LIVALL C20 Smart Helmet
£69.99
https://livall.co.uk/product/livall-c20/

As an office of cyclists, we are very conscious of the importance of safety on the road, and as we head deeper into winter, that thought is all the more on our minds. Back in the day, a sturdy helmet, some bike lights and some reflective strips were all you could hope for, but now, modern technology has opened up new doors. LIVALL’s first smart helmet launched in 2015, and they have kept updating the concept ever since. The LIVALL C20 Smart Helmet has been created to not only make you more visible on the road, but to enable you to communicate clearly with other road-users, which is another huge boost to your safety.

My first impression of the LIVALL C20 was its sleek, smooth finish. This is a really nice-looking helmet that manages to have a classic appearance whilst also looking a little sci fi. It feels sturdy, and when I popped it on, it was easy to adjust and sat very comfortably.

On turning the helmet on (yes, this is a helmet that needs to be turned on!), the first thing that sprung to my attention was its LED lights, which run in two strips along the front and the back for the sake of visibility, as well as giving off the helmet’s life-saving road signals. This helmet is able to detect when you slow down and responds by brightening both of its lights for three seconds, to make sure that surrounding traffic is aware of you. I gave this a test by asking my partner to wear it whilst she cycled down our road, and without fail, the lights got brighter when she put on the breaks! This is a brilliant feature and it makes me wonder why all helmets aren’t doing this now.

The best feature, though, in my opinion, has to be the fall detection and SOS alert system. Just as it can tell if you’re slowing down, this helmet knows if you fall, and will send an automatic SMS message to your emergency contacts to let them know, as well as your GPS location so they can come find you. To set up your emergency contacts, you need to first install the LIVALL Riding app, but this was nice and easy to do.

There is a 90 second count-down on the app before the SMS is sent, which was a nice touch, as this lets you cancel any false alarms (so your loved ones aren’t rushing to your aid every time you drop your helmet or take a harmless fall!) This is an amazing feature that does so much for peace of mind. Hopefully, you’ll never need it, but it’s reassuring to know that it’s there in case you do.

Another little detail that I liked was the helmet’s smart lighting capability – you can set it (using the app) to turn its lights on automatically whenever it’s dark, which is a very useful feature for someone as forgetful as me. You’re also protected against the lights being left on for too long – if your helmet has been disconnected from your phone and not moved for 15 minutes, it will turn its lights off, which protects you from waking up to a flat battery after leaving it on all night.

The C20 doesn’t have the most features I’ve ever seen in a smart helmet, but it has a number of brilliant ones that could make all the difference for your safety. The helmet is even compatible with Strava, iHealth and Siri, all via the app. This helmet is available in Ocean Blue or Midnight Black, and for its price, it is an incredibly useful cut-above the usual helmet.

Pros:
Smart lighting
Improved visibility
Fall detection
SOS alert
Auto on/off
Comfortable fit

Cons:
No music or road signal functions