WeighMyRack set up a comparison test, à la Hot or Not, of 144 helmets. Tens of thousands of votes were cast as each helmet went head to head with another in a battle to become crowned the Hottest Helmet. The scores are tallied and here are the results, starting with the hands-down victor and newly crowned champ, the Black Diamond Vector:

For each helmet model we’re showing the top 4 highest rated colors, starting with the most popular.

1. Black Diamond Vector

See More Vector Details

The only difference between the men’s Vector (the majority of the models shown above) and the women’s version is the color. There are now also two new colors: bright blue (male) and a white/peach (female) that didn’t have enough time in the voting queue to make this list.

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2. Black Diamond Vapor

See More Vapor Details

There is now also a rad looking acid green Vapor available. It didn’t make the cut here since it’s so new it hasn’t had time to compete and make it to the top.

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3. Mammut El Cap

See More El Cap Details

There is a very similar version for kids too, the El Cap Kids.

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4. Black Diamond Half Dome

See More Half Dome Details

It’s been one of the most popular helmets for many, many years and it just continues to get better with each new iteration.

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5. Singing Rock Penta

See More Penta Details

The Penta is the 4th lightest helmet currently on the market, and it impressively retails for a scant $70. Now we’ve confirmed it’s also considered one of the best looking helmets. Light, inexpensive, and sexy, now you get to have all 3.

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6. Grivel Salamander

See More Zodiac Details

Note: For the XL size (58-66 cm / 23-26 in) only gray and black are available. All the other colors above (and more) come in the standard size (54-62 cm / 21-24 in).

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7. Edelrid Zodiac

See More Zodiac Details

At this point, we do not know any online US retailers that carry the Zodiac or the Zodiac Lite (a very similar look to and 24 grams lighter than the Zodiac, which didn’t quite make the top 10).

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8. Mammut Skywalker 2

See More Skywalker 2 Details

A little added protection for the back of the head never hurt anyone, especially when it adds style points.

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9. Petzl Elios

See More Elios Details

The ladies version, the Elia, was much farther down the list. Most likely this is because the majority of WeighMyRack users are male, and the leaf shaped vents of the Elia are less appealing. Also, the kids version, the Picchu is essentially a mini-Elios.

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10. Petzl Meteor

See More Meteor Details

Petzl has come out with new designs that aren’t shown here because they were more recently introduced to the voting platform, so they haven’t had time to rise to the top.

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Voting Notes

• The majority of votes were cast in 2015 and early 2016.
• Each “win” vote was counted in the tally for each competition between 2 helmets.
• Some of the latest helmets to debut, like the 2016 Mammut Wall Rider, are so new they were not in the competition long enough to potentially make the top 10 list.
• Similarly, some of the newest colors of helmets like the Black Diamond Vapor and Vector and new design of the Petzl Meteor didn’t make the list in time either.
• We did notice that stereotypical “girl” colors were much lower on the list compared to more gender neutral colors.
• The least sexy helmets were all the hard shell helmets that resemble buckets.

And, if you’re lucky, some of these helmets are on sale right now!

For list these prices, we use an affiliate system. This means, if you click a helmet and buy it, we get a commission. Kinda like a “thank you” for showing you the sale. It doesn’t increase the price, nor does it alter the content we produce. A win-win situation.

Tags:  Black Diamond Edelrid Grivel helmet Mammut Petzl Singing Rock