Petzl Elia Climbing Helmet - Women's

light!
February 20, 2012

I purchased a woman's Elia Climbing Helmet from Petzl last summer for Mt. Whitney summit. I wore the helmet only for about an hour during the Whitney summit and I thought it was comfortable enough for not really noticing anything much about the helmet. I wore it again this winter for snowshoeing at Mt. San Jacinto for about 6 hours. The weather was cold and windy so I wore it on top of my beanie. The headband was easy to adjust and it wasn't any hassle to put the helmet on and off. I particularly liked that the helmet wasn't adding any weight. The little space between the beanie and the helmet gave a room for breathing so I wasn't so sweaty, at least my head part. Plus, the photos I took wearing the helmet look cool for the Facebook. It didn't look like I had a large head so I was satisfied. My only reservation about this helmet is the limited selection of colors: very light gray or white. My gray helmet is close to white and probably will get dirty easily. I don't know how well it'll get cleaned-up with soap and water. Time will tell.

Already own the Petzl Elia Climbing Helmet? Tell us your thoughts.

Ponytail Perfect
June 10, 2011

I'm an outdoor girl by nature. Love the mountains, LOVE climbing. But hey, I'm also a girl. While I skip the makeup when climbing, I do like my hair to look somewhat decent, since I have pretty long hair. With normal helmets, your ponytails have to be so low. Ugh. Not flattering. With this fantastic helmet, I can wear a normal ponytail, and keep looking good. Vain? Maybe. But who wants to look back at every single climbing picture inwardly groaning at how horrible you look? So, splurge, get the helmet. It rocks. And by the way, it fits great, is very sturdy in construction, and has great padding.

Light, comfortable, and PRETTY
November 06, 2010

As soon as I tried this helmet on in a retail store and fell in love. It felt compact & light, not oversized, heavy & bulky. I came straight home and ordered it from altrec because the store did not carry the baby blue/fuschia color combo. I like the strap adjustments...it took me quite a few tries to get the straps evened out around both earlobes. Also had to fiddle for awhile to get chin strap centered between strangling me & strapping my mouth shut. Once all adjusted, it's great. The ponytail cutout, color combo, & pretty leaf design were all nice extras that compelled me to purchase this helmet to replace my 5-yr old, big, heavy CAMP helmet. I LOVE that I can add a touch of girliness (with the baby blue/bright pink colors) to my usually-male-dominated trad climbing world!! I can't wait until I can take it on some alpine stuff since it's lighter/less bulky than my old helmet...every little ounce counts!

Already own the Petzl Elia Climbing Helmet? Tell us your thoughts.

Really great upgrade for those with ponytails
May 03, 2010

I have been climbing with my kids Petzl Meteor helmet for years now (since I was a kid) and although it still fits and has never taken a beating I figured that being in my 20s now I should get a grow-up helmet. I tried on every helmet I could find (petzl, camp, black diamond, etc) at multiple retail stores. Although I almost went with a grown-up Petzl Meteor, I'm glad I saw an ad for this in Climbing Magazine. The Elia is lightweight, well vented and best of all lets me pull my hair up and out of the way. I love the quick adjust sliders on the sides too, they make fitting the helmet over a hat or headband really simple. The only thing I wish were different would be the color, the non-ponytail friendly Elios has a great orange color, I would love complementary colors for the Elia, instead of just fancy accent colors. Thanks again to Altrec for the super fast shipping and the Bing Cashback!!

Awesome helmet
October 09, 2010

I have been climbing with my kids Petzl Meteor helmet for years now (since I was a kid) and although it still fits and has never taken a beating I figured that being in my 20s now I should get a grow-up helmet. I tried on every helmet I could find (petzl, camp, black diamond, etc) at multiple retail stores. Although I almost went with a grown-up Petzl Meteor, I'm glad I saw an ad for this in Climbing Magazine. The Elia is lightweight, well vented and best of all lets me pull my hair up and out of the way. I love the quick adjust sliders on the sides too, they make fitting the helmet over a hat or headband really simple. The only thing I wish were different would be the color, the non-ponytail friendly Elios has a great orange color, I would love complementary colors for the Elia, instead of just fancy accent colors.

Great ladies helmet!
February 04, 2011

Excellent helmet- great fit, comfortable, and well-designed for those of us who are ponytail-prone!! Will protect well against rockfall/objects from above, but little protection for lower part of the head/occipital area if falling. Overall, great helmet, nice colors, and good fit!!

Already own the Petzl Elia Climbing Helmet? Tell us your thoughts.

extremely cute and comfortable
May 19, 2011

I've been shopping around for a while and tried all standard Petzl, Camp etc. helmets: look-wise, this is definitely as cute as a helmet can get. It fits very well, easy adjustable, soft interior, light enough that I wouldn't even bother to take it off after a climb. The opening for the pony tail is pretty useless since usually a pony tail doesn't sit that high up on the head, I'd prefer protection instead. That's my reason to give only 4 stars. I have the grey color combination, the other ones are just too girly and I hope that at one point the outdoor industry realizes that womens products don't have to be pink or baby blue. Can't comment on durability yet, helmet was used twice and has some scratches, but I guess that's normal.