Bridger Designs a Modular Helmet That Allows You to Change Shells Depending on the Conditions

You can easily adjust your bike's suspension, use a flip-chip to adjust its geometry, or change your eyewear lenses to suit bright or low light but, unless you have a removable chin bar, your helmet is pretty much set in one mode no matter where you ride it.

Hoping to change all that comes Bridger helmets. The brainchild of Ryan and Peter Eiler, the helmet is a modular design that allows you to change out the shell depending on the conditions you're riding in. At the moment, two shells are available that will appeal to mountain bikers, a vented summer lid and an insulated winter option that also comes with removable earpads. The shells both come in a variety of colours that can be mixed and matched to customise your helmet and attache with a clipping system with no tools required.


Ryan believes that most riders will want to change out shells when the weather drops below freezing but also says it really depends on the rider wearing the helmet. He said: "We developed a strong belief that helmets could work a lot harder than they do now - and frankly, we get bored of staring at the same old shell for years on end. Living in Boston, we've seen folks with some extraordinary, makeshift winter helmet setups - and I don't mean that in a good way. If you're riding in tar-melting heat, you can pop on the highly ventilated summer shell. If you're fat biking on a frigid day, the insulated shell and earpads go on in a snap to retain heat."

For protection, Bridger are using XRD foam combined with a harder foam on the outside of the helmet for a dual-density system. The XRD foam hasn't been widely used in mountain bikes but it is found in a number of high-end hockey helmets. XRD doesn't explicitly offer rotational protection like a MIPS or Wavecel system, but Peter says, "We dove deep into the research behind rotational impact technologies, and came to the conclusion that the optimal design should use those extra few millimeters of headspace for high-quality impact foam. The XRD foam has benefits which rotational systems can't provide, so I think we made the ideal choice from a safety point of view."


The helmet offers an extra safety feature as the foam can be inspected thanks to the removable shell. Peter believes many riders may be riding with compromised helmets but won't know because the damage is under the shell. The ability to easily remove the shell means riders can check the integrity of their helmet more often.

Bridger are hoping to launch the helmet in March via a Kickstarter and are hoping to deliver the helmets by fall. They're targeting a $195 price for a complete helmet including a shell at launch with additional shells an extra $30-40 on top of that.

More info, here.

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