Safety is the most important thing when you are doing extreme sport because it has a high risk of accident and for those who love to do cross country or long distance riding, POC Octal Vs Ventral will be a very ideal choice to consider. Both of them are designed for the application and very safe but are also very similar to each other so before you make a choice, go check what they can offer below and see which suit your application the best.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- Why Wearing Helmet and Which Helmet to Buy
- What are POC Octal and Ventral
- What POC Octal and Ventral Look Like
- How are the Build and Safety of POC Octal and Ventral
- How are the Fitting System of POC Octal and Ventral
- Are POC Octal and Ventral Comfortable
- POC Octal Vs Ventral
Bike Helmet
Some people still need to be convinced to wear a helmet because they don’t think it matters when you are only riding on the street but let’s be honest, we will never know what’s happened and rather than regretting things later, it is better to be prepared for best safety. The most common reasoning we heard about people who don’t want to wear a helmet is that because it won’t provide the best protection when you accidentally clash with other vehicles thus, they see it pointless.
But, while a bike helmet is not as robust or fully protective like a motorbike helmet, why willing to risk your head safety for such a reason. However, we also understand that not all people are going to have the same opinion and as long as you are fully aware of the risk, we can proceed to choose whatever decision we need to make. In some countries, for safety, not only motorbike riders but cyclists are also required by law to wear a helmet when hitting the road.
If you are here, we are sure there is no need to try convincing how important a bike helmet is for your own safety and now comes the confusing part which is bike helmet shopping. This is not because there are only a few of them out there but the opposite there are many models to choose from which not all of us will use the same type. The most important tip to choose the right bike helmet is based on your application whether it is for commuter, cross country, or MTB.
The commuter helmet is commonly very light and very minimal when it comes to protection but it is designed to protect mostly the top part of our head and has many vents to keep your head cool while pedaling for certain time. The next cross country is heavier in comparison while the design is still very similar but, notice that they have more covering on the back which affects the weight and its safety yet, there is still plenty of vents here.
The next type of bike helmet is the one we used in mountain riding application and it can be trail or enduro helmet depending on your activity. It has more coverage and an addition of visor for the trail type but not as heavy as enduro helmet. The trail type is often worn for climbing in which you will be slower but need a perfect vision while the last has a full-face design in which is necessary for DH because you will ride faster and thus, need much more protection.
| POC Octal | POC Ventral | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
|
| Product Dimensions | 15 x 10 x 8 inches | 13 x 10 x 8 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 1.6 pounds | 1.65 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
About POC Octal and Ventral
Shopping based on application is fast and effective that you can do from home but, don’t forget to measure the head size as well so then we can use the sizing option more effectively since usually helmets are sold in either S, M, L, or XL variants. If you already decide what type of helmet fits the activity the most, now is the time to see what the market has to offer because there are so many of them out there.
If this is your first time shopping for a new helmet, it is best to stay with popular or well-known brands because they are the most likely to deliver the best performance and among those many companies who make helmets, POC is one of the best options to shop from. They are very popular with the high quality products but also heavier price range and if you don’t mind digging a bit deeper, their products are definitely worth the price.
For MTB riders, helmets like POC Tectal Vs Trabec will be more ideal but if you are riding on the road, POC Octal and Ventral are two of the best helmets you may want to consider. What’s unique about these two models is people either loving them or hating them because they don’t fit in their preference due to some factors mainly comfort and how they look on top of your head. However, if you have an oval, or bigger head in general, these two will look fine aesthetically.
Starting with Octal, this model is POC first offering to the road bike helmet market and just like most of their products if you are already familiar with, this one as well is designed to have similar qualities to what we often seek on road bike helmet; lightweight and heavy vents. If Octal specifically a road helmet, the Ventral is your option for aero riding and if speed is in your first concern, this one is specifically designed for the application.
POC Octal and Ventral Design
As you can see from the sample picture above, POC Octal and Ventral are quite the same with each other because they are equally sporting this mushroom looking top which is not actually very high in comparison to most road helmets, in fact they are rather flat but a bit bubbly from the front. This makes these helmets may look funny on certain people and we also agree that not all helmets will look good on just any head.
Side by side they are not the lightest road helmets out there because none of them can beat Aeon yet but, if you are looking for a lightweight helmet, we do recommend getting Octal because this one is only 15 grams heavier than Aeon at 240 grams compared to Ventral at 280 grams. However, this light weight will also come with a scarifying since you will find there is not much padding in this model in comparison to common road helmets.
POC Octal and Ventral Build and Safety
The first thing you may want to know about these helmets is probably the safety which relates to the build and material. Similar to many other bike helmets, unfortunately there is no real-life crashing test done with any of these models and as you can guess, there is an EPS liner inside to protect your head from direct impact as well as cushioning it when such an accident happens. The shell itself is made from polycarbonate and does well to cover the EPS inside while also robust enough to sustain knocks.
As for the safety feature, there is a version of Octal with MIPS if you are willing to spend more but this one in our article doesn’t have the feature and in comparison, Ventral is coming with a different safety feature called SPIN. It seems that POC created or at least developed this technology in which function is rather similar to MIPS. What’s different is instead of using elastomer-suspended structure that rotates upon impacts, SPIN uses silicone-like gel membrane.
These pads will shear or move in any direction to produce the same effect as how MIPS work and to maximize the performance, these pads are all placed in critical locations inside the helmet. What’s inside the pad is medical-grade silicone and covered with comfortable fabric to make sure you don’t feel a strange sensation.
POC Octal and Ventral Fitting System
Moving further, let’s check the fitting of POC Octal and Ventral because this is necessary to provide better comfort and whether they will snug well on top of your head. On this side both of them are identical to each other with the same rear chin strap, rear retention, and the same adjustable retention band which you can check inside the helmet and if needed we can adjust roughly half-a centimeter using a convenient slider mechanism. Our issue is that these plastics seem and feel pretty flimsy.
This is the same about their rear retention band which is adjusted via a turning wheel because it is very thin. There is actually no issue when using them because they work just fine but it is a bit concerning especially in an expensive helmet like these two.
POC Octal and Ventral Vents
Last thing we want to talk about is their vents because it is quite different between POC Octal and Ventral since the latter is made to be Aero model in which it also has to think about the aerodynamic which is why it also has a different shape. Ventral is a very cooling helmet and we guess it is because of the SPIN padding which works better for allowing air get inside without being blocked by MIPS.
Octal on the other hand has large vents which show a good performance as well in terms of cooling your head. In comparison, Octal has massive 21 vents all over the helmet and the Ventral has 13 of them.
POC Octal vs Ventral
Both of these helmets are great if you are looking for the one that not only safe but also cooling because they are amazing in this side yet, as comparison Octal is lighter probably because it also don’t carry MIPS inside for this model and has more vents than Ventral but performance wise, none of them are uncomfortable while on the safety side, Ventral already comes with SPIN to replace MIPS.
Conclusion
All in all you can pick any of these helmets and still ride safely but if you don’t like a taller helmet and want the best safety feature, Ventral will be the best option and, if lighter helmet is what you look for then Octal is the most ideal choice.
