I’m looking at helmets suitable for some mild whitewater on packraft and/or kayak and came up against the Petzl Meteor. Originally designed for climbing, it’s also certified for whitewater and cycling. It’s very lightweight (one of the attractions for packrafting) so I’m concerned it may be just a wee bit fragile. Just wondering if anyone uses one for any of the three activities and what feedback they might have.

I’ve never seen one on a river.

Bern do some multisport helmets.

I have one as my cragging lid, it’s got a few dents (should probably buy a new one) and is pretty fragile. Definitely less solid than my Specialized Tictac. I use it as a cragging lid as it think it will take the energy out of a big hit (and crumple), have an Ecrin Roc for more serious stuff and probably wouldn’t cycle with a Meteor unless I was cycling to a crag.

Edit: In the context of a paddling helmet, I would suggest it’s ‘use once and destroy’. How often do you capsize and hit your head?

Never yet!

Very comfy, very light, lack of ‘hookup’ potential compared to some climbing helmets, well made.
But they are (compared to many climbing or paddling lids) fragile-ish. Mainly from dents, not fittings or being crushed strength. They do not cover quite as much as many paddling lids, likely not a problem on the water you will be on I think.
I would have one, for exactly as you suggest- occasional and aware of limitations.

Would a bike helmet not do?

The Meteor’s well rated, and a few of the Adventure Race teams use it. Never tried it myself, but I use an old multisport Salewa Helium on moving water (up to Grade 3, use my specific paddling lid for anything above that). The Kong Scarab and the Salewa Helium/Xenon (both rated for multi support stuff at one point, not sure now) shall had/have certification for multiple sports.

The problem with all of them, for biking is they’re not very well vented. I wouldn’t really use a bike lid for boating, the chances are a rock would slip through a vent are too high for my liking. I have the multisport lid, but to be honest, I use my seperate bike, kayak and climbing lids more often and keep the Helium for racing.

I have a Scarab and it doesn’t seem that fragile – not sure if it’s more robust than the Helium or Meteor. As Pyro says the venting is a lot poorer than a bike helmet, hence I have sometimes taken a proper bike helmet to a race as well and only used the Scarab on stages involving climbing. I also agree with his thoughts about using a standard bike helmet for kayaking – I have used one for that, but only in situations where I didn’t really need one and was only wearing one because I had to.

I’d happily use the Scarab for climbing or kayaking, but having checked the current price of one I don’t think I could recommend it over the Meteor!

Thanks for the feedback. Go Outdoors are currently selling Meteors for £50 so it’s hard to see past that as a multi-sport option 😉