helmet is definitely not a workhorse of a helmet. This is a helmet that you take out for a long multi-pitch or day in the alpine, but not a helmet that we would use on a daily basis at the local crag, as the polycarbonate shell is totally susceptible to denting and cracking. Black Diamond did co-mold the polycarbonate to the EPS foam that constitutes the bulk of the helmet. This makes for a more low-profile helmet that can be beneficial when trying to squeeze your way through some tricky climbs and corners. The reason for the high price of the helmet is that Black Diamond has included Kevlar and carbon rods in between the polycarbonate shell and foam to increase protection while keeping the weight low.

Adjustability

Adjustability-wise, the Vapor helmet shares the same rear adjustment strap as all of the other Black Diamond helmets, with the exception of the Half Dome helmet. There is a rigid plastic strap along the back that pushes your head into the front of the helmet and creates a comfortable, secure fit. Again, the problem with the more expensive Black Diamond helmets is that the ear strap is fixed. There is no adjustability between the ear strap and the chin strap, so you cannot move it closer or farther from the neck. It is hard to imagine that the weight savings from forgoing the ear adjustment is really worth it, especially with such an expensive helmet.

Accessories

Let’s talk about vents. This thing has more vents than Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard. You can almost picture John McClane climbing through the vents of this helmet planning his attack on those pesky party crashers. In all seriousness, there are 21 large vents that cover the side and back of this helmet, which provide lots of room for air to escape if you find yourself climbing in a hot area. As for the headlamp clips, Black Diamond has gone with small removable clips for the Vapor. They do not come attached when you purchase the helmet, so we insist that you clip them on as soon as you can or risk losing them right off the bat. The clips are fairly secure once in place, so it is more likely to break than fall off by accident—a bit of an odd decision in our opinion but not a deal breaker.

The Bottom Line

The fact is that this is an extremely lightweight but (and I hate to say it) fragile helmet. It will endure multiple big impacts, but the polycarbonate shell is so lightweight that you are likely to see scuffs and dents pretty quickly if you treat your helmet like every climber I know. If you are a clumsy person and treat gear hard, an ABS-shell helmet is more likely the helmet for you. As for the price, it is quite expensive and not overly more impressive than the less expensive Petzl Sirocco, which is in a similar weight bracket. All in all, the value for the Black Diamond Vapor just isn’t where it should be. Sure, it is incredibly lightweight and has impressive ventilation, but the fragility of the outer shell and the price make it hard to see the value.

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