A reader sent me a link (thanks Charles!) to a company that has found a way to make helmets look cool — in a stylish Portlander sort of way. Check out the designs available from Copenhagen-based Yakkay:
Apparently you buy the helmet first, and then select “your personal cover”. The “Paris” design (third from left above) looks a lot like the popular cycling caps made locally by Shaun Deller.
I’m actually sort of surprised that such a cool helmet product comes out of a city where the rate of helmet use is quite low.
In some of the photos on the Yakkay website, I could barely tell the models were wearing helmets at all. That fact makes these helmets even more interesting when you consider the popular (although panned by experts) 2006 study that claims motor vehicle operators tend to drive closer to cyclists wearing helmets.
Currently Yakkay helmets are only available in Germany and Denmark. If you can’t wait for these to be sold locally, you’ll have to ask Shaun Deller make you an extra large hat and slip it over your existing helmet; or maybe wait and see if Portland’s European connection gets them in.