Hi guys! I often visit Indiegogo and Kickstarter to see new electric bike projects. Recently, I stumbled upon the XNITO Old School Helmet, which proclaims that it's a new class of helmet protection that's 87% better than CPSC. It has bright rechargeable integrated front and rear safety lights that are much better than average. It provides side and rear physical coverage beyond most regular bicycle helmets, and is designed to withstand higher impacts. It's over 50% funded right now, and I am not associated with the project at all... but the founder Benjamin Dai says that they are already starting manufacturing, and this is a side business from his already successful consulting company called Tunabear. So, when I reached out to ask about it, he offered to send me a demo unit to try out. I created a video review about the helmet which is embedded below, and I'm attaching a few photos as well.
Some things that I learned about the helmet:
Some things that I learned about the helmet:
- The XNITO name is a play off of the phrase "in cognito" so I guess they want high quality or extra strong without looking clunky
- This particular helmet line is called the Old School Collection
- Ben Dai is from San Francisco, and he runs a consulting company called Tunabear that is 12 years old. They do ERP software and have worked with clients such as Cal State. I'm sharing this because sometimes Indiegogo products are delayed or don't make it to market... so this is like background research if you're thinking about backing the project.
- The helmet is designed to offer protection for riding up to 28mph 45km/h vs. normal CPSC helmets that are rated to 15 miles per hour.
- This helmet is NTA-8776 certified, rated for Class 3 ebikes. It offers more coverage at the temples and back and is closer to a DOT moped or motorcycle helmet, but much lighter
- There are 7 styles / colors available at launch, which are shown in the video: Logan, Valkyrie, Urbanite, Gull, Hemp, Lightning, Disco
- The Indiegogo page says they are already into production on the helmet, and Ben assured me that they will go to market
- It has 14 rear red LEDs with 3 modes: blinking, solid, wave
- It has 6 front white LEDs with 2 focusing beams that are pretty bright
- The rechargeable battery lasts 10 hours, it can be fully recharged in 3 hours with the included Micro USB cable
- It has an adjustable inner plastic crown with twist tightener. I found that it's a rounder helmet, but the crown still fits my oval head
- It's a one size fits all, and fit my head of 60cm (23.62in). They say it fits 21.26 to 24.02 inches
- Inside it has a moisture wicking soft inner liner that is removable and washable
- The helmet only weighs 400 grams (0.8lb) vs. my CPSC ABUS helmet that is 350 grams (0.7lb)
- It comes with a removable visor brim that is made of fabric
- There are 10 vents in the helmet that provide good air flow
- The electronics are IPX4 rated: protected against splashing water, no matter the direction... so you could use it in the rain
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