The LAZER Z1 is Back

If you were tuned into the World Cup or Superprestige cyclocross races in December, you may have noticed that Wout Van Aert was wearing a new helmet, wrapped in his recognizable Red Bull colors. That helmet was the new, ultralight Z1 from LAZER, and Wout was showing it off before the end of the calendar year when his team, renamed Visma-Lease a Bike, switched helmet sponsors to Giro.

On Instagram, LAZER teased the Z1 and fans looked past the awkward Red Bull sticker across the top of the helmet to celebrate the return of the Z1 to the LAZER road helmet lineup. The Z1 debuted a decade ago with then novel features of 31 vents and a retention system that featured a nylon band instead of a wire.

The Z1 has returned with its recognizable configuration of vents (33 this time) and style. This new iteration boasts an ultralight weight of 220 grams (in size medium) and the signature Advanced RollSys thumbwheel on top of the helmet, leaving room for longer hair out the back of the helmet.

The Z1 features the KinetiCore crumple zones which ensure that upon impact that the helmet is absorbing the force on a number of rotational planes. In plain terms, the helmet is designed to protect your head in multiple, moving directions. A feature we can put our trust in but hope to never test out. Let’s leave the testing to the Virginia Tech Helmet Testing Lab that rated the Z1 a 5 out of 5 on its safety scale.

LAZER's move away from MIPS toward KinetiCore across their helmets is a welcome change in my book. MIPS involves a plastic hairnet, for lack of a better term, that slides independent to the helmet. I understand the theory behind the increased safety that MIPS affords, but in use I don't prefer MIPS compared to KinetiCore. My kinky hair has a tendency to get caught in the MIPS hairnet, and I swear they are warmer than helmets without the plastic hairnet.

The Z1 also accepts a shell cover for warmth or aerodynamics and the clip on taillights.

In the North American market, the Z1 is available in white, matte black, cosmic blue, harbor grey, metallic red, and flash orange. The MSRP is $279.99.

Lightweight Tradeoffs

The medium Z1 in metallic red that I received fits great and definitely feels lightweight compared to my other helmets. However, with our inclement weather here in Western New York, I haven’t had a chance to ride outside in the new Z1. I find that the true test of the comfort of a helmet is about four or five hours into a ride, when every little thing becomes more annoying than it typically is. In that case, this lighter helmet will be most welcome.

The tradeoff with ultralight helmets like the Z1 is doing away with the buckles under the ears and stitching the straps. LAZER states that removal of these plastic buckles moves them a step closer to improved sustainability, but it’s also an easy feature to remove to shed some grams. The downside of losing the buckles is you are limited in the helmet’s adjustability.

The Z1 may fit you great right out of the box with the stitched straps. This was the case for me; the stitched straps fell right where I would have adjusted the buckles. However, this may not be the case for everyone.

Therefore, my advice is to try one on before you buy it. This will ideally mean that you visit your local bike shop that carries LAZER helmets AND buy it from them if it fits. I don’t think I would take a chance buying one online without trying it on first with the stitched straps.

Lastly, if you like to dock your sunglasses in your helmet, the Z1 does accommodate what I would consider normal width sunglasses. As in, sunglasses that are the width of your face, as opposed to the oversized face windshields that are popular now. Other LAZER helmets like the Vento only accommodate the overly wide sunglasses for docking, so it’s nice to have helmet vents that allow for regular width sunglasses. If you are following recent trends and are sporting the oversized sunglasses, you may be able to use the wider vents to dock your face windshields in the Z1.

In sum, head to your nearest LAZER dealer and try one of these on before buying and bring your sunglasses with you.

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