- This week on GCN Unboxing
we have a product with some cutting-edge new tech,
on two fronts actually and I cannot wait to get started.
As you can see, it's from Giro.
They're like a stalwart of the bike industry,
widely regarded as spearheading the movement
to create bike helmets that were not just effective,
but also wearable as well.
Of course they're range also has shoes and apparel then
as well and not just for cycling, skiing too.
Although this is very definitely, a cycling product.
It is their latest and greatest road-cycling helmet.
And this being GCN Unboxing of course,
not only are we going to perv at some hot new tech,
you're to get the opportunity to try and win one.
And not just one of you, three of you will win one.
Oh yes.
Now what does the latest and greatest road helmet look like?
Well, I'm gonna show you very shortly.
This is the Aether Mips helmet.
And if you're thinking that, crikey, that box has been
through the mill a bit. You kinda be right but its actually
been through the mail, look sent to us direct from
California and to be fair to it I look significantly worse
after stepping off a trans-Atlantic flight.
Although we'll leave the comparisons,
of me and cardboard boxes there shall we?
The reason I've left it in this box,
is for a very good reason.
It is an intrinsic part of unboxing,
it's also got a bit of a wow factor when you look inside,
and that sticker there,
yeah, that gives you a bit of a clue.
You ready?
(upbeat music)
Whoa yeah, look at that.
Look at that, custom. Oh yes.
Now what this means,
of course is that you are not going to recognize
the cutaway on this helmet.
Nice.
Now custom helmets, normally they're preserved
of the pro-athlete,
but now, it's custom that you,
can not only get your hands on,
but you can design yourself,
using Giro's Tuesday 25 program,
which is where, every week on a Tuesday,
25 people, you can see where that name comes from,
have their own custom Aether helmets actually
made real. Oh yes.
It's done on a first come, first serve basis
so therefore the first 25 designs submitted after
12 AM Pacific time then end up actually existing
and get sent to you through the post.
How do you do it?
Well you use the custom design app on
giro.com, there you go.
On there you can tailor such things as the color
of the shell in various different sections,
you can change the color of the retention system,
you can change the color of the straps,
you can change the color of the buckles,
you can even change the color of the logo.
In total, there are 805 million combinations, yeah.
And be warned, there are no limits on taste,
this is my design, yeah,
got the leopard print, a bit of digi camo,
some floro, pretty cool, huh?
Now unfortunately at the moment
Tuesday 25 is only available to people who live in
the US, but hey the program was only launched in
October and Giro says they hope to expand the boundaries
as the increase production capacity, so fingers crossed.
But to be fair, there's no reason to be sad anyway,
there's a whole load of exciting stuff to talk about
on a non-custom Aether Mips.
It was released last year and it is the first
bike helmet to feature the Mips system,
actually built into the very shell of the helmet,
it's called Mips spherical and it's unique to Giro.
Now Mips technology, if you didn't know,
was designed to try and reduce rotational forces
transferred to you brain in the even of a crash.
So as well as kind of straight on impact forces,
rotational forces, so kind of ones like that,
can also be particularly damaging to the brain,
and so Mips was designed with the aim of trying to
redirect some of that energy as kind of an additional
measure of brain protection.
Now up to now, Mips has always been added to a finished
helmet as kind of like an internal layer,
but here as I said it's built right into the core of
the helmet, we've got two layers,
and they're held together by a series of elastomers
and it allows the two shells to literally slip over
one another, isn't that cool?
(techno music)
In use, Giro says this can be more effective at reducing
internal sheer force at a greater number of angles,
and also it helps improve ventilation as well,
because you can get rid of that internal plastic Mips
lining that would otherwise be next to your head.
Now sticking with construction for a moment,
so as well as being made of two layers of EPS foam,
Giro also varied the density of that foam,
which therefore would have different properties.
Now as well as that lightweight, it also looks
really well ventilated not just because they'll
mostly get rid of that internal Mips liner,
but frankly because of those huge vents up front.
They give almost unobstructed air flow over your head
and then when you turn through to the inside,
you'll that that kind of works in tandem with those
internal channels there, the idea behind those
is that they actually keep air flowing over more
of your head.
- Perfect for you then sweat boy.
- What?
Now when you look there's just not that much material
to go on your head anymore,
part of that is down to this translucent archway
that spans the width of the helmet,
Giro have called it the aura and it's there to provide
additional structural reinforcement.
Now when we turn to the back of the helmet
you will see Giro's rock lock there.
It's now on it's fifth generation, would you believe?
I remember the first one fondly enough,
20 something years ago, as well as cradling the
helmet to your head you've also got vertical
adjustment on there and you can adjust the contact points
asymmetrically too which is kind of cool.
Now one last point to note, although we have left
some tech untouched here, there is a lot to talk about,
this little bit here and this little bit here,
which together are your dedicated eyewear docking ports,
yeah, so it keeps your glasses firmly in place if
you stick them in your helmet,
you can of course make do and stick your glasses
on the back of your head, but I always find
that when I've done that I need to give them a
through clean before they can go to my eyes.
Yes that is probably because I'm slightly sweaty.
Anyway, here is the super cool bit of all super
cool bits, not only are Giro giving away
three Aether Mips helmets that are customized,
they have said for one time only that they will
offer that customization to a winner, no matter
where in the world you might live,
which is amazing, and I think pretty cool of them.
So make sure you give them a big thumbs up for that,
and make sure you get your entry in as well,
to do so just click on the link in the description beneath
this video and you will get through to the competition
page and whatever you do,
the three of you that do get your customized helmets
please send in a photo because I really, really
want to see what you end up doing. Go nuts.
That's all I can say.
Right, say, do make sure you enter that competition,
give the video a big thumbs up,
and also if you want to watch something else right now
why not check out John's wicked video where he went
to check out Japanese keirin racing,
if nothing else you've got to feel for those
guys because they're helmets are like something
out of the dark ages.