Like many racers it wasn't until I did a longer adventure race with rope sections that I realised the need for a Multi sport helmet. After lugging my 'Old Skool' Camp Rockstar climbing helmet around the Open 12 course only for 30 minutes of rope activity I knew that there must be a better solution. I had seen people using multi sport helmets before and I actually ended up borrowing one for this years WARC. However, all the ones I had seen either made the user look a bit 'special' (don't tell me looks aren't important!) or looked like they had compromises in terms of true multi sport performance. I have come to the conclusion that a multi sport helmet by its very nature does have to be a bit of a 'jack of all trades master of none' but its where the compromises are made which separate the OK helmets from the really good ones.The KONG brand is well known in Italy and focuses mainly on the production of hardware for climbing, rescue, caving, yachting and industrial works. The Kong Scarab is part of Kong's large range of helmets but is the only one certified for use in rock and ice climbing, cycling and skateboarding, horse riding, canoeing and rafting (if any adventure race decides to have a 'hydrospeed' section its OK for that too!)
As I occasionally dip in and out of most of those sports the Scarab appealed so I was interested to see how it would perform. I bought the helmet for both race and non race use: The Open 24, and 2 weeks mountain biking and climbing in Italy over the summer. It performed really well for both uses. As a purely race helmet it is lightweight with robust straps and fastenings. It has 4 sliders to hold a head torch in place and the dial sizing mechanism at the back is quick and easy to adjust if you need to put on or take off a hat worn under the helmet. The comfort and lightweight nature of the helmet meant that I kept it on even during trekking sections and often forgot I had it on. The helmet did have its flaws. If you are wearing a very big rucksack the dial attachment can catch on your pack and ends up loosening itself. I also ended up taping the dial attachment back against the helmet body as it was a bit uncomfortable (I do however think this is related to the vast size of my head rather than a fault on the part of the helmet).
If anyone has travelled budget airlines this summer they will be aware of the clampdown on number and weight of bags you can check-in. It was mainly for this reason that I took my Scarab on holiday instead of separate biking and climbing helmets. It was on this trip that the compromises became apparent. As a climbing helmet the Scarab performs brilliantly, the solid top section protects you fully from rock fall and the side vents give more ventilation than a lot of climbing helmet designs. However, as a biking helmet there just weren't enough vents to keep me cool and I got a very itchy head after 6 hours in the saddle.The real dilemma about the Kong is the price. At £85 the Scarab is one of the most expensive multi sport helmets on the market and even though it is good, I am not sure its worth that. The solution to this is to buy one from either Italy or France where they retail at about 75 euros, and are more widely available.For more details please visit: http://www.kong.it | 
