Kali’s Avita Texalium offers a little more protection to the back of the head than a standard road or cross-country helmet in a subtly bulkier package. In other words, it’s a mountain bike 'trail' helmet. Using a mix of aluminized fiberglass and polycarbonate materials, the 20-vent lid offers EN 1078 and CPSC safety compliance and weighs a reasonable 386g.
The Avita could be snugged up quite well on our tester's slightly oval head. The retention system is pretty standard, with two ratchets at the rear that are much easier to adjust with two hands but can be adjusted with one hand on the fly with a bit of skill. Padding is ample, and can be easily removed from Velcro anchors to allow for cleaning, customization or replacement.
The chin strap uses the usual sliding buckles to adjust fit around the ears. This offers enough adjustability for most riders but one of our testers found he couldn't keep the straps from sitting on the tops of his ears. Ventilation up front seemed good but some of the exhaust ports were a little small, affecting airflow. Speaking of vents, there wasn’t a single spot on the helmet that would hold a pair of sunglasses.
The removable visor is integrated into the helmet via four plastic pegs that snap into place very snugly. It lines up nicely with the helmet without blocking any of the front vents, but the lack of adjustability hindered our upper line of vision in some situations. The pronounced ridge on the top center of the Avita means we had to run our helmet cam off to the side a little bit.
Overall, it's a comfortable, well-ventilated helmet. But it’s not the lightest trail helmet out there by any means, the retention system is pretty ho-hum and considering its $140 pricetag, it’d be hard not to opt for a helmet that uses some type of antibacterial material in the padding and/or chinstrap.