Just last week we shared our review of the Giro Synthe and said “Aero, cool, and light. What more could you possibly want?” Well, it turns out that Giro found one more thing–additional safety. Meet the Giro Synthe MIPS. It’s everything we loved about the Synthe with the added protection of MIPS.

A Fitting Lid for the Yellow Jersey

Multi-Directional Impact Protection System

MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System and testing shows that it can provide more protection in certain impacts. There are three main components to a MIPS‐equipped helmet: the interior foam liner, the Low Friction Liner, and an elastomeric attachment system between them. In an angled impact, the elastomeric attachment system stretches to allow the interior foam liner to rotate independently around the rider’s head and redirect energy. How much does the system move? Just a couple of millimeters. But that few millimeters of movement—during a crucial 2 milliseconds–can reduce the amount of rotational force that may be transferred to your brain.

The Giro Synthe MIPS

The Giro Synthe MIPS retains all of the qualities that made us love the original. But for those unfamiliar, lets recap the highlights.

The Synthe MIPS retains its aerodynamic and cooling abilities. Like the original Synthe, the Synthe MIPS is fast. Using Wind Averaged Drag, a formula that takes into account 72 different yaw angles and calculates a single drag measurement for a standard head angle of 30º and speed of 25mph, the Synthe MIPS is more aerodynamically efficient than any road helmet Giro tested, including the Air Attack.

To keep your head cool, the Synthe MIPS features 19 vents with internal channeling, making it one of the coolest helmets Giro has ever produced.

Pro Tour Colors

The Synthe MIPS weighs a claimed 260g for the CPSC-certified version in size medium (10g more than what we found the original Synthe to weigh).

The Giro Synthe MIPS will be available worldwide late summer 2015 for $270 (USD) / €300 (EU) in four colors.