POC Tectal Race Mips helmet review

The POC Tectal Race is a high-end half-shell helmet that is aimed at the enduro market. It offers great coverage in a high-quality and well-thought-out package. The fit is confidence inspiring but the lack of a magnetic buckle and poor sweat management does let it down a little.

POC Tectal Race Mips helmet - Technical details

The Tectal Race is available in three sizes ranging from small to large (51cm to 62cm) and with six colours to choose from there should be a helmet to suit everyone’s style.

Safety is the key factor for any helmet and with the Tectal race being aimed at the enduro market, POC has focused the design on high protection. Incorporated into the moulding of the helmet is an aramid bridge that increases structural integrity and improves penetration resistance. As with many high-end helmets, rotational protection has been considered with the use of Mips Integra. The coverage extends further down the back of the head than many competitors' helmets and includes protection to the temples.

POC has integrated a RECCO reflector into the helmet, continuing the safety theme. The RECCO system is used by mountain rescue to help locate people, it's a two-part system and the reflector (worn by the user) bounces a detection signal back to a rescue team to aid location.

POC has included a goggle clip at the back of the helmet, which allows goggle straps to be secured.

Retention is taken care of using POC's 360-degree adjuster dial. The straps have the usual adjustment around the ears and the helmet uses a standard buckle to secure under the chin.

There are 17 vents in the helmet which have been specially designed with the use of a wind tunnel to maximise cooling.

The adjustable visor has plenty of range and is secured using a small thumb screw.

POC Tectal Race Mips helmet - Performance

The minimal padding was of concern when first seeing the Tectal Race, however, these concerns were quickly quashed. The shape and fit of this helmet are great and the slim-line padding was more than adequate. The adjuster dial does a nice job of tightening around the circumference of the head and doesn’t cause any pinch points.

The standard chin strap buckle is a little disappointing at this price point. I had no issues with it but other helmets at this end of the market use a magnetic buckle which is a slicker system.

The wind tunnel-developed ventilation wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped, I wouldn’t call this helmet airy. Due to the high coverage on offer, it gets a little warm, particularly on slow-speed climbs. The minimal padding is not effective when it comes to moisture wicking. This resulted in eyebrows full of sweat and inevitably dripping onto the inside of my riding glasses during descents. This was only on the hottest summer days, not an issue for most UK riding.

On the plus side, the extra coverage is confidence-inspiring while riding. The feeling of the helmet wrapping around your head does give the impression you’re well protected. I must say the quality of this helmet is second to none, the construction feels very well put together which is reassuring considering the job at hand.

The goggle clip feature on the back of the helmet does a great job at retaining the goggle strap but, if I’m being honest, it felt a little unnecessary - especially when I need to unfasten it each time I want to turn the goggles 180 for carrying or remove them entirely. On the topic of goggles, I tested the fit with some 100% goggles which I’ve used on countless other helmets. With the POC Tectal, I did find there wasn’t quite enough room for them which pushed the goggles further down my face than was comfortable. If you plan to go full enduro with goggles I recommend trying the fit before you buy. When riding with glasses there were no fitment issues.

The RECCO system needs another mention. Although it is used for search and rescue, it is predominately used in the ski world. This means the search and rescue teams that use this system are usually found near ski resorts, great if you’re riding chairlifts in the Alps or up in Scotland but for most UK riding the RECCO system won’t help.

POC Tectal Race Mips helmet - Verdict

Retailing at £200, this is by no means a cheap helmet. However, the tech and protection on offer do go someway to justifying the expense. At this high end of the market, another option to consider would be the classic Troy Lee Designs A3 which Liam reviewed. The A3 is the same price, is also impressively comfortable and the pads manage to deal with sweat better. If you’re looking for high levels of protection, the Kali Cascade is worth a look. Kali uses different-density materials in their construction to protect against low-speed and high-speed crashes. The Cascade makes use of this but isn’t without its issues.

The Tectal Race helmet is a very comfortable and lightweight helmet that provides exceptional coverage. The extra protection on offer is confidence inspiring and, combined with the aramid layer and Mips, does a great job of keeping the rider safe. The lack of a magnetic buckle and the poor sweat management is a shame but these are small issues on an otherwise excellent helmet.