Back in August, when Smith introduced the Forefront mountain bike helmet, it was one of the first helmets in a while to really rethink protection. That was largely thanks to a new wonder material called Koroyd. Instead of solid foam for absorbing impacts, Koroyd uses thousands of co-polymer extruded tubes that are each thermally welded together to form one large energy absorbing structure. One of the biggest benefits of Koroyd is how breathable it remains thanks to fact that it’s basically made of straws. The completely open cell design allows massive amounts of air that can travel through it.
While the Smith Forefront was the first bicycle product to use Koroyd, it probably won’t be the last (POC is also a partner). Koroyd has announced that a new line of back protectors will be unveiled at ISPO 2014 for snow, cycle, motorcyle, and protective backpacks. The Koroyd EOP back protectors will have an EN1621-2 Level 2 protection rating at 13 mm thickness while likely maintaining most of the breathability the material is known for.
