There are some things, that have always looked a certain way, with only mild alterations. The base model proved to be a functional concept. That is especially true for protective gear, which must fulfill certain safety standards to become certified and therefore in demand.
With an object like a motorcycle helmet, there are certain restrictions when it comes to the design. The helmet’s function cannot be hindered in any way. That is one reason why many new helmets take years to reach the stores. They must submit themselves to rigorous testing before they are finally considered safe to buy. That does not mean there aren’t any innovations on the way.
What are some updates we can expect for motorcycle helmets in the future?
The Importance of Motorcycle Helmets
It is not surprising that the countries that decided to make protective gear for motorcycle riders mandatory picked the helmet as the one universal factor legally required to ride your bike. Our brain controls every single process in our body, which makes it our most vulnerable organ. A brain injury can negatively impact our memory, movement, speech, senses, and the bodily functions of our internal organs. Leaving out the worst-case scenarios – paralysis, brain death, or death.
Studies suggest that the risk of death caused by a head injury can be reduced by 42 % when wearing a helmet vs wearing no helmet.
A good helmet has a hard shell and visor to protect us from penetrations and padding that can absorb impacts and redistribute the force before it reaches our brain.
Some institutions, like the Snell Memorial Foundation or the US Department of Transportation, test helmets. They examine how much force the helmets can absorb before an impact would be fatal, or how much force would be needed for an object to penetrate the shell. Only the helmets that reach their safety standards are given a certificate. Look out for those when shopping for a helmet.
Different Kinds of Helmets
When you buy motorcycle helmets by ChromeBurner, for example, you have access to a large variety of helmets. Typically, they range from full-face helmets to open-face helmets, and from street helmets to racing helmets.
- Only a full-face helmet offers full protection. With a visor and chin bar, impacts are kept from your chin and nose.
- Racing helmets are not necessary for daily use, but they often offer the best protection. They are made to be used in high-speed rides.
What is new on the Helmet Market?
What are some elements that have upgraded the basic motorcycle helmet?
Tech-Gadgets
- Helmet Cooler – Helmet Coolers, for example, the BluArmor BluSnap2, are small devices that are compatible with full-face helmets. They are miniature air-coolers, using evaporation to reduce the temperature inside your helmet by up to 59°F (15°C) and provide you with a nice fresh airflow. The devices look a bit like a box-shaped gas-mask ventilator and get attached to the chin guard of your helmet.
- GoPro Mounts – Many motorcycle riders like to capture their rides on film. The GoPro is usually the camera of choice – it was created to record high-speed movement. While there are many parts of a motorcycle you could attach the camera to, having a view that mimics the riders is best achieved by using helmet cameras. Naturally, you want the camera to a) not be in your way and b) be attached reliably. A GoPro Chin Bar Mount provides you with a harness that secures the camera on the chin guard of your full-face helmet.
- Bluetooth Headsets – If you want to use a Bluetooth headset on your motorcycle, you must think of several things. It must fit comfortably, even under the helmet, and it must be controllable, even without being able to touch it with your fingers. While there have been solutions like gloves that allow you to control connected headsets with finger movements, there is a new trend on the rise: Smart Helmets. Helmets, like the Sena Quantum Series, have buttons on the outside that allow you to control the headset the way you would without a helmet.
- Head-Up Display – Head-Up Displays, information that is displayed on the helmet’s visor, are a complicated issue – we’ll talk about in a second. However, there are devices like the NUVIZ HUD that let you imitate a HUD separately. It does not project the information straight onto the visor but adds a small screen on top of your chin guard that provides you with information while riding.
AR-Helmets
AR-Helmets (AR = Augmented Reality) are the industry’s newest goal. Several companies are working on motorcycle helmet HUD systems. Many of them can be found on crowdfunding platforms, like the Jarvish’s Jarvish X-AR. The project was successfully funded, but then never released. Safety concerns about the HUD keep delaying the official launch.
The problem is that it is not following the current safety control standards to have information be displayed in the rider’s field of vision. The fear is that the changing information would be more of a distraction than a helpful guide. So far, there is no satisfactory solution to the issue that would make it possible to mass-produce AR-helmets.
Conclusion
Several technological gadgets have upgraded the tried-and-true motorcycle helmet over the years. Most of them are separate tools that can be attached to a regular full-face motorcycle helmet.
More and more Smart Helmets are being developed. They have built-in technological integrations, such as Bluetooth and cameras. With integrated buttons on the outside of the helmet, for example, you can easily control connected devices. At the same time, many of these high-tech projects are still pending, while safety control tests consider them a possible hazard.
