The Lazer Kite is a pretty unusual but stunning looking crash helmet. Not only does it look the part, but it scored a very commendable four stars in the SHARP crash helmet safety test (hasn’t been Snell certified) – so you know it’s going to perform when it matters. Aimed at sporty riders (though not an out-and-out track helmet) and available in fiberglass and carbon fiber versions, let’s see if it’s all show and no go (click the links to the right to skip to sections or scroll to the bottom to see summary and star ratings).
- SHARP 4 star safety rated (good)
- Weight 3.3lbs/1.5Kg (fiberglass version – average)
- Double-D ring fastener
- Carbon fiber and fiberglass versions
- Mid-to-expensive priced helmet (version dependent)
- Great for ventilation and comfort
- Prices range from $350-$500
Page Contents
Safety
The Lazer Kite is manufactured in two shell sizes and available in fitment sizes XS to XXL, with MS and ML also available for intermediate medium fittings. It comes in two shell materials – either a full carbon fiber or composite fiberglass versions. The fiberglass version was tested by SHARP helmet testing and scored a creditable 4/5 stars – meaning if you buy one, you can be confident it’ll perform well in an accident.
It wasn’t tested by SHARP, but we’d expect the carbon fiber version to score about the same. In fact of all the Lazer helmets tested by SHARP, all except one has scored four or five stars (out of five) so Lazers are generally very solidly performing helmets in terms of safety.
You can find more detailed information on the construction of the latest generation of Lazer crash helmets here, but in a nutshell, they claim to use the finest materials to ensure both their carbon composite and fiberglass helmet shells are both the lightest they can be and most effective at dissipating energy. With their excellent results in the SHARP tests, there’s probably no reason to doubt the effectiveness claims and there is some evidence that Lazers are amongst the lightest helmets – with the carbon fiber Lazer Monaco weighing just 3lbs/1.35Kg making it certainly amongst the lightest flip-up helmets on the market – even though the Kite is about average weight for a full face helmet at 3.3lbs/1.5Kg
Other safety related stuff: the helmet is secured with a double-d ring on the strap. They’re safe and easy to use and will mean you can take it on a track day.
Helmet Noise
The Lazer is about average for noise suppression. There’s lots of factors apart from the helmet design that that make for a noisy or quiet helmet (speed, riding position, style of bike etc. etc.) but owners broadly indicate the Kite’s around about average.
Ventilation
The Kite has four chin and forehead/crown vents together with three rear exhaust vents. All the front vents are closeable – the chin vents are closed using a finger switch on the inside of the chin guard, much like many AGVs, and the top vents are flaps that open to stick up into the air flow and close to be almost flush with the top of the lid. From these top vents, the air is channeled in grooves cut into the polystyrene EPS liner and through the comfort liner and onto the scalp. Owners reckon it all works well (probably helped by the so-called ‘venturi effect’ where the incoming air is squeezed through tighter channels to speed it up and give more effective ventilation) and keeps you cool on long days’ riding; and that closing the vents really does stop air getting in – which not all helmets manage. So all good on the ventilation.
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Shield
The main shield is optically correct and is Pinlock anti-fog ready (it may come with a Pinlock in the box – check with the retailer before you buy). The Kite doesn’t come with a sun visor, but there is the option of fitting Lazer’s very clever Lumino Polychromatic shield. This is an active shield that adjusts according to light conditions – from 90% clear to 20% clear in 15 seconds. They’re not cheap, but owners who do a lot of riding in sunny climates or into rising/setting suns love them.
The main shield seal is very good, using what Lazer calls its perfect fit system. Lazer claim that it’s very difficult to get a tight seal with composite or carbon fiber helmets because, unlike injection moulded helmets, tolerances can vary. To combat this, their visor base unit is flexible to mold to the contours of each helmet.
There’s a very effective shield quick removal system on the Kite too. This allows you to remove and refit each side of the shield in just a couple of seconds.
Comfort
No problems have been reported here. As always, make sure you have a helmet that fits right in the first place, with no pressure points and with a nice secure fitment all round. If you do that, you should be happy with comfort levels of the Kite. It has the usual fully removable internal comfort liner, that’s anti-microbial and washable. It also has replaceable cheek pads that you can swap out to tighten up the fit if required. Again, that’s standard across most helmets these days, but it can be a useful.
Looks & Graphics
The Kite’s a good looking helmet with lines similar to the angular designs of some of the latest Lambos. The most popular color scheme apart from the plain black/white/silver (which is a relative term because you’ll not see many Lazer Kites around!) is the Kite Mustang you can see at the top of the page – which come in either plain black or red with a couple of stripes over the top and down the front. Of course, the plain carbon shows off the fibers nicely and is one of the reasons many of us buy a carbon helmet (so you might as well show it off). There’s also the striking Kite Flow Pure (right) and the angular paint of the Karat (below).
Video
Here’s Lazer’s completely over the top Kite marketing video with nicely subtle background music (guys it’s a helmet, not a biblical epic!)
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Overall
The Lazer Kite is a very competent crash helmet. It’s a no-gimmicks full face helmet with great ventilation and safety credentials that will do everything you ask of it. It’s comfortable, has a good shield mechanism and while it’s not the quietest helmet on the market, should give years of reliable service. Well recommended.
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Alternatives
There’s no shortage of great alternatives if you’re looking for a full face helmet. First off you should check our top 5 full face helmets list or maybe our top 5 flip ups as there’s some great modulars these days that are real contenders to replace full-face helmets. You might want to consider a Nolan N86 – another four star SHARP crash helmet, this time with an integral sun visor and a slightly lower price tag (color scheme dependent). Or how about the AGV GT-Veloce, a SHARP 5 star helmet with a wide shield and costing broadly the same as the Kite. Read the review as there are a few niggles to make sure you could live with them.
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