Catlike’s new Yelmo trail helmet is claiming to be the first to offer an integrated action cam mount, actually tested & approved for use with your GoPro camera. As more cyclists ride with action cams, most of us are strapping the devices to our heads without fully appreciating how they actually affect the safety of the helmet, and in many cases that can expose riders to additional risk in the even of a crash. We’ve seen a few reasonable solutions, like mounts on the break-away visors of full face helmets, but the Yelmo takes a new approach with a break-away attachment system set into the helmet’s outer shell…
The Yelmo’s accessory mount is a small piece of engineered plastic whose design earned it the European and American homologation. The material is designed to be strong enough to stably support the weight of a GoPro without affecting video capture, yet still retains enough flexibility to break away from the helmet if impacted at an angle where the camera would affect the helmet’s performance in a crash. That way the helmet-mounted accessory will never degrade the performance of the EPS’s impact absorption or in theory never to cause the helmet to overly rotate.
Besides the obvious benefit of increased safety for riders, Catlike says that their homologated (that means tested & approved) solution protects cyclists riding with helmet mounted cameras or lights in the eyes of insurance companies who can in some cases scoff at the idea a rider was not using their helmet properly. While that is not something we like to have to think about, tested & approved certainly sounds like a good idea.
The Catlike Yelmo has been under development for just under a year to put the final design with its new integrated attachment system through dozens of successfully passed safety tests. Passing impact tests without being compromised by the GoPro is one element, but the Yelmo extends protection beyond that. The new Yelmo also includes a new wrap-around Boa retention system to make sure the helmet stays securely attached to your head.
