Love the adjustment option. I have braided style and it fits over my head and hair very well. Not awkward and the neck strap is comfortable!

For the price this helmet ranks a 5. It may not be the best looking but it is a well ventilated and I like the way it is sized. My previous helmet was a small and the band had to opened up all the way. The medium was way too big but I later found that I had to have a second helmet to accommodate a cap in winter. These use different sizing -the medium is small enough to not look over sized and big enough to accommodate a knit cap. My guess is that Medium will accommodate size 6¾ - 7¼. I wear a 7 and the adjuster is set about in the middle. I also like that it is better vented than most, is light and the internal structure seems a good thing. Also the pads a nice. The user guide says the can be cleaned. The fabric feels much sturdier than the cheap pads that fall apart so easily on my previous helmet. The mat finish, I decided, is a nice touch.

I've ridden with cheaper Schwinn helmets for many years, which meet the same standards and certifications as the expensive ones while being bulkier and heavier, and not looking as good, and maybe they're a bit less comfortable. I care more about saving money than looking cool--which, let's admit, you really can't do in any kind of helmet anyway--so it was a compromise that worked for me most of the time.

When my last helmet got to be several years old and I couldn't get replacement pads for it anymore, I took a chance on this TeamObsidian helmet after seeing how popular it is here, and I'm glad I did. This helmet doesn't feel like a compromise in any way to me. It fits my head well with no hotspots or chafing, it stays put, it's comfortable, and the airflow is plenty adequate for me. I wore it last winter with a fleece beanie underneath and just had to make minor adjustments for fit. Then in May I wore it for 6+ straight hours on a century ride and had zero issues with it then either.

The interior pads are very small and thin, which may be a detriment to some people's comfort, but I still have a decent amount of hair so I've never found that to be a problem. The only problem I've had is when I removed them all for washing, after I noticed my helmet was smelling kind of gross from riding in summer heat and humidity. I very gently hand-washed the pads and straps with Woolite in my sink, but as gentle as I tried to be, one of the forehead pads fell apart anyway.

I held it together with fabric adhesive for a few weeks, but I eventually had to contact the seller through Amazon to seek a replacement set. They were very friendly and responsive and followed up on their own multiple times. Although it took a little while to get new ones in, I was able to obtain a replacement set with minimal effort on my part--so I can say from experience that TeamObsidian customer support is also excellent.

The one thing I haven't done to it is crash, which is where quality fit and materials and design matters most, but after reading other reviewers' experiencess with that I'm not worried about the helmet doing its job if it ever, heaven forbid, has to.

All in all I think this is a fantastic value in a helmet based on my experience and what I've put mine through. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one for myself or a friend or relative.

This has become my primary cycling helmet. Great features for an incredible price! Plenty of adjustment for a perfect fit. Love the matt finish.

The Team Obsidian 'Airflow' helmet has a colored 'shell' that looks like it's actually fused with the styrofoam base, meaning it's all one piece. For me, this uniform design is cleaner & is simply the way it should be.

There are two U.S. CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) compliance labels underneath.

The side straps that come down your ears are adjusted using a simple, but clever, flip-lock buckle. To adjust the strap on either side, you 'unlock' the buckle by flipping a piece outward to loosen its grip on the strap, then pushing back the same piece inward to lock the strap in place. To me, this is much faster than the belt-like adjustment on other brands' helmets.

The chin strap has a click lock with a contrasting red color & a microfiber-like padded chin guard that can be removed if you wish. The chin strap's length uses a traditional belt buckle type adjustment, but is otherwise easy to do. A substantially wide (about 1/4 inch) elastic band keeps the excess length tucked-in neatly.

You can fine-tune the fit by turning an adjustment dial in the rear. The dial's edges have a red non-slip silicone border to help your fingers get a grip when turning. There's a vertical (height) adjustment feature mentioned on the Amazon product page. Unfortunately, the included documentation in the box does not describe how to do it. The plastic parts of the adjustment system are identical in quality to the other more expensive helmets I have.

There are 22 large air vents. The foam pads inside don't appear to be any different in quality from others I've seen, though they are obviously narrow since they must fit in the slim space between the vents. I measured my head at 56 cm., so I ordered a size S/M, which goes up to 58 cm. per the size chart. It was a true to size out of the box & fit snugly as a helmet should. I did turn the rear adjustment dial both ways just to see how the fit changes, but the size range felt right.

Overall, this helmet is comparable to others that cost far more. The S/M size was $20 at the time of this review. In my opinion, that's a great deal.