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Helmets
Yakkay Smart Helmet with Tokyo Jazz coverYakkay helmet

Yakkay Smart Helmet with Tokyo Jazz cover

8
by Lara Dunn
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Jun 16, 2010

8
£90.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Stylish head protection for those who dislike the look of standard cycle helmets
Weight: 
492g
Contact: 
www.yakkay.com
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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A helmet for those who don’t like traditional lids, the natty head protectors from Danish company Yakkay are all based around a straightforward crash helmet with a range of funky covers to choose from to make them look, well, less helmet like.

The Tokyo takes the form of a Trilby-esque hat, which simply pops on over the CE certified Yakkay ‘Smart’ helmet with an elastic edge and Velcro tab keeping it secure. Other covers in the range include a Russian Tsarina furry effort (Luzern), a raffish Oxbridge style cap (Cambridge, funnily enough) or a casual sporting cap (Paris). All come in a choice of colours/patterns to match your personal style.

Inner helmets come in three sizes, small (53-55cm) medium (55-57cm) or large (57-59cm), with further adjustment in the form of stick-on padded circles. Plenty of these are provided allowing for reasonable levels of customization. The chin strap is comfortable and easily adjustable.

In use, the helmet is comfortable but runs warm. The use of one of the covers means the air holes at the top of the helmet are covered over, and whilst the design is supposed to result in air being ‘pushed into the helmet, and pleasantly cool down your head’, the reality was a little on the sweaty side. The other issue was that at speed, the brim of the hat tended to catch the wind and pull the helmet upwards.

Essentially, though, this is a helmet for the fashion conscious, genteel pedaller, who’s probably wearing normal day wear rather than cycling clothing and who has no intention of working up a sweat. As such, the above factors become a non-issue. Sportier riders could wear the helmet ‘naked’ but that would defeat the object wouldn’t it?

Verdict

Funky and stylish protective headwear for those who dislike the look of normal helmets.

Best limited to laid back cruising around town rather than sportive riding.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Yakkay Smart helmet with pink jazz cover

Size tested: M

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
6/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes. For casual and style orientated riders.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

Yakkay Smart helmet with pink jazz cover
Yakkay
Yakkay helmet
Helmet cover
Commuter helmet
Lara Dunn

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

Add new comment

8 comments

Avatar
JJ the Flying D... | 13 years ago
0 likes

That is amazing!

Avatar
t1mmyb | 13 years ago
0 likes

I guess what Mikael's getting at is: fine, make helmets more attractive if you want, but has there been any testing to ensure that this doesn't make the rotational injury problem *worse*?

I'm sure there are plenty of helmetco execs who'd love to hoover up some more of the current non-helmet wearing cyclist population (the ones who don't wear one for cosmetic, rather than political reasons).

The Fear Industry is a lucrative one. How many times have finance industry telesales people tried to upsell you more insurance policies? This is no different.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

What fixing is used to keep the cover on the helmet?

It isn't really fixed on at all. it stretches over and is held on by an elasticated band and a bit of velcro

Avatar
t1mmyb | 13 years ago
0 likes

"I think that... companies that produce fabric-covered helmets should be required to produced comprehensive evidence from laboratory tests that show without a doubt that they do not increase the already worrying risk of brain injury."
-- http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/05/yakkay-viva-helmets.html

Avatar
dave atkinson replied to t1mmyb | 13 years ago
0 likes
t1mmyb wrote:

"I think that... companies that produce fabric-covered helmets should be required to produced comprehensive evidence from laboratory tests that show without a doubt that they do not increase the already worrying risk of brain injury."
-- http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/05/yakkay-viva-helmets.html

so a helmet with a loose cover is more likely to produce a rotational injury? surely the fact that the cover isn't attached to the helmet makes this less likely, not more. if not, then why have Lazer gone to all this trouble?

Avatar
t1mmyb replied to dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

surely the fact that the cover isn't attached to the helmet makes this less likely, not more.

What fixing is used to keep the cover on the helmet?

Quote:

why have Lazer gone to all this trouble?

Cynical answer: to make more money, as is their prerogative as a commercial entity.

Non-cynical answer: I'm sure they're interested in making safer helmets, and out-innovating their competition.

It's very hard, however, to separate that from the commercial imperative to keep selling people things that they already have last year's model of.

Avatar
jezzzer replied to dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
dave_atkinson wrote:

why have Lazer gone to all this trouble?

all that trouble, and they didn't think to look up how to spell guarantee.

Avatar
Tim 50cycles | 13 years ago
0 likes

Great to see road.cc review the Yakkay helmets. We've been selling them for a couple of years now at http://www.50cycles.com/yakkay-helmets.php and have the full range available. We sell them for £90 including UK delivery.

We also have a selection to try for size at http://www.50cycles.com/london-electric-bikes.shtml our new 50cycles London shop in Richmond. The most popular styles over the past year have been:

Paris Army Velvet
The Tokyo Jazz reviewed here
Paris Herringbone
Tokyo leaves

We also sell the helmet without a cover and spare covers to fit on your helmet. There are also ear warmers you can attach to the straps either side.

They fit well with our range of electric bikes for precisely the reasons described here - you're less likely to exert yourself enough that overheating will be a problem on an assisted cycle.

Sadly the furry Luzern style was an ultra-limited edition and we've not seen it since Winter 2007-2008.

http://www.50cycles.com/yakkay-helmets.php

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