Met Trenta 3K Carbon Mips

The Met Trenta 3K Carbon Mips takes a few years old favourite and updates it with rotational protection. Aesthetically it's very similar, and it's impressive that Met has achieved the addition of Mips without making the helmet noticeably heavier. This is still a great choice if you're looking for a single helmet that balances aerodynamics and ventilation, but it does come at a hefty price.

The Trenta 3K Carbon is Met's top-of-the-range lid and it's this particular model that was worn by Team UAE Emirates and Tadej Pogacar at this year's Tour de France. This highlights perfectly the aim of the helmet as it was worn on all but the time trial stages, balancing aerodynamics for the flat stages and ventilation on the hilly stages during the French heatwave.

I'm lucky enough to have tested many helmets but the original Trenta 3K Carbon, which Mat tested in 2018, is one that I went and spent my own money on. Personally, I think it's a great looking lid so can see why Met has taken an 'if it ain't broke don't fix it approach' for this latest version. The Trenta is also a helmet I have happily used on hot-weather training camps, and this new version appears to sacrifice none of this ventilation by using the airiest and lightest Mips Air Node system.

Met has also minimised the amount of the head that'll be in contact with the helmet to help with keeping you cooler as you ride. Only 30 per cent will be in contact apparently, which, according to Met, allows the other 70 per cent to benefit from the optimised airflow passing through the internal cavity. The hot air is channelled out through the sizeable vents at the rear. During the testing period we've seen plenty of hot weather and for an aero helmet it has performed very impressively – it's been my go-to lid even on hot and hilly race days.

You'll find Mips (Multi-directional Impact Protection) on lots of the latest helmets, but if you've not come across it before, it's a rotational management system designed to help reduce rotational energies otherwise transferred to the head during an impact or crash. There are a few brands that have their own system that does a similar job, and in my opinion it's worth having.

> All you need to know about Mips

Adding Mips to helmets can make them a little bit heavier, but at 223g the Trenta 3K is just 3g more than the non-Mips version. The low weight won't be saving you chunks of time, even on the steepest of climbs, but it does contribute to the overall comfort of the helmet. I barely noticed it in use.

Met claims the use of carbon fibre helps to keep the weight down, and is structural rather than purely aesthetic. There is a cheaper non-carbon version (£220) that offers the same aerodynamic claims, safety and ventilation, but is slightly heavier.

Unfortunately, we're not able to test the Trenta's aerodynamic credentials here at road.cc but Met's claims don't seem overly wild so I have no reason to doubt them. The helmet has been designed and tested using the wind tunnel in the Newton laboratory of Milan, so it's good to see that Met hasn't relied purely on computers to validate the claims.

Other features include a small amount of reflective detailing at the rear, and rubberised glasses grips in the outermost front vents. These securely held a variety of my glasses, and I was also happy to find that even long-armed shades played nicely with the Met's retention system.

The helmet is available in three sizes: S (52-56cm), M (56-58cm) and L (58-61cm), and five colours. It doesn't come cheap, though, at £280, which is a £15 hike compared with the non-Mips version we tested a few years ago.

Even compared with top-end competition it's still expensive. The recently released Specialized S-Works Evade 3 comes close – it aims to do a similar job, features a similar Mips system – but it's a fiver less at £275; we have the review of that coming very soon.

Though a fair few helmets we've reviewed sit around the £250-£260 mark, we've only tested one that's more expensive – the Hexr – which was £349 in 2019 and is now £299.

> Buyer’s Guide: 10 of the best lightweight high-performance helmets

The last lid we reviewed, the Giro Eclipse Spherical helmet, is £239.99 and offers excellent cooling, though it doesn't play nicely with some sunnies.

And if Mips isn't your priority then the Kask Protone Icon costs £245. Shaun reviewed it earlier this year and thought it was excellent.

Conclusion

Overall, the Trenta 3K Carbon Mips is an excellent helmet that's comfortable, light, cool in both senses of the word, and now incorporates extra protection. But to justify the price over some cheaper competition you are going to have to rate the looks...

Verdict

An excellent lid – light, cool and comfortable, if not cheap...