Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives

Eurobike 2016: Kali Protectives

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We stopped by to visit Brad Waldron of Kali Protectives at Eurobike. More than just new helmets, he was excited to tell us about the new technology they’ve been integrating into some of their upcoming lids. foremost among them, Armourgel, a substance invented here in the UK. Small inserts inside the helmet can deform and twist, taking rotational movement and protecting your head from it. In testing, it’s been shown to reduce rotational forces from impacts by 20-25%.

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The green bits are Armourgel inserts.
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Here’s the outside of the Interceptor. (That Ben Mills has let himself go a bit)
Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
That’s not a close up…
Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
It’s a large scale model of the Armourgel pads Kali are incorporating into their helmets!

As well as Armourgel, the Interceptor has a neat, completely removable accessory clip for lights or cameras, that goes on without blocking any vents. A part of Brad’s approach to helmet design, as well as protecting against rotatonal movement, is to minimise the size of the shell without compromising protection. You might think a thicker shell offers more protection, but that’s not necessarily the case: the further away from your head the outermost part of a shell is, the more leverage it can exert on your head and neck. As long as it’s engineered to take the impact, a thinner shell can be better.

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Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
Kali’s Shiva full face helmet has been certified up to Motorcycle DOT standard, as well as ASTM F1952, 2032, F2040, and CPSC. Expect to see Armourgel in an upcoming version too.

Brad is an engineer, emphatic and zealous about improving safety for riders, and it shows when he talks. So far, experience seems to be bearing his approach out. Nicholi Rogatkin was wearing one of Brad’s helmets during his massive crash at the Red Bull Rampage last year. Brad had glued Armourgel pads into it beforehand, and incredibly, after bouncing several times then falling off a 30 foot cliff, Nicholi got up and finished his run:


(No video? Here’s a link).

Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
This is the new Lunati trail helmet.
Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
The Lunati is not as fully featured as the Interceptor, but it does still have an accessory mount, and bug netting.
Eurobike 2016 - Kali Protectives
The entry level Zoka full face lacks the accessory mount of the Shiva, but is still certified to various ASTM, EN and CPSC standards.

We’re currently testing the Interceptor, and will let you know how it is. Read more on Kali’s website.

Kali Protectives - Interceptor helmet
Kali gave us an early sample of the Interceptor Trail helmet when we went to see them. Here being modelled by some berk, yesterday.

David started mountain biking in the 90’s, by which he means “Ineptly jumping a Saracen Kili Racer off anything available in a nearby industrial estate”. After growing up and living in some extremely flat places, David moved to Yorkshire specifically for the mountain biking. This felt like a horrible mistake at first, because the hills are so steep, but you get used to them pretty quickly. Previously, David trifled with road and BMX, but mountain bikes always won. He’s most at peace battering down a rough trail, quietly fixing everything that does to a bike, or trying to figure out if that one click of compression damping has made things marginally better or worse. The inept jumping continues to this day.

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