If you, like me, dislike wearing a bike helmet because it looks dorky and messes up your hair*, this might just be the perfect product for you.
Swedish design house Hövding has just put the finishing touches on an “invisible” scarf-like bicycle helmet that inflates on impact, acting as an air bag for your head and all of the sensitive brain parts inside of it. Powered by rechargeable batteries, the high tech helmet is equipped with sensors that can detect “abnormal movements that precede a fall,” at which point it inflates in one tenth of a second to cushion your head and neck from impact. It can survive a six foot drop without breaking, but I still wouldn’t try using it with one of those ridiculous double decker bikes. (Tall bike riders don’t wear helmets anyway, in my experience.)
Of course, it’s up for debate how “invisible” this thing actually is, but I think it’s a decently nice-looking scarf; here’s a before and after comparison:
It’s currently for sale in Europe for a mere 445 Euros, which seems like a small price to pay for a helment you actually enjoy wearing.
(Via Pursuitist)
*Of course, I wear one anyway. Most of the time.
