My old Met 5th Element is 4 years old, tatty and very smelly. I wanted a replacement that was 1) comfortable and fitted my head and 2) the most protection I could get without going to a full face job. The Giro Zen and Fox Flux both come highly recommended by those in our gang who have them but neither really fitted my head shape. As soon as the Met Kaos was on my head I knew it was the one – I must just have a Met shaped head!
The Kaos is a similar design to the Gen and Flux and covers much more of my head than the 5th element ever did, it also extends down the skull behind the ears and is also much less ‘mushroom like’, it is also light weight and has a lot of vents and is as cool to wear as the 5th Element. It has a peak that can be adjusted but only slightly; however this doesn’t bother me at all. So far I have nothing but praise for the Kaos, it fits both my criteria for buying a cycling helmet eg it is very comfortable and provides a lot of protection. My 5th Element has been thrown, compared to the new Kaos it is smelly, the straps are frayed and the inner molding bashed.
I really like the Kaos but another buddy tried one the Zen and aFlux and none of them fitted him, then he tried a Bell helmet and found the magic fit. The lesson learned is that it doesn’t matter what your buddies have or reviews recommend a helmet has to be tried and only if it is comfortable should it make the shortlist.
