Liv is the women's specific branch of Giant Bicycles, one of the cycling industry's biggest brands. Liv makes everything from complete mountain bikes to apparel and helmets designed specifically for the female market, including the Coveta MIPS helmet reviewed here. Their products are designed to meet the unique demands of the female form and typically have a slightly different fit and colors than their male counterparts. Testers found the Coveta MIPS to be a well made, ventilated, and styled helmet but felt that it lacked the coverage and protection of the competition.
The Coveta MIPS lost ground to the competition in the protection department. This was mostly due to the shallow fit that sits higher on the head provides less coverage than most of the other helmets in this review. The Coveta MIPS has good coverage on the temples but is limited on the back of the head in comparison. This helmet does come with a MIPS system that is designed to reduce the forces on the brain in oblique impacts to the head.
The Coveta MIPS also has a feature on the back of the helmet that is a magnetic mount for their Numen+ Link taillight. It could increase your visibility when riding at night. Testers preferred the deeper fits and greater coverage offered by most of the other helmets in this review.
The Coveta MIPS suffered a bit in the rating metric due to its interesting fit. The helmet is relatively shallow and sits higher on the head than other models tested like the Bell Hela Joy Ride MIPS. This higher position on the head made it feel like it wasn't on correctly, and testers found themselves constantly trying to push it down farther onto their heads.
Testers also felt the back of the head was more exposed, which didn't add to their comfort or feeling of protection. The width and length of the helmet felt fine. It was the depth of it that seemed to be off. Otherwise, the adjustable fit system at the back of the head and the chin strap worked well to personalize the fit.
The Coveta MIPS scored well for its ventilation system with 15 vents that do a good job of keeping the air moving. Liv has incorporated their "Airflow system" into the design of the helmet with long channels that run from the front vents to the back and allow air to pass through. There are five vents in the front of the helmet, three of which are situated under the visor where they effectively scoop up air. It's far from the impressive ventilation of the Specialized Ambush, but it's pretty good.
The features on the Coveta MIPS are mostly fit and protection related and include the "Cinch Pro" fit system and the chin strap, and the MIPS system. The fit system has a large dial that can be used one-handed and with gloves on and adjusts the size of the helmet evenly on both sides. The fit adjustment system can also be moved up and down on a small ladder on the inside of the helmet so that it fits perfectly under the user's occipital lobe. On the sides of the helmet, the straps intersect at a strap splitter that is easily adjustable and has a locking tab to keep them in place. The chin strap is attached with a plastic buckle and has several inches of adjustment to dial it to your preferences.
The visor on the Coveta MIPS is not adjustable, so this helmet doesn't work well with goggles, but it can be removed completely. It also has a magnetic mount on the back of the helmet that is compatible with Giant's Numen+ Link tail light for riding at night.
The size small Coveta MIPS test model weighed in at 342 grams or 12.06 oz. The Coveta is quite lightweight, but our testers will generally take the additional weight of other competitors for the added coverage and protection they provide.
Overall, the durability of the Coveta MIPS seems to be quite good. The helmet appears to be well made and constructed, and we haven't experienced any issues thus far. That said, the outer shell doesn't cover the EPS foam as well as several other models we tested, like the Bell 4Forty MIPS or the Giro Montaro, and the exposed foam is much more susceptible to damage.
Liv bills the Coveta MIPS as a trail helmet, and we feel that it is reasonably well suited to XC and trail riding applications. Honestly, we feel this helmet is best suited to anyone who likes the shallower fit that sits a little higher on the head. Other than the limited back of the head coverage the Coveta MIPS is well ventilated and seems like it should provide good impact protection.
At a retail price of $100, we feel the Coveta MIPS is a good value for a helmet with the MIPS system. While our testers didn't love the fit, it may work well for people who like a shallower fit or less back of the head coverage.
The Coveta MIPS is a quality helmet with good ventilation and fit adjustments, but our testers weren't thrilled about the odd fit of the helmet, which sits higher on your head and provides less coverage than the competition. We don't think it's a bad helmet by any means, but we prefer the additional coverage and protection offered by the competition.
