Atmos, from Giro, is the high style for the elite, looks great, and is priced accordingly. It’s a helmet that surprisingly doesn’t look dorky, or like an eggshell is sitting atop your head. You can find a 2008 Giro Atmos for around $170 if you look around, but they can hit about $200 as well.

The Atmos is built with their “In-mold microshell” construction technology with wind tunnel ventilation (26 total vents), and a composite subframe. The fit system is using Giro’s ROC LOC 4 setup which consists of a tensioner adjustment for vertical, and horizontal positioning. The Atmos is highly adjustable for a comfortable fit (make sure to try one on in a store first…everyone noggin’ is quite different, of course).
The weight of the Atmos comes in at a paltry 275g (slightly lighter than the Giro Pneumo), and is sized S (51-55cm), M (55-59cm), and L (59-63cm).

The helmet is very light, and cools amazingly well thanks to the airflow being directed to near perfection from the well-placed vents. I had to keep reminding myself I was wearing a helmet, when I put it on, and that’s a huge difference than with the earlier cycling helmets. The Atmos meets or exceeds the US CPSC standards (one would hope this is a feature of all helmets…).

The 2008 Giro Atmos continues to set the bar high. If your current helmet is bothering you, it might be time to check out the Atmos at your local LBS.

Pick up your very own here.