So I got my Bern "G" (top of the line helmet) in the mail today. Just wanted to give a little review for anyone wanting to get one but not having a chance to try it. I got mine direct from Bern. I'll compare it to my giro 9 which I have had forever and we can all agree is one of the most solid and light helmets out there. First off the G (and I believe all of their helmets) come with 2 liners. the all season comfort liner, which is basically just padding to make it fit your head and the all season with like half a beanie sowed onto the bottom of the comfor liner (covers your ears and looks like a cool knit hat). As I understand it you can also buy the "winter kit" for about $20 which is a full knit beanie which you put inside the helmet (instead of just the beanie bottom sewn to the liner. There are 11 vents in the helmet and 7 of them are closable with a little slider on top (like the giro fuse). why only 7? I dunno, it doesn't make much sense to me to leave 4 open, but I guess that is where the full knit "winter kit" comes in. vents are nice and big though and seem to get some nice flow. The goggle clip has an awesome feature. it is removable by just twisting it. it can be mounted in an upper or lower location depending on how you like to wear your gogs, and it comes with an extra clip incase you loose one. onto the inside. the straps are basic but perfectly functional. The Construction seems to be top quality, as good as any other company out there including giro which I think makes the best helmets. The inside has so0me cool air flow facilitating channels and stuff. Now on to the best part... THIS THING FITS LIKE A GLOVE. sooo comfy. I thought my 9 fit good untill I tried this on. very nice fit. If you are unsure about the fit just measure your head and go by what they recommend on the website. if you are in between or its close go with the smaller size. I measured my head for a large and it fits perfectly not to tight not too sloppy, although when it breaks in im sure I could get away with a medium. Now I was kinda dissapointed when I got the helmet. I thought it came with the earbud "8track" system. It doesn't. I'm sure its not much aftermarket, but I was kinda hoping for it. The look of the helmet is sweet. I find it has a more 'core' look to it than a fuse, but I find its sleeker than say a red hifi. It has a great balance. It also looks sweet with the beanie liner because it looks like you are wearing a hat underneeth. like the liner comes down on the front as well as around the ears. The only downside to this is the goggle fit. my blizzards fit well within the helmet but they are resting on top of the pertruding liner which for some may be uncomfortable. The only real downside I can see is the little clips which attach the liner. They are basically buttons (4 of them) along with velcrow. Don't get me wrong they hold the linear great, however on my second time taking it out and trying to push it back in I didn't line it up quite right and I smushed the hold a little. Now I have to really force it in and it doesn't quite click in place anymore. overall I would say the helmet is a definate winner. For anyone who does dual sports like ski/bmx this thing is a must. I convers great and you can even take off the goggle clip (had to rip mine from my 9 when making it a bike helmet). Heres how I rate it:
Looks: 8.5
Goggle fit: 7.5
Fit/comfort:9.5
construction:8
tech stuff (vents,clip,etc.): 9
linear:8.5
durrability: ?
warmth: 7.5-8.5 (cant tell yet)
overall: 8.5 and I would take it over probably any helmet out there with the exception of the red tantrum audex which is like $250us