Kali’s Maraka and Phenom are very, very hard helmets to make, eating up 45 minutes to make two, thanks to multiple density foams, carbon fiber inserts and other technologies.
The upcoming Loka road bike helmet takes a lot of their technologies, but uses a slightly different construction method that simplifies the mold plate assembly process to bring a similar look to a $99 road helmet. It keeps the the important safety bits like cone head dual density construction and bumper foam on the inside. And target weight is just 250g.
If your riding is more gravity oriented, Kali’s got an impressively light and small DOT-approved DH full face helmet on the drawing board, too…
The backside is every bit as sculpted as many ultra high end lids. Timeline isn’t set on release, but they are working hard to get it to market.
The lighter gray part of the EPS body is the softer Bumper Foam, which absorbs the last bit of energy. Hit the link below for tech info on Kali’s construction and materials.
The Phenom road helmet should finally be on the market within a couple months, almost a year after we first saw it at PressCamp last year. Retail will be $189. Target weight is 220g, but it should be “on the light side” of 220g. Take that as you will.
Compared to the Loka, it adds their Super Vent tech, an outer plastic shell over larger vents to spread the impact across a larger area, which is how they get larger vents.
The Shiva (black, center) is a prototype full face downhill helmet built and sized for cyclists but passes DOT testing. Founder Mike Waldron says their cone head “Trigon” dual layer foam construction lets them make it so much smaller than moto helmets. It’ll be about 120g heavier than their Avatar 2, but be much stronger.
Why DOT? Waldron says it offers higher impact protection than bicycle only standards, and the chin bar tests are more stringent.
In other news, the Avatar 2 (on the left in group photo) DH helmet will start shipping with an integrated GoPro mount on the visor, which will retrofit on existing DH models across the range.
