MET Roam’s stylish shell has 22 vents and a significantly sculpted polystyrene interior to help drive air over to the exhaust ports littered all over. We’ve tested it previously and it’s done well, unfortunately, the price has gone up £10 in the meantime. Other helmets have also gone up in price, so MET is not alone in this regard but the problem with the Roam is it’s an expensive for a helmet without a MIPs insert – every other lid in this grouptest either has one or some form of alternative technology.

Read more: Buyer’s guide to the best mountain bike helmets

The Roam is Met’s latest all-mountain helmet available with or without MIPS in massive eight colours. It’s made out of three sections and finished in chunky-looking polycarbonate, with a tough, plastic rim round the edges.

The Roam does have some cool features though – the visor isn’t particularly solid but it features three height positions, so you can easily park goggles underneath and you can also secure the strap through two slots on the edge of the visor.

The Roam’s tensioning system has a band that wraps the skull entirely above the ears and is adjustable in three different axis. As well as squeezing tighter, the rear retention dial can shift up and down, and the two oval ‘cradles’ behind the ears shift left and right for extra fit tuning too. Indexing on the tensioning band is quite light in all three directions though, and descending hard and flexing neck muscles looking forward, it’s possible to unintentionally pop open one ‘click’ on the retention dial while riding. It’s not a massive deal, or enough to upset the helmets stability, but not ideal either.

The shell extends down pretty low at the sides and back, offering good overall protection. The fit and comfort is superb, partly due to the lush padding but also the Safe-T Orbital tensioning system, which as the name suggests, extends all the way round the circumference of the helmet. It can be adjusted for girth, height and you can also adjustment the position of the oval supports by just sliding them in or out on the device, although you have to be careful as they can pop out. The dial ratchets nicely going in but when loosening, it pops open too easily. It is easy to reach though, even with thick gloves on. Equally, the straps feature cam-style adjusters but they still pop open when riding and the strap can pull through a bit too easily.

The build quality and solidity of the Roam is really top-notch. Like the latest Bell helmets, it feels solid and extremely comfortable on your head and also lightweight enough you almost forget you’re wearing it. Met’s offer has great airflow and cooling too, leaving just the price, and how craning your neck on the steepest descents can unwind the retention wheel, to consider.