After many years of Bell and Giro helmets, I decided to mix things up and give the Lazer Z1 road helmet a go late last year. Without a doubt, it is the most comfortable helmet I’ve ever worn. To say I was happy to have another Lazer helmet to test would be an understatement.
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The Oasiz is aimed directly at the Trail/Enduro crowd and should be a very popular option. In my humble opinion, this helmet looks pretty good. With its simple styling and reasonable sizing, it wouldn’t look out of place on the trail or general commuting. I had the standard black version in my hands, which suited me perfectly, but for those who like a bit more flair, there is a vibrant fluro variant. The design offers ample protection at the rear of the head, which is now the standard with the more gravity orientated style of riding. Lazer also offers a built in GoPro/Light mount at the top of the helmet for all your night riding or filming needs. With no shortage of features, I was keen to get this helmet on and out on the trails.
Our testing grounds in Victoria’s north-east offered a great variety of conditions to put this product through its paces. With plenty of rough and fast trails around Mt Beauty and Bright, there’d be no better chance to form an opinion. Having never had the option before, it made sense to clip a GoPro to the helmet and set off on my merry way. It didn’t take long to realise the GoPro was making riding a little more uncomfortable than I’d prefer it to be. The way the helmet fitted my head was reasonable, but the added weight of the GoPro seemed to exaggerate the fact it rides quite high on the top of your skull. The last thing you want when you are on the trails is to be fixing your helmet every few minutes.
Unfortunately, my opinion of the helmet suffered due to one of its intended selling points, which seems a bit disappointing. I’m sure everyone would acknowledge that no two people have the same size and shape when it comes to their head, but having your point of difference be the deciding factor is not ideal.
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Without the GoPro on top, the helmet was light and well ventilated. I’d be more than happy to recommend this model to those who aren’t likely to use lights or a camera, but then if this were the case you’d probably look at something else in the line-up.
As with any helmet, the fit and range of protection are the most important factors. I wanted to like this helmet as the styling and light weight was very much to my taste. However, I just couldn’t get past the awkward fit and the way it moved around on my head.
