POC supplied the gear to me at no charge, and I was not paid for the review by either POC or Competitive Cyclist. I am, however, in the Competitive Cyclist Affiliate program, so if you click below, every purchase you make helps support my channel:
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I’ve told this story before, but my first experience with POC was at interbike several years ago. As I was walking the floor trying to find my next meeting I saw a guy about my size in bleach white protective gear sprinting across a booth like a gymnast and throwing himself back first and upside down INTO A WALL. The booth he was in was POC’s, they got my attention (and everyone else’s) and now ten years later they’re one of the biggest softgoods brands in our industry.
But in all that time - I never owned anything POC until about a year ago when they sent me the Ventral to review. Since then it’s been my #1 go-to helmet because it’s highly visible and the moder, almost cubist design really grabs your attention. It’s also hellaciously comfortable, incredibly light, and practically vanishes when you put it on. The inner padding and secondary retention mechanism are perfectly placed, and the straps are light and ribbon like without feeling thin or flimsy. You also get little rubber pads in two of the front vents, which are there to keep your sunglasses from slipping when you take them off. I love the little things, and this is one of the best little finishing touches I’ve seen - it’s just clever and infinitely useable.
So. I covered Attention and Visibility, and kinda touched on Interaction. So, A, V, I...but what about the P? Protection? Well, I regret to say I accidentally tested that as well. That’s right - I crashed it, and I crashed it hard. I set out for a little 30 minute recovery spin - super easy, you know - the equivalent to walking your dog around the block. There’s a little connector trail between two streets that has an off-camber downhill chicane - I’ve ridden it a hundred times, but THIS time I was on a bike I hadn’t ridden in a while and I over-braked. The front wheel washed out, and I hit the dirt harder than I’ve hit the dirt, or pavement, IN. MY. LIFE: It was like a whip that started with my left knee, left hip, left shoulder, and BAM the left side of my head was the crack of the whip.
Long story short, I was only a mile from home so I was able to ride it out but when I took off my helmet - it was trashed - and I knew immediately that a concussion was imminent and was lucky i didn’t get knocked unconscious. Anyway...I managed to post my ride to Strava before I went inside to get cleaned up, and practically by the time I checked my email later that night my friends at POC had seen the ride on Strava and were already asking where to send the crash replacement helmet.
Needless to say - I’ll never play anything else and POC’s attention to my protection and well being moved me in the same way. I don’t think you’ll catch me wearing a Giro, Kask, or Bell helmet ever again. Not because they suck, but because I KNOW the people at POC truly care about my safety, and yours too.
And that’s where the new NFC version of the Ventral SPIN helmet comes into the picture. The NFC version is identical to the base model in every way: it still includes POC’s patent-pending silicone pad system, the revolutionary SPIN technology which stands for (Shearing Pad INside) and the High-performance EPS liner with targeted and optimized density that provides an ideal balance of low weight and crash protection. It also has the same fully wrapped unibody shell construction. But underneath the flat black shell is a Near-Field communication device that allows you to store your emergency contact info.
So, let’s say I WAS KO’d and I happened to be a hundred miles from home instead of one. My iphone is a company phone and it’s mandatory that I lock it. I use face ID, but I don’t know that the EMT would think of that. And since we’re all riding longer and generally going solo these days, having this little transmitter with an easy to use app interface is a huge piece of mind. I find myself wearing it just as much as i wore the white one, but I’m a little bummed it’s only available in one color. Hopefully, by the time you see this that’ll change.
