An innovative new bike helmet that focuses on the safety and style of cyclists will be launched at next month’s London Bike show following a successful campaign on Kickstarter, raising £45,000. The success comes after initially failing to win funding on the BBC’s “Dragon’s Den” programme last year and the designers must surely be hoping this is a slap in the face for the Dragons who failed to back them.
Torch Apparel [http://torchapparel.eu/] have produced the T1 helmet after two years of researched and development by industrial designer turned entrepreneur, Nathan Wills. After months of long cross-town commutes in LA, by both bike and car, he was inspired to launch this brand with a line of products designed to make cyclists stylish in the day and visible at night.
Features on the helmet:
- £85 for the standard helmet or £90 for the midnight edition. Available in three different colours: red, white and black.
- 10 integrated LED lights
- Rechargeable batteries (1.5 hrs with included USB cable)
- 4 different light functions including flash
- Up to 12 hrs of battery life
- Shatter proof polycarbonate lenses
- 13 oz. weight / 366 g
- 8 air vents, interior air channelling
- Dial-adjust fit system
- Removable interior padding
We really like the idea behind this helmet and love the stylish urban looks and the price (£85) seems right too. We aren’t sure about ventilation though, even though the helmet does have eight air vents, it doesn’t have any at the sides of the helmet which could make the rider get quite hot and sweaty. Torch apparel have mentioned how this helmet doesn’t make the cyclists view any better when riding in tricky conditions, as the lights are not bright enough to illuminate to road. The product is designed purely to make cyclists more visible to drivers and it certainly meets that aim – just make sure your bike has lights too.
Overall we are really looking forward to seeing this product out on the shelves in the near future.
