Fold-up paper cycle helmet wins James Dyson Award

Innovative fold-away bike helmet made from recyclable paper wins the coveted International James Dyson Award

EcoHelmet

(Image credit: EcoHelmet)

A fold-away, recyclable waterproof paper bicycle helmet has won the International James Dyson Award in recognition of its design and innovation.

The EcoHelmet was conceived by New York Pratt Institute of Design graduate Isis Shiffer, and features a radial honeycomb design that can be neatly folded away. It is claimed to offer the same level of protection as a regular polystyrene helmet.

"I was lucky enough to be studying at Royal College of Art and the Imperial College of London for a semester, and was granted access to Imperial’s crash lab," said Shiffer.

"They had a European standard helmet crash setup that allowed me to gather enough data on EcoHelmet’s proprietary honeycomb configuration to know it was viable and worth developing."

The helmet uses paper coated with a biodegradable waterproofing, that Shiffer says will resist rain for up to three hours.

All of the helmet's component parts are recyclable, and cheap to manufacture making it ideal for use at bike share stations, such as London's Cycle Hire. Each helmet could cost the user only around $5 (around £4) and one size will fit all users.

>>> Inflatable bike helmet reduces crash impact by ‘six times that of traditional helmet’

Shiffer will receive £30,000 as part of the award to use in developing the helmet further.

The award is part of the James Dyson Foundation's work, spearheaded by the British designer and inventor.

"EcoHelmet solves an obvious problem in an incredibly elegant way," said Dyson. "But its simplicity belies an impressive amount of research and development. I look forward to seeing EcoHelmets used in bike shares across the world."

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.