Cyclingnews Verdict

Rapha gives POC’s Omne Air Spin three new colourways, along with a new ‘wide’ fitment. It also features the same excellent fit, SPIN safety system and great ventilation. It’s costly, but your head will be thankful for it, and you’ll look good, too

Pros

+
Great fit, no matter your head shape
+
Rapha-exclusive two-tone colour ways are stunning
+
Cradle adjustment is simple and effective
+
Fairly lightweight
+
Good ventilation
+
Two different widths available

Cons

-
No padding underneath the strap connector

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This POC Omne Air Spin Rapha, as POC prefers to label it on its site, is — as you can probably guess — a Rapha-ified version of the standard POC Omne Air Spin.

Confusingly, the helmet is available either through Rapha's website for £140.00 / $150.00 / €160.00 / AU$249.00 (the same price as the regular model), or through POC’s own portal, although in the UK, POC prices it higher at £150.00, and it's not available in Australia. No, we’ve no idea why there’s a price difference for UK customers, but if you're after this particular Rapha-styled helmet, we’d obviously suggest buying the helmet through Rapha, not POC.

Improving upon the standard Omne Air Spin and Omne Eternal Spin helmet, at least from an aesthetic perspective, the Rapha version offers three new two-tone colourways: Off-White, Carbon Grey, and Navy. The main body of the helmet makes up the colour, with a small black Rapha logo on each side, while the back portion of the helmet is black, with the centrepiece — displaying the POC logo — is plain unpainted plastic.

The helmet on test is the standard ‘regular fit’, which for my head, worked particularly well, although the shape still veers more towards the more common standard oval, which for me meant a slight gap at the sides versus the front and rear. But it’s fairly minimal, and the 360-degree three-point cradle adjustment enabled me to get a comfortable, secure fit without any headache-inducing pressure points on the front of my head, as some helmets do.

One small criticism of the chin strap is that the POC Omne Air uses a conventional side release buckle, which admittedly works just fine, but it’s slightly uncomfortable against the chin due to a lack of padding on the underside. I’m surprised more high-end helmet manufacturers haven’t adopted the Fidlock magnetic slide release buckle, which in my opinion is easier to operate without risking pinching the skin. At this price, you might expect it, too.

On the inside, the helmet features POC’s SPIN (Shearing Pad INside) silicone pad technology system, designed to absorb the angled or rotational impacts commonly experienced in crashes and is similar in concept to the more commonly known MIPS. It forms part of POC's Whole Helmet Concept, and POC’s own take on the safety system is that it is "designed to reduce and better distribute forces from oblique impacts," with silicone pads that allow the head to tilt or turn in an impact.

The Omne Air features multiple vents to channel air over the head. The cooling system looks quite generous — the helmet is labelled ‘Air’ for a reason, after all — but you don’t really notice the air rushing in. It offers just the right amount of air, whether you’re riding in warmer or cooler weather — 5-18 degrees C (41-64F) as tested, that is. I’ve not been able to test the helmet in summer temps as the helmet arrived at the start of Autumn, though, so the jury is out on whether it performs as admirably when the weather gets hot.

If you’re interested in POC Omne AIR SPIN, and you want a slightly unique take on the same helmet, then the Rapha + POC Omne Air might be up your street. As with the standard Omne AIR SPIN, Rapha’s version features the same excellent SPIN safety system, high level of comfort and low weight. It’s also got good ventilation, though you could easily wear this on cold winter days without getting brain freeze.