New helmet design: very cool

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I'm typically an early adopter and am willing to give a lot of things a shot if they look interesting. But not a helmet. When I go down I want a helmet that has a million crashes of R&D in it. Like I said, give it a few years in the mainstream market - if it holds up than I want one.
 
seems like the natural evolution of helmet design. nice.

if they have brought it to market, then they have done their testing, and if it will be sold here and DOT certified, it will be safe. Just like FLOW bindings for snowboards and other new innovations, there is resistance, but crap on innovations and improvement? If you can think of what can go wrong, you can be sure they have thought of it and designed around it.

pricing...now thats another story and really my only criteria if i will get one or not!
 
Just add a strap.

..and I would expect that to be a very quiet helmet given how encompassing it is around the jaw-line.
 
Bagman said:
Just add a strap.

..and I would expect that to be a very quiet helmet given how encompassing it is around the jaw-line.
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Agreed, I would get one if the price is reasonable.

I bet all the helmet makers will be making helmets like this in the future.

I also like the shape, the graphics not so much.
 
gmang35 said:
Without a chin strap, how would you lock it to your bike under the rear seat?
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There will probably be some sort of attachment point you can hook a cable through or something. Personally, I don't leave my helmet unattended (have a trunk), so it wouldn't be a real issue.

Given the design, it's totally calling out for a "man in the iron mask" graphics treatment. If it's properly quiet and reasonably priced, I'd give it a go. Maybe include a strap at the bottom that reinforces the halves? Just to calm skeptics and bring them on board.
 
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gg35 said:
Without a chin strap, how would you lock it to your bike under the rear seat?
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People still do that?
AGV had a clamshell helmet in the 80s without a strap. This helmet has all the certications.

This is likely a safer design because it is easier to remove by EMTs than strap helmets. I doubt you will see this in North America, because any new helmet design is a target for lawsuits.
 
Bagman said:
Just add a strap.

..and I would expect that to be a very quiet helmet given how encompassing it is around the jaw-line.
Click to expand...

+1, could definitely use less wind noise on day long rides.

As for the fears about the hinge failing, unless these guys are really poor engineers it should not be that hard to design against failure. If you think about the most of the stresses on a helmet in a crash, they're impact stresses. In other words they push the helmet in towards the wearer's head. There are not a lot of cases where a very strong stress would be pulling a helmet apart and if there's a small overlap between the two halves, even a sideways hit would not transfer much lateral (sideways) stress to the hinge itself. Unless the hinge is poorly designed, a lateral stress hard enough to make it fail is probably a fatal one anyway due to a snapped neck. Not much sense in designing a helmet to survive when the rider doesn't lol
 
It's not like you have a basement business with guys making prototypes from card board and duct tape. I also don't zip down the 404 at MotoGP speeds. I'd wear a half helmet with chin strap around the city on a cafe racer. So I'd also wear this helmet day-day usage for it's convenient. But, I'd leave it home for track or touring usage.

One's own personal fears do not discredit an object itself. Making a secure latch isn't mind blowing difficult. Why are people so irrationally afraid of latches. It's like my mother that thinks my motorcycle engine will just explode every time I ride it. It's a latch, not popcicle sticks and white glue.
 
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Any hinged helmet gives me the creeps. I had a bad experience with a modular so I prefer my helmets to be in one piece and solid.
 
There's a safety release for first responders/paramedics (shown at 0:24): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1x0GvWGMHs.

With only a hinge or springs (to keep the latches shut), I don't see it trapping your head in there if something breaks. Might as well worry that your fork springs could fail riding. In any case, I would think the engineers had put SOME thought into the design before production. A lot of safety gear uses straps, buckles, zippers, rivets, leather and velcro. I've had all them fail in the past just from daily use. To be fair, I haven't had a helmet break but the extent of the stress was sitting on my head in the rain--hardly a torture test.
 
I think a similar design has been used by NASA.Or have i been watching too much sci-fi?
 
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