Rapha + POC Ventral Lite helmet review an incredibly light and airy lid with Rapha styling

The Rapha and POC collaboration sees the weight-conscious Ventral Lite road helmet get the Rapha design treatment

Image shows the Rapha + POC Ventral Lite cycling helmet
(Image credit: Rachel Sokal)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

POC's Ventral Lite is the lightest helmet we've had through the Cycling Weekly testing doors. The massive air vents make it one of the coolest too. And on the subject of cool, the latest collaboration between Rapha and POC mean it's currently available in a special edition design and colourway too. At $325 / £230 you're paying a lot for the weight shaving. To get such a lightweight helmet also means you'll go without any non-critical fit adjusters and additional safety features. On the plus side, the Rapha version retails at the same price as POC's standard offering.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Incredibly lightweight

  • +

    Well ventilated

  • +

    Understated Rapha design for extra fashion points

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Lack of strap adjustability

  • -

    No rotational safety features

  • -

    Price

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Following on from the successful collaboration in the summer which saw the release of EF Education’s Tour de France and Tour de Femmes kits, Rapha and POC are back again with a two special edition helmets for road and gravel.

There are two POC models available, firstly the Omne Air with MIPS which comes in stone or navy colours with a ‘contour-line’ design and retails for $190 / £140. Alongside the Omne Air is the Ventral Lite, the, err, lightest of POC’s four Ventral helmets which we look at here.

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