Petzl Spelios - a hit or a miss....??

[Hammy]

Has anybody manged to lay their hands on one of these and given it a full-on test yet? I've read the review in the recent Descent and like the idea of it but whats it really like in practice??

What I'm really wondering is just how robust it is - those Elios helmets never feel as solid as an Ecrin Roc and I've never had one of the lighting units so do these stand up to heavy abuse??

But maybe I'm bothered about nothing and having something light and bright on my head could definitely be the way forward..... :bdays:

 

[tubby two]

If its anything like the elios its a one hit wonder job, great for climbing, but down a cave i want something i can bang my head on the roof for all eternity with!

tt.

 

[cap n chris]

Been using an elios for caving for a couple of months; the spelios wasn't available and a new helmet seemed like a good idea. Fitted a Speleotechnics Nova to it (don't drill, use a hot spike and trim off excess with a scalpel - keeps it strong). I agree with much of the review in Descent. There are good points and bad points.

Bad points - if you've not got a lot of hair it can be uncomfortable (at first) but the polystyrene insert can be moulded to the right shape (take it out and reshape it manually - use a fist!). It adjusts differently than the Ecrin Roc and takes a while to get used to; i.e. if you are a regular sump diver and need to quickly readjust your helmet settings after having put on a diver's neoprene balaclava, it is a fiddle but - hey! - no biggie!
If you smash your head on a low ceiling it'll protect you just fine but it isn't as absorbent to punishment as the Ecrin Roc since it doesn't have the inner cradle.
You can't store nosh inside it (or a small first aid kit).

Good points - it is FANTASTICALLY LIGHT - really, it seems to weigh NOTHING!
It has "breathing holes" in it so you can cool off while wearing it and also it doesn't trap air when sump diving (no advantage over the Ecrin Roc which has a similar feature).
It is also made of sufficiently thin material that it is pliant and easy to squeeze through narrow stuff.

Overall: at first I thought "Uh-oh, I've made a mistake, I prefer my Ecrin Roc" but after a couple more trips I now think otherwise and wear it in preference to the ER. On a long trip where stashing food/first aid kit would be handy I'll probably use the ER but for everything else it is now my helmet of choice.

 

[SamT]

Whats it like for view by which I mean when your flat out and trying to look forward, is half you view obscured by the rim.
I think this is one of the single most important features of a helmet. I ended up cutting the peak off my old worksite hat when I was younger cause of this.
These days my Ecrin roc is not too bad but you still get a bit of loss of vision caused by the rim.

 

[Huw Groucutt]

i was wondering is the spelios was any good aswell....certainly looks kinda sexy!

You can get it at: http://www.upandunder.co.uk/eshop/catalogue/testbs.asp?Manufacturer_ID=18&Activity_ID=5&Description_ID=53

Wonder how securly the light is attached to the helmet?

 

[cap n chris]

The view?: wearing the helmet and looking up as much as possible until your eyes hurt from the strain and the "rim" does not obscure vision at all. Mind you, if it slipped a bit (due to being insufficiently tight) it may alter the field of view!...

 

[Hammy]

It is also made of sufficiently thin material that it is pliant and easy to squeeze through narrow stuff.

quote]

Crimes!! - if you have to compress your helmet to get it through squeezes wot the heck do you have to do with your head?? uke01:

The vision aspect is a good point. I find my Ecrin Roc quite uncomfortable to use cos it comes too low on my forehead so you cant see forward very easily when stooping/crawling. I rarely use it and prefer my trusty old Edelrid/Caving Supplies comversion - cheap and effective. However it stinks to high heaven and since it has seen good service then maybe I can justify a replacement and the Spelios seems worth a go....hmmmmmm.....decisions.....

 

[Huw Groucutt]

Go on someone buy one and tell us whats its like! Sure the helmet and light are good but im a bit worried by how its attached, isnt the light a kind of tilting thing? Sounsd like something that could snap off to me!

 

[caverholic]

I think the attachment is the same as the explorer helmet by petzl.
Know several people who use this, hasn't broken.

The only thought I have is it doesn't seem to cover your head as much as other helmets and I think the cradle design doesn't give you enough support.

Looks very fine though.