POC is a popular helmet brands which is known for their high-quality products but are also a bit into the heavier price range. They also have so many models to choose from that some of them are pretty much identical to each other like POC Octal Vs Octal X. Both of them are identical to each other but also a little bit different and if you are confused about which to choose, go check which will be your ideal choice here.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- How Important a Helmet for Cycling
- What are POC Octal and Octal X
- What POC Octal and Octal X Look Like
- How are the Build and Safety of POC Octal and Octal X
- How are the Fitting System of POC Octal and Octal X
- How are the Comfort of POC Octal and Octal X
- POC Octal Vs Octal X
Bike Helmet
Bike helmet is something that is continuously debated today because it is indeed not a guarantee that wearing one will save your life. In many cases however, helmets can motivate riders to ride faster and increase the risk of various accidents. This is true for commuters and other similar, slow speed cycling because unless you are riding for sport, cycling in many cities is perceived as safer compared to when riding motor vehicles including cars which accident rate is at the top.
This brings the question should commuters wear helmets but then again, in our opinion it is always better safe than sorry and if you don’t like wearing one, it is also fine as long as we pay attention to the road and other users. However, if you are riding for sport, fast and extremely, a helmet is not a question anymore because we know how dangerous this activity is. Even with a proper full-face helmet stumbling when riding downhill brings an unforgettable pain and memories.
Bike helmet is designed to protect your head the same way a helmet saves a motorist’s life when riding but in comparison, depending on the model they are not as robust or protective. Bike helmet looks like a hat rather than a helmet but the construction is made well to provide the proper protection when the wearer is hitting their head mostly top of the head into something solid. It has a robust outer shell and on the inside there is softer material.
The outer shell is made to sustain impact but the main idea is to spread the force of an impact over a broader area to make sure our skull will be less likely to get fractured from the accident. Moving inside, the softer layer is meant to squeeze inward and absorb the impact energy so it will be less harmful to your head. There are various materials being used to make a helmet including fiberglass and ABS with varying thickness among brands and models.
What makes a good helmet is how the user experiences the unit sitting on top of their head and this is why you will see so many designs in the market. Not only safety which is becoming the main concern of helmets, once they sit on your head, we also have to consider the comfort and some people also pay attention to how their head looks like with one. This is why it is rare to see a closed bike helmet especially for long riding applications and even high-end expensive models don’t always look good on every head.
| POC Octal | POC Octal X | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
|
| Product Dimensions | 15 x 10 x 8 inches | 14 x 10 x 7 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 1.6 pounds | 1.7 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
About POC Octal and Octal X
If you are a regular commuter who only spend about 10 minutes to go to the office or completing some errands out there, helmet is not a very necessary safety gear to have but for those who enjoy cycling as sport and spend many hours each week to ride long distance, climbing a terrain, and riding down the hill, a helmet will be a must have. There are so many of them out there and the vast options can be confusing as well at times.
For those who want to shop quickly, it is best to set a certain price range first or decide which brand to choose from because then we can eliminate the most of the choices at one go. One brand which is always sitting at the top when it comes to bike helmets is POC and we are sure most cyclists are already familiar with this Swedish company. Their helmets are not the most affordable in comparison but quality wise, they are often to be one of the best.
If the type of cycling you are doing is road riding like cross country and spend quite the time pedaling in long distance, POC Octal and Octal X are going to be two of the most ideal models you may want to consider. Both of them are very much the same to each other because they are made for the same application but similar to many upgraded models, the latter seems to improve a part of the helmet for better safety.
The Octal is actually already a very popular helmet for road riding because of how it feels comfortable as well as offer what is usually present in a good helmet yet, in comparison to the Octal X, what present on the original helmet will also present on the latter. One thing that makes these two not suitable for just everyone is due to their shape because not everyone will like how it was shaped yet, we personally think it is just fine.
POC Octal and Octal X Design
In a glance both of POC Octal and Octal X are very similar to each other because they don’t change much of the outer design from these helmets but in comparison, you can easily tell them apart because of their different rear protection. As you can see the new helmet has this new, grey rear plate on the back in which the regular version is in the same color as the whole unit. This is also the key difference between the two helmets.
Octal is very popular for being one of the lightest road helmets and this is proven how heavy their similar models like Vectral in comparison. This helmet is weighed only at 240 grams and the latter is at 250 grams. This much weight difference may seem much when written but in real life users can’t tell the difference at all. What we love the most from these helmets is their vents because instead of putting many small ones, here they are bigger but lesser.
POC Octal and Octal X Build and Safety
Moving further, let’s see how safe POC Octal and Octal X are but unfortunately, there is no crash testing done to ensure and measure how strong these helmets can be in real life situations. From the material and build side, both of them are similarly made with polycarbonate shell which is very robust and should be able to sustain various impact while the inside is combined with polystyrene foam. The models in our article are their standard version but if needed you can get the one with MIPS and SPIN feature respectively.
These two are a very similar technology but instead of using foam, the SPIN from POC is using this gel-like material which in comparison is better than regular MIPS because it doesn’t hinder wind from cooling your head which often happens in similar helmets with the same technology. What makes Octal X special is this model also built with aramid bridge construction. The company claimed that combining this structural support made the helmet stiffer.
It also helpful in dispersing impact forces over a wider area without adding too much weight on the unit. This is also why instead of road helmets, Octal X is marketed as mountain biking helmet with the same comfort of road riding experience. Read also: POC Octal and Ventral.
POC Octal and Octal X Fitting System
Moving further, while they do have slightly different build POC Octal and Octal X are very much the same when it comes to the fitting system. As you can see the straps on both models are molded into the liner which makes the unit tend to sit a little off the side of the face. The chin strap is very comfortable and they snug just fine especially with the help of retention adjustment that you can adjust a few mm using a simple slider mechanism.
POC Octal and Octal X Vents
Beside how they snug comfortably on your head, the best thing about these helmets is their ventilation because as you can see there are a massive amount of vents here in total of 21 holes to cool your head down. These vents are also made to properly accept wind from the front and release the warm air from the rear vents. In addition there are eye garage vents at the front to secure your sunglasses conveniently when needed.
POC Octal vs Octal X
These helmets are an ideal option to get if you are into road riding or mountain biking but in comparison the Octal X is made to be sturdier and more ideal for the latter application while the former is your standard road helmet. There is not much change between the two except the build and material since the weight and vents including fitting stay the same and both are delivering an amazing performance especially on how they cool your head while riding.
Conclusion
It is best to shop based on your activity because not all of us are going to ride at the same terrain. If your application is mountain biking however, we do recommend getting the more robust POC Octal X.
