July, 2012

“I didn’t see you” is usually the first thing car drivers say after hitting a scooter, assuming of course that they bother to even stop. Doing as much as you can to improve your visibility when riding is a critical component of safe riding. I’m a bid fan of Hi-Viz vests, jackets and the like and now local girl Nanci Aeilts has added helmet skins to her Hot Glue and Paint website. They certainly add a dimension of LOOK HERE to one’s riding attire. We asked local scooterist Karrie Vrabel to try one out and here’s what se had to say.

I have the Swirlie Girlie helmet skin on my 3/4 scooter helmet. The pros to having a helmet skin are that it can express your personality whenever you choose to slide it over your helmet. You can choose the fabric, jewels, the theme such as animal, mohawk or a tame design. It has an elastic band that fits snug around the helmet, never shifting and it is very easy to apply. The helmet skin provides more visibility when riding due to the reflective tape and if you so desire, a mohawk definitely turns heads. My 3/4 helmet is weathered so the skin covers up scratches and discolorations. The skins are durable and can withstand being submerged in water. The mohawk retained its shape even after I bent down the spikes.

I received lots of looks while on the scooter and when I was carrying it around. People smiled and found humor in the fun nature of it. Having a skin on your helmet definitely provides an identity change if one is desired. The skin is so easy to apply and remove that you can change it on a daily basis.  Be careful on windy days though if you choose the mohawk design. I felt a small drag from the wind on the top of my helmet. Now if we can just get the designer to make seat covers to match the helmet skins.

Karrie Vrabel