I’ve been very interested in cycling helmets with a visor for one simple reason: on cold commute rides, my eyes water so much I can’t see where I’m going. I’ve also heard that the helmets keep your face warmer, and your head warmer.

Enter the Kask Urban Lifestyle helmet.

With the visor, my large white version weighs 470g, and fit very nicely. The finish of the helmet and visor is terrific: glassy, smooth and flawless. There is a neat badge on the back of the helmet, and the logos are a bit loud, but somewhat classy. The vents are pretty small on the top, but I will give a ride report tomorrow to cover how well they do.

There is an inner liner which covers the whole head, and looks to be a coolmax material or similar. It can be removed for machine washing.

The webbing (straps) are all faux leather, and feel great to the touch initially. There is a single buckle chinstrap adjustment – I wish they had copied Uvex or others who have a continuously adjusting chinstrap, instead, as any adjustments to that strap are definitely a two-hands, helmet off, operation.

Around the head there is a band which loosens and tightens via a dial at the back of the head, which works very nicely. Uvex shares the same kind of head ring, and I like that style a great deal as I can wear a hat underneath and easily adjust for the difference with one hand.

The visor comes down with a solid click, and rests on the tip of the nose (1cm from the end of my nose) which means I should get great coverage from the wind. More on that and a ride report tomorrow where I can address fogging, visor quality, fit and venting while riding, wind noise, and how warm this helmet keeps my noggin.

By the way – there appears to be a slot above the ears between the shell and the inner polystyrene which I am hoping would allow for snap-in ear flaps, but nothing from kask’s website speaks to that.