Giro Savant MIPS helmet review

Giro’s mid-range helmet comes with a MIPS liner and a reasonable price and weight

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(Image credit: Cycling Studio)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Giro Savant MIPS gives you MIPS technology and a reasonable weight in an economical helmet. But airflow isn’t as good as some competitors and the straps are a bit wide and stiff.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Reasonably light

  • +

    MIPS liner

  • +

    Comfortable and adjustable

  • +

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Airflow isn’t great

  • -

    Straps are a bit stiff

  • -

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The mid-range Giro Savant helmet brings Giro’s tech to a mid-price design. It’s available as a non-MIPS version for £84.99 and as this MIPS variant. MIPS adds a thin plastic insert inside the helmet. This is loosely coupled to the helmet outer and designed to slide in the event of an oblique impact, helping to protect the brain from rotational forces.

The MIPS liner has venting holes aligned with the 25 vents in the helmet body. It only contributes a few grams to the helmet’s 286g overall weight, which is reasonable for a helmet at this price point.

Giro Savant MIPS liner

MIPS liner is designed to slide between the head and the helmet in the event of a crash
(Image credit: Cycling Studio)

Giro has been increasing its range of aero road helmets, but the Giro Savant, which has been in the brand’s range for a few years, retains the classic vented road style. It uses the in-mould construction process, in which the polystyrene protective shell is bonded to the plastic outer during the production process, leading to a tight bond between the two.

Venting on the Giro Savant is a bit restricted

Venting on the Giro Savant is a bit restricted
(Image credit: Cycling Studio)

Although the Savant has plenty of vents, they’re a bit smaller than on some lids, and the front-facing vented area is lower. This means that the airflow over the head isn’t quite as good and I felt a bit warm on hot days when climbing at lower speeds. The straps are also a bit wider and firmer than on some helmets – not uncomfortably so, but it is noticeable.

But I did find the Giro Savant MIPS a comfortable fit around my head. There’s quite a broad section of padding around the brow and a couple of small pads over the crown of the head. The height-adjustable, dial-equipped Roc Loc 5 rear cradle allows easy fit adjustment too.

>>> Eight best bike helmets 2017

So overall, the Giro Savant MIPS helmet is a good option for the price, although you’ll get some nice upgrade features if you spend a bit more.

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Paul Norman

Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.

He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.