Met Manta MIPS long-term review: tested in the wind-tunnel and for 10,000 road miles

Available in eight stylish colourways, the Met Manta MIPS comes with the backing of Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates WorldTour outfit, ensuring wind-tunnel and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis honed its design.

Despite having one of the best aero road helmets at his disposal, Pogačar himself regularly wears the Met Trenta 3K, its standard road bike helmet.

The Met Manta MIPS offers a tri-friendly magnetic buckle, handy for speedy transitions and ease of use with cold, post-swim fingers (or with full-finger gloves on winter training rides).

Sadly, it also boasts some excess straps. This undermines efforts put into the drag-saving gains at the top of the lid.

Aero performance

The Manta’s streamlined shape and aerodynamic prowess played out in 220 Triathlon’s independent wind-tunnel test at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub with The Bike Tailor.

Its performance over our baseline Decathlon helmet at a 7.5° yaw angle was a noteworthy 31.8secs faster over a 25mi / 40km bike leg at 19mph / 30km/h. It was 9.2secs swifter when riding at 25mph / 40km/h.

The former result places it third in the placings at 19mph / 30km/h. The latter result places it sixth out of the 11 best aero road helmets tested at the higher speed.

Safety

Safety is enhanced by MIPS (Multidirectional Impact System) which, although still not conclusive, should offer more protection than non-MIPS helmets during crashes.

There’s a slight weight and price increase. But, given the top helmets for safety in Virginia Tech’s independent and most recent tests are generally MIPS, I’d personally say it’s worth the extra 20 or so quid. 

The Manta MIPS hasn’t yet been tested by the institute as of September 2025. But Met’s Vinci, Trenta and Rivale have all garnered four-star reviews from Virginia Tech.

Comfort

The internal ‘Dual gel’ padding is fairly lean, but it still offers plenty of comfort and sweat-mopping abilities, and it sits neatly below the internal MIPS layer.

The rear cradle offers a decent 3.5cm of vertical adjustability and the retention dial is easy to adjust on the move.

I could feel the Venturi ventilation effect in operation during springtime rides. But, with the sizing of those seven forward-facing vents being fairly limited, there are other lids I’d pick for climbing the midsummer European mountains.

There’s also a smart eyewear port and the weight of 9oz / 251g for a medium for a pure aero road helmet is very impressive and the second lightest on test here, even with the added MIPS layer.

That price of $299 / £220 does put it towards the higher end of aero road helmets, however, but the Manta MIPS’ aerodynamics and usability are proven both in the wind tunnel and on the roads.

MET Manta MIPS long-term review

I’ve worn my MET Manta MIPS consistently over the past few years for this long-term review, in which I’ve clocked around 10,000 miles and learnt first-hand what a brilliant and versatile product it is, writes Bruce Wilson.

The most pressing point to make is how comfortable it is, despite the minimal amount of padding you’ll find within the EPS shell. 

The helmet utilises MET’s Safe-T orbital retention system, that’s easily adjusted by a wheel at the rear to ensure a snug fit of your choosing. 

Ample adjustment

For added comfort, there’s also scope to adjust it across four positions of vertical adjustment, while it can be tweaked in two ways side-to-side. 

I’ll be honest, I’ve never felt the need to go dabbling with such features. But realising no two heads are the same, that kind of adjustability can only be seen as a good thing. Another good thing is the utilisation of MIPS technology. 

The reason I bought this helmet was partially due to its aerodynamics and stylish design, but also because a previous crash rattled my brain in a way I’d never wish to repeat. 

In short, it’s something you want on your side. While I’m grateful that I’ve not had to test out this helmet’s safety, it’s given me peace of mind knowing the MIPS tech is in place. 

Cool and light

The Manta is one of the lightest products within its sector, and one of the most ventilated too. 

Overheating is something I’ve never struggled with on the Manta, despite countless 100+ mile efforts in sportives and full distance triathlons. 

I’ve also found the lack of traditional venting on the top and front of the helmet to come in handy in the winter. It limits the amount of cold air creeping in.

Other things I like about the helmet include the quick-action magnetic chin strap, and the detachable, internal forehead padding. These make cleaning it a doddle. 

For reasons such as those, I’m hard pushed to criticize this lid. I bought it new on sale for £140, despite the £220 RRP. 

My take? A great quality, fast and comfortable offering that’ll demand some serious scouring to improve on.

Before splashing the cash on go-fast upgrades, find out how to get more aero on a budget.

Met Manta MIPS helmet specs

Price:	$299 / £220
Weight:	9oz / 251g (medium)
MIPS?	Yes
Vents:	15