I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the quirky looks of a Catlike helmet, and have been keeping an eye on the long-awaited return of the brand with this all-new, affordable Whisper II road helmet. While it looks less bubbly or alien than the original – and frankly reminds me a bit more of POC – this new Catlike Whisper II is certainly unique and hopefully portends a resurgence for the Spanish brand.
Catlike Whisper II affordable MIPS-equipped road helmet
I reported on the long-awaited return of Catlike helmets, led by this Whisper redesign back at Eurobike in 2022. But coming out of bankruptcy backed by Portuguese investor & distributor Polisport took quite a bit longer than expected. Plus, the new helmet design apparently needed a few tweaks to make it production-ready.
They describe the new Whisper II as “the beginning of a new chapter in Catlike’s helmet range, representing the long-awaited evolution of an iconic model. It retains the value proposition that made the original Whisper, launched in 2006, a success: exceptional ventilation combined with innovative design.“
And now the new Catlike Whisper II is here, and ready* to ship.
*still with quite a few sizing and delivery limitations though
What’s new here?
The elongated oval vents and sharp line edges are the big change since the old alien-like Whisper Evo, although it keeps the same ‘maximum ventilation’ ethos.
Inside the EPS foam, it adds a Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP roll cage) internal skeleton to better distribute impact energy and hold the helmet together in a crash, while keeping weight low and tons of open vents. It also gets a light and low-profile MIPS Air Node system inside to limit rotational forces in a crash, again without compromising ventilation or weight.
Since we caught up with it a couple of summers ago, it also features a slightly revised layout of its 5-piece in-mold polycarbonate shell. Essentially, Catlike closed in the largest part of the front shell for improved impact strength and better protection of the exposed EPS foam.
Tech details
- Dual-layer in-mold construction with LCP (read: aramid) internal structure
- MIPS Air Node lightweight rotational impact force protection system
- 40% open frontal area with 29 air vents for maximum airflow
- VPS Oval 3-directional ponytail-friendly dial fit adjustment
- new lightweight straps & adjustable ergonomic hardware
- three sizes (SM, MD & LG)
- 255g weight claim (MD)
Catlike Whisper II – Pricing, options & limited availability
Catlike currently is shipping the revamped Whisper II MIPS road helmet for 138€, but only in the medium MD size (54-59cm). Smaller and larger helmets are still in production and testing, and are classified as ‘coming soon’. But Catlike says they went ahead with officially rolling out the new Whisper II in MD first, since that size fits most of their customers.
You can pick from 5 colors – Mercury/Black, Green Forest/White, Star White, and just Black in matte or Red matte/Black gloss. Catlike ships for free directly to France, Germany, Italy, Portugal & Spain now. Or you can order one of their new helmets through national distributors throughout Europe.
