The marketing jargon on many full-face helmets typically make significant claims about breathability. However, if you’ve actually ridden more than a chairlift in a full-face helmet, you already know that those breathability claims are pretty subjective.
But Kali’s new Kru full-face enduro helmet features a 360° titanium chin bar that promises to finally deliver on all those breathability claims we’ve heard over the years.
360° of titanium
In a press release for the Kru, Kali explained that the idea behind the unique helmet has been in the making for over 10 years. While watching his kids play youth hockey, Kali founder Brad Waldron noticed the titanium face guard attached to the players’ helmets and wondered why they couldn’t design something similar.
But rather than designing the helmet and simply attaching a titanium chin bar, Kali designed it to completely wrap around the head, fully integrating it into the helmet’s design. Kali says this preserves the design’s strength rather than relying on bolts or joints for structural integrity.
“Achieving that required extensive engineering, development, and manufacturing refinement,” Kali said in its media materials. “The titanium tolerances had to be exceptionally precise to work within the molding process, but the result was worth the effort.”
Beyond the integrated 360° titanium chin bar, Kali uses its Composite Fusion process in the Kru. This process allows them to fuse the EPS foam liner with the outer shell of the helmet, leaving no gaps or areas that need to be glued or taped. Kali claims that doing so can reduce G-force levels by up to 30% during a crash.
Kali also uses Low Density Layers (LDL) in the construction of the Kru. This specially designed padding is present throughout the helmet, reducing rotational impacts by up to a claimed 25% and low-G linear impacts by up to 30%.
Extra breathability but with an unconventional look
While we haven’t tried the Kali Kru helmet, it’s safe to say it’s more breathable than other full-face counterparts. Rather than EPS foam, plastic, carbon, and/or other materials making up the chin bar, it is simply titanium tubing.
Now, Kali didn’t specify the exact size of that tubing, but just looking at a side-by-side shows tremendously larger gaps in the chin bar compared to other helmets. This will undoubtedly let in quite a bit of air. It could also, however, potentially allow different objects through — a stick, pointy bit of rock, etc.
It seems the larger holes could mean less protection. We asked Kali about this but haven’t heard back as of publishing.
Obviously, the Kru is quite a departure from the aesthetics of other full-face helmets, even those in Kali’s lineup. According to Kali, they’ve seen the everyday trail ride transform over the years, pushing limits more and more. With the increased difficulty of rides comes the need for more protection than a half-shell trail helmet. Yet, many opt for breathability over safety.
Now, with the introduction of the Kru, Kali feels that riders no longer have to.
Kali Kru details
Like other Kali full-face helmets, the Kru comes in two sizes — S/M and L/XL. Kali provides additional pads with different thicknesses to adjust the fit. The helmets are light, weighing in at 650g and 680g for their respective sizes. Compare that to the recently released POC Baracon and the Giro Insurgent, which both weigh just over 1,000g.
The 360° titanium chin bar, Composite Fusion, and LDL design allow the Kru to meet the ASTM F1952 downhill helmet certification, as well as CPSC and EN 1078 certifications. Kali offers the helmet in two colorways — Solid Black and Solid White.
Kali’s press material didn’t include the price of the Kru, so check out kaliprotectives.com for all the details.
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