Price: $187.46

Weight: 234g

Vents: 37

Fit System: Octo Fit

Safety Tech: In Molding, MIT

What We Like: Lightweight, Great Ventilation

What We Don’t: No MIPS, Issues With Octo Fit Retention System

Kask has an extremely crowded lineup when it comes to high-end helmets, and the Kask Valegro sits somewhere between the $300 MSRP Kask Protone and the $200 MSRP Kask Mojito X. However, frequent sale prices and last year’s color schemes mean that sometimes the Protone can be had cheaper than the Valegro. However, what really makes the Valegro stand out is that it is positioned as a lightweight, top of the line helmet, that does not skimp out on premium features to deliver its feathery weight.

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Comfort, Fit, and Adjustability

The Kask Valegro features the same Octo Fit retention system found in the Kask Protone. This means that the Valegro, like the Protone, is an extremely adjustable helmet that will fit a wide range of head shapes and sizes. In the back, the adjustment bar (where the adjustment dial is located) actually slides up and down a full 2” to provide a much higher degree of vertical adjustment than most helmets offer. Riders who have had helmets that wanted to tip one way or the other will greatly appreciate this feature. Meanwhile, wing-shaped cups and a traditional dial adjustment round off the Kask Valegro’s Octo Fit retention system.

Unfortunately, this means that the Kask Valegro also suffers from the downsides of the Octo Fit system, just like the Protone. The main issue is that the wide range of vertical adjustment doesn’t lock into place. This means that the helmet can shift forward or back, causing the exact problem that the vertical adjustment aims to remedy in the first place. Some head shapes might also have issues with the Valegro causing pressure points at the temples.

Like the other Kask road bike helmets that we reviewed, the Kask Valegro uses an eco-leather chin strap, which we found to be as comfortable as any chin strap that we have ever tested. At the ears, the Y shaped ear straps do not adjust, like the ones on the Giro Synthe. While we were quite fond of this minimalist setup on the Bell Super DH mountain bike helmet, the Y is not quite as large on the Kask Valegro, and depending on where in the vertical adjustment you like the helmet, the ear straps might rub your ears.

Finally,  the ample front padding found in the Kask Protone and Mojito X is missing from the Kask Valegro. While this sacrifice does help the helmet ventilate and shed a few grams, it also means that there is nothing to stop sweat from running right down your forehead and into your eyes. Heavy sweaters are almost guaranteed to need a sweatband with the Kask Valegro.

Weight

At 234g, the Kask Valegro is a light helmet. However, it sacrifices a bit of padding that added comfort and sweat absorption in other Kask helmets. It also doesn’t have to account for the added weight of MIPS, which most helmets in this price range, or most helmets period, do.

Ventilation

While many helmets are designed using a wind tunnel to test and improve their aerodynamics, Kask used a wind tunnel for a different purpose for the Valegro. Rather than focusing on its aero properties, Kask used extensive wind tunnel development on the Valegro to achieve maximum ventilation through its whopping 33 vents. Naturally, these vents are backed up by large internal channels, and they include large exhaust ports in the rear. 

All of this, combined with the lack of padding in the front of the helmet, makes the Kask Valegro an extremely drafty helmet at speed, and the sheer number of vents help keep you cool even while inching up steep climbs.

Of course, most of us will still break a sweat, at which point the lack of brow padding becomes more of a hindrance than a boon. Still, the Kask Valegro scores top notch for ventilation, and you can always use a sweatband to keep your eyes and glasses sweat free.

Safety Tech and Additional Features

Like other Kask helmets, this is an area where the Kask Valegro is rather sparse on features. 

Like the Mojito X and Protone, the Kask Valegro does feature Kask’s in molding technology, as well as MIT. MIT refers to the fact that a polycarbonate shell wraps around the entire external surface area of the Mojito X. This helps to protect the EPS foam from cracking wide open in a major hit, which would leave you extremely vulnerable for a subsequent tumble.

Aerodynamics

Kask does not make too much noise about the Valegro’s aerodynamic capabilities. However, as we have seen with other helmets, air moving through a helmet can be even better than optimizing for air to move around it. And we know that a ton of air moves through the Kask Valegro. While we don’t have a wind tunnel at our disposal, the Kask Valegro doesn’t seem to catch the wind in a strong breeze or at high speeds any more than other helmets that we reviewed.

The Bottom Line

If you are in the market for a lightweight and well-ventilated helmet, then the Kask Valegro certainly checks those two boxes. It struggles due to the fact that it competes in an already crowded Kask lineup, and at an extremely competitive price point. 

At the $250 price point, we would lean toward the POC Ventral Spin or Giro Synthe MIPS, but for gram counters not terribly concerned with rotational impact reducing technology, the Kask Valegro is still an extremely attractive road bike helmet.

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