The Ventete aH-1 is an inflatable bicycle helmet, designed primarily for urban cyclists looking for a space-saving solution when it's not in use.
It employs a structured air-chamber design, which is said to be safer than a traditional foam construction, while offering improved breathability.
The main benefit of such a design is it deflates, compressing down to around 3.5cm thick when not in use. In theory, this makes it easier to carry around, or stash away in between rides, and better suited to 'spontaneous use'.
The helmet is supplied with a co-branded MiniFumpa USB-C rechargeable electronic pump, which connects to a Presta valve housed on the side of the helmet.
The aH-1 costs £350, available direct from Ventete's website.
Safer and more breathable than foam?
Ventete says its patented ‘pneumatic structural system’ gives the aH-1 greater impact-absorption ability and compression depth than foam-based helmets.
This is based around a unique choice of textiles and structural welding techniques, which provide an airtight and structurally strong framework of 11 chambers when inflated.
A nylon-based main fabric is used, which is said to be abrasion and puncture-resistant, with protective polymer ribbing lending additional structure and protection.
Since leather helmets were consigned to the history books decades ago, EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam has been the material of choice. Helmets are usually made in moulds, with the polystyrene expanded to fill the cavities.
As technology has advanced, manufacturers have moved from gluing smaller sections together to creating larger single pieces. These are sometimes reinforced with internal supports, and/or designed with additional safety features in mind, such as MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System).
Ventete claims the aH-1’s inflatable design exceeds the CE and UKCA safety certification (EN1078) governing helmets, while independent testing at Imperial College London’s HeadLab revealed it mitigates “linear and rotational” impacts “significantly better” than conventional foam helmets.
The brand doesn’t say whether the reference foam helmets were equipped with MIPS, or any other impact-protection system, such as Koroyd, KinetiCore and Wavecel.
An additional claimed benefit is improved 'breathability' compared to foam helmets, whereby the combination of the air-filled helmet body and RHEON energy-absorbing padding nodules enable air to pass over the head more easily.
It says testing carried out by the Swiss Federal Lab for Material Science demonstrated the 'convective cooling performance' (the ability for cool air to pass over the head, replacing warmer air) was as effective as riding with a bare head in certain circumstances.
Sounds great, but there are catches
I’ve been hands-on with the Ventete aH-1 for a few weeks, and while early impressions reveal promise, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
The collapsible design is certainly useful when packing the helmet away, and it’s handy that an electric pump is supplied (which can usefully double as a pump for your bike’s tyres – it's practically universal, given it comes with a Schrader adaptor alongside the default Presta valve compatibility).
This goes a small way to justifying the steep price tag. The equivalent MiniFumpa pump would cost £109 on its own, leaving £241 for the helmet itself.
That price remains a hefty investment though, for a lid that weighs 465g on our scales.
Conventional bike helmets around this price can weigh around 150-200g less, while the pump is another 187g – something that will need carrying around if you intend to deflate it at the end of your ride, assuming you don't have a compatible pump there.
The Presta valve is also oriented almost flush against the helmet, which doesn’t offer enough space to easily attach the pump outlet because the helmet’s structure is quite firm.
So far, I’ve found I need to push it onto the valve at an angle, which has already slightly bent the Presta valve’s pin (an inherent design flaw of the Presta valve, which Schwalbe’s Clik Valve has recently sought to solve). It inflates in around 30 seconds though, as claimed.
Initially, I found the inflated shape to be uncomfortably narrow, but this has eased a little with a dozen or so inflations – it’s reasonable to surmise that the unfixed nature of the aH-1 helmet requires some ‘bedding in’. It now sits more naturally on my head, compared to when I first used it.
It’s worth noting that cranial adjustment is possible, via a set of low-profile Velcro tabs, while the helmet is secured by a standard click-clip.
Availability and pricing
The Ventete aH-1 is available now, via the brand’s website. It costs £350, including the bundled MiniFumpa pump.
I’ll be keeping hold of my Ventete aH-1 for a while as I look to see how the design holds up to regular use.
Leave a comment below to let us know what you think of the Ventete aH-1, and if you’d like to see a full review in the near future.
