Okay, so this is more for the roadie/commuter/tourists (insert applicable) out there, but it’s still a pretty neat story. A paper bike helmet has just won the international James Dyson Award for 2016.
What? Paper?!
The foldable and recyclable EcoHelmet was designed by Isis Shiffer, a graduate from the Pratt Institute of Design in New York.
It has been engineered in a honeycomb style using recycled paper and costs only £4. It was tried and tested at Imperial College London.
Inventor Shiffer came up with the idea after realising a gap in the market for an cheap solution to a problem many city visitors face when wanting to ride rented bikes without having to fork out £30+ for a temporary helmet.
“I was inspired to design EcoHelmet when I was travelling abroad and I wanted to use bike-hire bikes,” she said. “I always wear a helmet on the road and not having an inexpensive option to me I was like ‘there’s a big gap, I can’t be the only one’.”
The winner will now receive £30,000 from Mr Vacuum himself which could go towards possible production of the EcoHelmet following more testing.
The James Dyson Award was first started in 2002 and is open to students or recent graduates from all across the world. The EcoHelmet beat an Asthma management system and some super smart contact lenses that monitor glucose levels.
But how will this work in the rain-sodden UK you ask? Well, it’s supposedly waterproof for up-to three hours thanks to a biodegradable coating.
So this doesn’t exactly solve any problems in the mountain bike world, but the design, functionality and environmentally friendly aspect of the helmet may inspire future innovations in the industry. Without a visor or removable chin bar, it’s definitely not enduro. But more importantly, with no Go-Pro functionality, how are you going to make those sick edits, bro? Let’s leave this helmet on the road for now.
For more info about the EcoHelmet click here. Check out the runners-up of the 2016 James Dyson Award here.
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The Pratt institute of design, so it gets a pratt mark, seems apt.
Biodegradeable straps too?
Clever. But if I wanted to ride round with a 70s lampshade on me ‘ead…
Something that may save a life for 4 quid. What’s the problem with that?
I wonder how useful for the (usually wet) British Isles…??? Papier Mâché helmet??
Excellent idea.
A better solution would be decent, segregated infrastructure negating the need for a helmet at all.
Not sure how eco the helmet it – the waterproof coating means it’s almost certainly not biodegradable.
To be fair miketually its not always other traffic that causes people to come off, just usually. Another bike, a dog/bear/antelope or a mechanical failure could happen on a segregated trail, and in old cities its not always physically possible to segregate an end to end journey.
Have a look at this photo and tell me if you’d wear one.
https://twitter.com/AsEasyAsRiding/status/799290058247286784
This is the end point of helmet evolution: a ritualistic ornament you can strap to your head so that people don’t judge you.