Ribcap Jackson

Funny where reviewing takes you. If it wasn't for the Ribcap Jackson, I'd never have heard of Reynolds' Dilatancy. Nothing to with the tubing company, nor the sort of thing that makes your doctor blush. It's the tendency of various materials to thicken when put under 'shear stress' - what you and I would call impact - and it was first observed by Osborne Reynolds. It's what makes the ingenious Ribcap Jackson effective.

Before we go any further, a couple of ground rules. First: no helmet debate. Second: no helmet debate (good luck with that - ed).

OK, phew. The Ribcap Jackson, then, is a beanie-like soft hat, with a little peak and ear protection, not too far away from a traditional winter cap. It's covered with a Merino mix outside and a fleecy inside, and each of the panels, thicker than a normal cloth hat, is filled with one of these clever materials. Under normal conditions, it's squashy and flexible, but put under sudden impact, it hardens: a crash helmet beanie we have.

The hat is pretty comfy, and warm, with a small reflective strip on the back, and it has an optional chinstrap to keep it secure. You can't really simulate the effects of a crash and I'm pleased to say that I didn't have any need to test the dilatancy out. But the hat's protective properties are CE-approved, and you can see on this Gadget Show clip (around two minutes in) it in action on some melons.

It's a lot more enlightening than the Ribcap site, which has weird picture of some wiggly lines to explain how dilatancy works. Maybe it's better in German (the company is Swiss).

It's important to note as we did in our initial look at Ribcap products that it isn't intended to provide the same protection as a hard lid, or meet stringent Snell certification. It's obviously not suited for your weekend club run, but for urban cycling - as well as leisure riding, snowboarding and other things - it will go some way to keeping your melon safe.

I suppose this is where the helmet debate comes in, dammit: would this be a viable replacement around town for a traditional helmet? Well, as I've already said, the protection's not quite the same, and there are any number of reasons why people decide not to wear a helmet when commuting - convenience and looks probably being two of the major ones. The Ribcap Jackson is certainly more convenient than a hard lid: it can be folded and stashed in a bag or even a large pocket, like a beanie, when you're not using it. And the aesthetics of it? Frankly when wearing this I felt a little silly. Though it's not that bulky, it still made me feel like a bit of a bulb-head. There are some lovely publicity pics of the Ribcap, but there's no way I looked that cool. So if dorkiness is your main reason for not wearing a helmet, then this may not convince you otherwise. But it's a well made, useful piece of kit, using some ingenious technology, that will undoubtedly make its users' heads safer.

Verdict

A curiosity, but anything that adds to the range of safety options can only be a good thing.