(I am not sponsored with or affiliated with this company at all. I just like the helmet and wanted to share my thoughts).
This summer, I was flipping through Lava Magazine when I saw something amazing… a photo of the KASK BAMBINO helmet. It caught my eye sitting atop pro, Heather Jackson’s beautiful New Englander Noggin. I didn’t know WHAT it was, but I loved it and I read a little further. This piece of safety equipment was a work of pure art and also made her faster. See, I look down at my watch a lot. I look around. I can’t help it. Oh, I try hard to stay focused and look ahead, but I do NOT want to be one of those yahoos with a big pointy aero helmet tail sticking straight up in the wind. I loved that helmet. Her helmet had the New Hampshire Slogan, “Live Free or Die” emblazoned in the mirrored finish of the helmet.
The dude coaching me at that time happens to be pals with that athlete, so I e-mailed him and asked him to check and see if Heather would give me her helmet, since they were not yet for sale. I asked him if she likes it and would wear it even if someone wasn’t paying her to do so. I don’t think he ever actually asked her… maybe I was being a bit dramatic in my fascination with the helmet… but he did respond quickly to tell me that “new aero data shows the rounded back to be faster than the long tail.” He also dropped some choice words to emphasize that he strongly believed the helmet to be “the BOMB.”
I put myself on a waiting list and decided I’d make some serious attempts to justify the ridiculous price tag as that just makes no sense. A gorgeous, fast aero helmet does not protect your head any better than another CPSC certified helmet in my understanding. I thought maybe we could sell our living room lazy boy chair to fund this. That chair is just in my bike trainer’s way every winter anyway! Poor Nick did not agree. : )
While my name sat on the waiting list for months on end, my friend borrowed my old aero helmet and crashed. She’s OK…but the helmet..it got banged up. I thought about racing IMWI with no aero helmet but my aero/speed obsessed race car enthusiast husband said that I should replace it… so I took my name off that wait list for the Bambino and bought the short tailed LG vorticce. The LG Vorticce amazing piece of work that I highly recommend. It didn’t fit my head though which I discovered on the first ride I used with it in Wisconsin pre-race. LG’s “small” size is just not small enough for me. Everyone who said I have a “big head” was oh-so-wrong!
I scrambled to buy another helmet at the race expo as I was suddenly helmet-less days before my A race. I didn’t even have my standard helmet with me on the trip. Hence my brand new aero helmet collection also includes a Giro Selector Pro. (Both are for sale people at a huge discount and both only worn once and still in the box-so message me if you want one!)
Post IMWI, I was off the market for the bambino when suddenly one of my favorite local bike shops, the Endorphin Fitness bike shop suddenly had the KASK BAMBINO in stock. My “susceptible to marketing messages”, “hates waiting”, “highly regards the top triathlete women from new england” “wants the best triathlon toys”personality traits overtook all my reason, planning and logic and I gave my credit card some SERIOUS exercise! At least I got the athlete discount for that shop.
WHAT do you get for a $ helmet apart from an angry spouse and an empty savings account?
This helmet is a LUXURY! It is so beautiful that I might set it up on the mantle and get rid of the vase or whatever nic-nacs we have up there, because this is a real piece of art. You get an incredibly comfortable, fast, sleek piece of fierce aero dynamic beauty on your head for racing. In the days where making the choice of wearing an aero helmet means compromising fashion for function and also dealing with snarky competitor remarks about sperm helmets, the Kask Bambino is the closest thing you will find to the conventional idea of style. It still has the shadows of the traditional aero helmet “look” but its presents itself with a minimalist modern style and eliminates that long tail. Those concerned about “fashion” might want to put their prada or kate spade or whatever-is-popular-nowadays handbags on e-bay, ditch their standard helmets and get this beauty. Sell your lazy-boy chairs if you must!
This helmet is a LUXURY! It is so beautiful that I might set it up on the mantle and get rid of the vase or whatever nic-nacs we have up there, because this is a real piece of art. You get an incredibly comfortable, fast, sleek piece of fierce aero dynamic beauty on your head for racing. In the days where making the choice of wearing an aero helmet means compromising fashion for function and also dealing with snarky competitor remarks about sperm helmets, the Kask Bambino is the closest thing you will find to the conventional idea of style. It still has the shadows of the traditional aero helmet “look” but its presents itself with a minimalist modern style and eliminates that long tail. Those concerned about “fashion” might want to put their prada or kate spade or whatever-is-popular-nowadays handbags on e-bay, ditch their standard helmets and get this beauty. Sell your lazy-boy chairs if you must!
I have not raced with it yet but I can tell you that its so comfortable that you barely notice it is there. I took the helmet for a spin… on my bike trainer- just to make sure it fit.
I had absolutely no issues fitting my ponytail into the helmet and it comes on and off etremely fast. There was no unnecessary fiddling with flimsy side straps like I had on the entry level aero helmet I raced with last season. This means faster transitions by about 1-2 seconds.
I cannot yet speak to if it makes me faster (it will) or how it races (it will be awesome) but I can definitely tell you the fit is perfect and is adustable enought to accommodate a wide range of head sizes blissfully. Comfort is key and they have nailed it with the kask bambino.
I purchased the white helmet thinking it might be cooler… as in temperature. Both the black and the white options are sleek and intimidating. Its so very glossy that for the very vain, I believe you could do a quick lip gloss touch up in transition or just check out your gorgeous face, if you must by glancing to the mirrored finish before slipping it on your head.
The helmet also comes with a visor. You can purchase tinted ones and leave your shades at home for the most aero benefit. However, then you will look like an astronaut. I might still do it. The fashionistas might want to show off their carefully selected sunglasses though.
If you want to use the visor and mid ride, feel you must get rid of the visor this is simple to accomplish. When you are racing, simple is good. You will not be stuck with no place to store the visor once you remove it like the competing helmets that contain visors. There’s no use of tools required and there is zero complicated manual dexterity or hand/eye coordination involved. The Kask uses MAGNETS! Yes, magnets to store the visor on top of the helmet on the fly! Check out what you can do with one hand while riding the bike!
Yes, the visor can flip up onto the top of the helmet and it felt secure up there! It held up on my trainer ride at least, haha.
The BEST part of the helmet that no one talks about is the soft, cushy, yet structurally sound adjustment system, straps and interior. There are no scratchy or hard parts in the straps or inside the helmet. A scratchy strap during a ride causes some serious race distractions. The kask bambino is just pure luxury and comfort including velcro adjustments for the perfect fit no matter the size of your head. The chin strap is a very soft leather. I absolutely love it.
I am not a hat person. I wear helmets because they save my life. If I must wear a helmet for 5-8 hours at a time, having the lightweight blissfully soft interior of the kask bambino should be a dramatically more comfortable and relaxing helmet experience… as my body is suffering every where else from screaming muscles.
Check it out guys!
This helmet’s packaging is sleek and attractive. I’m sure I fell for that marketing message in closing the deal after that New England Pro, Heather’s work of sheer helmet art had me initially smitten this summer. Further, it comes with a cool bag with easy to carry handles, soft interior to prevent scratching and bottom vents, I guess to make sure the air inside the bag isn’t so stale. The bag even has a place for your ID.
Is it worth the price? Well, for those that are doling out a few grand on the top brand race wheels and have no aero helmet, or those that refuse to buy an aero helmet AT ALL because they worry what their friends will “say” about the silly look as they consistently purchase Lululemon and Athletica’s ENTIRE seasonal wardrobe… yes definitely… but those are the first people that will scoff at me for buying this, haha.
I’m excited about all the special touches you get. I’m excited about the comfort and the interior and the fit. I’m really happy with the fact that my “fidgety head” won’t cause me to have the long tail sticking up in the wind. I’m happy the helmet looks so beautiful. I am excited I’m feeling closer to my “new england roots” by wearing a helmet the New Hampshire pro wears. I love this helmet.