Where's Your Helmet At?
After doing some research on bike helmets, we came across this incredibly useful and informative site on bike helmet safety called the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. They include a list of demands including better visibility and stronger impact safety, and while there is perhaps some further ground to cover, we’re taking a look at two helmets today to protect your noggin.
Oh man is this helmet is comfy. The foam on the inside was thin but greatly useful. There was even padding on the chinstrap. It probably helped that the helmet itself weighed practically nothing.
Generally when buying a helmet, it’s good to buy something smooth, free of jutting surfaces things can snag against. Not even the wind snags against this helmet. It is incredibly aerodynamic.
It is also incredibly well balanced. The straps adjusted to my face remarkably well and, once attached, I could shake my head back and forth with no tangible shifting on my head — quite a feat and super useful on a bike.
Perhaps the best part about this incredible helmet was its price. For the quality of the product, it comes out as a steal at $150.
Kali Protectives Avita Anthracite bike helmet
We found this company on a recent search of companies to watch on the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute for their interesting method of molding variable density layers of foam.
The Kali is incredibly light, coming in at 250 grams. The Kali comes with a little padding, though it was not super comfortable. However, for those that prefer comfort over weight, like me, they also included cushy attachable pieces of foam with velcro.
The look of this helmet is downright sleek. In stark contrast to a lot of other helmets that are trying to look sportsy and shiny, this one has an understated and distinctive look. It comes with a small price, however, in that bright colors are better for nighttime biking while this dark matted helmet is barely visible at night.
The helmet did feel a bit more substantial than some other bike helmets I’ve tried on in the past. There is extra padding on the top in a few places, though we were unsure whether that was safety or style related. The helmet’s back does end in a slightly more recommended rounded fashion, though the overall feel is slightly less balanced than the one above. I found the visor to be an immensely useful addition, being just about the perfect height to block the sun.
This helmet comes in at about $190 online and be sure to check this brand out in the future for new designs and innovation.
