Kali Amara and Chakra MTB helmets
Where bought and price
Velogear. Chakra was $50 inc postage and the Amara was $65inc postage both on sale at the time
How it is used
Was intended to be used as my primary helmet
Description
Chakra- Nice looking and felt light. Matte finish which I liked
Amara- Not as nice looking as the Chakra and a gloss finish.
Positives
+ price and weight on both are good. Amara has the Gopro and light mount which would have been handy.
Negatives
- the fit of both were aweful. Aldi helmets fit better.
Chakra: is a round shape with a small molded piece of foam right at the tip of where my forehead meet the pad. I wore it around the house for about 10 minutes and t left me with a big red indentation there. Padding is minimal at best and despite the other reports I have read I didn't find it comfy at all. It actually felt like a K-Mart helmet, only double the cost and the wasted time of waiting for it to be delivered. The retention system and clips on the chin straps are so cheap and nasty. The straps are also held off your face slightly which might be good for some but it made the helmet feel unsecure and loose to me.I have a 59cm head and went on the sizing chart and it was too small. Oh and the retention system gave way too, making it impossible to actually tighten the helmet up.
Amara: The 2nd helmet I bought and went the size up given the experience of the Chakra. Bad mistake. The thing is MASSIVE! Not only that, some how, it is lesser quality than the cheaper one, go figure. The Gopro thing on the top is cool and to be honest it was the selling point for me. Until I tried it on and experienced it's piss poor fit, lack of spare pads and horrible chin strap placement.
Additional notes
Velogear refunded both helmets but I wouldn't rate their customer service very highly. Compared to another online bike shop (one of the 100's) who I bought a $30 thing from and they replaced it FOC with another one and didn't require the original back. Not saying this should be the standard, however no return postage was paid and when I gave feedback I got the usual "thanks, we will take it on board" and we all know what that means.
Reccomendation
I wouldn't ever buy one or recommend either helmet to someone I liked. I have spent a few hours in an Aldi one and for $14 it is HEAPS better value for $. I ended up with a much more expensive helmet and it has been money well spent.
OVERALL SCORES
Quality
Performance
