This helmet has been praised in a number of threads. I have some questions.
The helmet has disappeared from the Oakley web site and there's only limited sizes and colours available. It looks like the product ight be discontinued. Does anybody have any info about that.
My Gath Gedi squishes the arms of my sunglasses against temples eventually causing pain. Does the Icon play well with sunglasses?
According to the size chat y 58cm head is at the top of the M size or the bottom of the L size (which is relatively scarce). Can anybody comment on the fit if the helmet particularly in the larger size?
No clue about it being discontinued. That would be a shame if it is, best helmet ever. Seems like its available at retailers though.
No clue on sunglasses.
My head is 58.4cm and the large is an absolutely perfect fit for me.
I tried the large. It has an unforgiving fit. Rock hard, no flex for odd shaped head. The sides that come down over the ears pinched my head like a vise. Too small for me, even at size L.
My wife wore one for a few months, but she gave up. Ear protection was poor for her.
We both moved onto a soft helmet that flexed to our head shapes. Plus not interfere with my prescription sunglasses. We eliminated loud wind noises from blasting past my ears. My ears ring from the howl of wind noises. This is the one that worked for us. www.mysticboarding.com/products/impact-cap-2024?variant=47948271714648 BTW, we tried the Mystic Legacy too. It creates wind noise from the vents in the top of the head, plus it is hard and doesn't feel near as comfy as the version without the hard shell.
Ive got a really big head (24") and the L fits me very comfortably with room to spare. I wouldn't say it fits small at all - probably just a head shape thing. The largest Gath was way too tight on me. Lesson is that the best helmet for someone may not be the best for others.
I wear a 57 hat and grabbed the L ( 56-60 ) and it fits well and has good adjustment. I don't wear sunglasses so can't comment on how the fit is affected, but I don't have any pressure or discomfort around the ears.
I've been wearing one for the past year (prone, wing, parawing).
Surfears, sunglasses (Oakley Sutros) with a floating strap, cap, a Buff which covers my face, ears and goes over my cap, helmet on top of all of that and hoodie rashguard on top.
No pressure points, no more lost sunglasses even when duckdiving, almost no wind noise (surfears + Buff +built in ear protection from helmet + hoodie).
It's so light that it feels just like wearing a cap.
It sounds like I have a lot of layers under the helmet, but everything is super thin and it doesn't fit any smuggler than putting it on without any accessories.
By contrast, I cannot wear it on top of my 6/4/3 hooded wetsuit as it squeezes my head too much and I need to go up one size (L instead or M).
GF has been wearing one as well with sunglasses and she's usually very sensitive to pressure points with helmets as they give her headaches.
None here! She loves it.
Best helmet I've tried by far.
But we all have different head shapes, so try before you buy or order 2 sizes and return one.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
This helmet has been praised in a number of threads. I have some questions.
The helmet has disappeared from the Oakley web site and there's only limited sizes and colours available. It looks like the product ight be discontinued. Does anybody have any info about that.
My Gath Gedi squishes the arms of my sunglasses against temples eventually causing pain. Does the Icon play well with sunglasses?
According to the size chat y 58cm head is at the top of the M size or the bottom of the L size (which is relatively scarce). Can anybody comment on the fit if the helmet particularly in the larger size?
I've had one for a couple of months and know a few others who bought them as well.
To answer your question about sunglasses, I'll say this. A lot will depend on the size of your head. In my experience, these helmets fit on the small side. My head is 1cm bigger than the largest recommended adjustment on the large size. I can wear sunglasses that have thin arms but it becomes uncomfortable with beefier glasses. Also, I use bone conductor earphones (got into this from long downwind runs) and they can get pretty snug under the helmet.
If you're close to the top range on the M size, I would buy the large.
What I like about this helmet:
-Incredibly light weight, almost freakishly so. When I first picked up a helmet in the box, I thought the box was empty
-Venting throughout is a huge plus. I do not like solid shelled helmets, hat helmet liners, or solid padded helmets. What I've found is that they magnify the impact to your head when you crash and hit the water. The Oakley provides protection from foils without creating the secondary risk of concussion from a normal wipeout.
-When you have this on your head, its easy to forget its there
-I can hear what's going on around me clearly (also part of what I like about the bone conductor headphones, but I don't turn them up very loud)
What I wish was different:
-slightly bigger L size
