Debuting at the Santos Tour Down Under atop Chris Froome and the rest of Team Sky, the all-new Kask Utopia aero road bike helmet is their sleekest yet. Using “NACA” vent shaping to flow air through the shell, it not just slips through the wind better than any road helmet they’ve made before, it also cools better.
One of the challenges with any helmet, and aero helmets in particular, is that boundary layers of air can sometimes actually prevent air from entering the vents on the helmet. That’s great for helping it slip through the wind, but bad for cooling. The new Kask Utopia solves that problem by positioning massive intakes on the very front and sides of the helmet.
According to the PR, “to develop the Utopia, KASK tested 10 of the best road aero helmets on the market in the wind tunnel, and created a 3D scan for a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The helmets were tested at various speeds and yaw angles to reflect cross winds. At the end of the test, the drag data of Utopia versus the best competitor helmet resulted in a saving of up to 6 watts when riding at 50kph (31mph).”
The vents and overall shaping are also designed to minimize wind noise, helping you hear traffic or teammates.
Inside is 5mm thick padding made with Resistex(tm) yarn, which is anti-static, anti-bacterial, and ultra-evaporative. That latter features means it helps move sweat off your head and outward toward the shell so it remains dryer longer.
Lastly, it’s light, with a 235g claimed weight for size medium. Retail price is TBD, available later this year.
