UNIT 1 FARO: Sleek, Visibility-First Smart Helmet
 |
| UNIT 1 FARO: Sleek, Visibility-First Smart Helmet |
Smart Helmet Review in 2021
Helmets aren’t exactly stylish, we get it - add some lights and it only gets worse.
So we set out to design an urban helmet that is safe, comfortable & ventilated but also sleek & stylish. Every inch of this thing was thought out like a proper product, including the lights: they were integrated in a way that they’re truly part of the helmet.
Cycling accidents on the street are often caused by lack of visibility and unclear communication: drivers and other riders not seeing you well enough or not knowing what you’re going to do next.
FARO has powerful front & rear lights to ensure you get noticed.
This is what we call 'Active Safety': a helmet that works for you all the time (not just if/when you crash) by making you visible and helping to avoid accidents in the first place.
And what about cycling lights? Well, they help, for sure! But 80% of riders who use cycling lights still don’t feel safe. Why? Because they’re small and sit quite low. On top of that, they are easily lost, forgotten or even stolen! FARO's lights sit at eye level and are much larger & more visible.
Every FARO was designed up to International Certification standards. To take it up a notch, we partnered up with MIPS - a Swedish company at the forefront on helmet safety - to take FARO to the next level in terms of safety.
Take that, regular helmets:
Tear-proof, Water-proof fabric that looks & feels amazing. But wait! It’s hiding something...
So how do you put lights on a helmet without making it look like sci-fi? You cover them up with a classy fabric liner. During the day you rock that fabric that looks & feels amazing. At night...the magic happens.
Take FARO from Visibility to Visibility + Communication: let drivers and other riders know what you're up to!
Why is this an add-on?
Cycling is very different for everyone. The cycling infrastructure in your city, how experienced of a rider you are, your equipment...it all comes into play. We talked to over 300 riders from London, Copenhagen, L.A, Hong Kong & Berlin and their opinions on Turn Signals were split: many requested the feature while many others assured they wouldn’t use it.
Since we don’t want half of you guys stuck with (and paying for) an accessory you don’t want, we decided to make it an Add-on and as a bonus, make the helmet itself more affordable.
This won’t be your typical Companion App.
We’ve put in a ton of functionality in there that will let you personalize your helmet in every way and even measure & track what your riding does for the environment (as opposed to driving).
We partnered up with these guys to develop it.
*App is currently under development.
From your office outfit, to casual everyday clothes to a night out with friends, FARO will work with your outfit, not against.
The electronics are fully sealed and the fabric - in case you were wondering - is the same fabric used on bluetooth speakers you can thrown in the pool.
*Based on internal testing. Final Certifications will happen after tooling.
Our 3 sizes can accommodate a wide range of heads and make sure everyone gets a snug, comfortable fit. Remember, the fitting system will get you that final 5% to reach perfect fit.
Here's a quick & dirty overview of our latest prototype.
Very DIY, yes...but we wanted a good honest peek into it!
UNIT 1 is an American Company built by a team of designers, engineers & entrepreneurs committed to creating amazing products that make an impact.
We’ve designed, developed, manufactured & shipped thousands of our ski & snowboard helmets around the globe - we are ready to do it again.
This is not our first rodeo - we have a long standing relationship with our (very) experienced manufacturing & logistics partners and we feel FARO couldn’t be in better hands.
