You know what isn’t too much fun about riding a bike? Apart from potentially realizing how unfit you are and getting sweaty? Having to wear a helmet. I mean they’re designed to keep us safe from life threatening injuries, but they really aren’t that nice to wear.  The first commercially successful bike helmet (the Bell Biker) was released in 1975 and since then not a lot has changed, especially when you look at how far technology has come in the past few decades, but two Swedish women have finally come up with something!

 

What’s new is the invisible helmet, although not completely invisible it’s worn around your neck rather than your head, sort of like a scarf. It’s called the Hövding and has been designed to be and is one of the safest helmets available on the market.  Even compared to ordinary helmets the Hövding provides the best shock absorption in the world.

 

It works like a hood and is made of a super strong nylon fabric that won’t rip or tear, once deployed it protects almost your whole head while leaving your vision unaffected. The inflated Hövding covers more of your head than a traditional helmet and it provides the greatest protection where needed most while still being extremely soft and having gentle shock absorption. The pressure within the airbag stays constant for several seconds before slowly deflating, allowing protection for multiple head impacts.

 

The Hövding runs on batteries, which are charged through an included USB cable, and last for about 18 hours of cycle time, and it even contains a little black box that records about 10 seconds of data surrounding your accident

 

These two Swedish women have been developing the Hövding since 2005 and the unique airbag helmet has been made in collaboration with Alva Sweden (an airbag manufacturer). The only flaw is that each Hövding can only be deployed once, so unlike with a traditional helmet if you fall off, you don’t really get back on your bike until you’ve got yourself a replacement.

 

What do you think? Would you be more likely to bike places if this were your alternative to a helmet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!