Early last year I needed a new helmet, so bought a Giro Hex. It fitted well in the shop and has done sterling service over a year of commuting and riding in general. It's always been comfortable and stable, even with a tesco torch (remember those?) velcroed to it for commuting in the dark duties.

Yesterday I replaced the pads in it because they were going a bit manky; in doing so I noticed some little things like pop-fasteners between the front of the plastic strap round the back of your head and the actual helmet were undone. Assuming they had popped out while I took the old pads out I popped them back in.

Come this morning and my helmet wouldn't fit on! After puzzling for a moment I unpopped the poppers and it's back to normal.

It's a medium sized helmet, and I've always had medium sized helmets before, but with the poppers in it was miles too small; the plastic strap was way inside the outer shell.

What gives? Should I really be using a Large (or even an Extra Large, given how much smaller it was) helmet? Do Giro helmets size up really really small? Is it just optional adjustment that you don't have to use?

Could anyone else with one see whether their poppers are in or out, as it were?

Confused of Cannock

I had one. The poppers aren't meant to pop out, but do anyway and become weakened. I had to glue mine back in with epoxy, although I'm sure this probably isn't recommended… If the adjustment thingy at the back can't cope at full stretch then yes, it's too small. measure your head circumference with a tape.
What you need is a Fox Flux.. A better fitting and much much more durable helmet.

If the poppers are out, then the retention (RocLoc?) won't really work. Make sure the RocLoc is at its widest/loosest (they can jam sometimes), put the poppers in, and try and put the helmet on. If it won't go, it's too small.

I've had to "lenghten" the adjuster strap at the back by cutting it and looping the 2 halves together with a wee vip-tie or similar.

A better fitting and much much more durable helmet

entirely personal and subjective.

Aha! I didn't try hard enough this morning it would seem (I choose to believe that over "I'm an idiot")

Once you've attacked it properly the adjusters go much further out than they did to start with and tada, my helmet fits with the poppers in. I don't have a freakish head after all (in circumference, anyway).

I have no idea whether they've always been like that or at some point along the way they have become unpopped… never mind, hey…

Thanks all

Phil