The Morpher Bike Helmet Folds Flat to Fit in Your Bag

There's no excuse for not wearing a helmet when you're riding a bike. In a crash, a helmet can reduce the cyclist's chances of serious head injury by nearly 70 percent. But for many riders, lugging a bulky piece of safety gear around with them after they reach their destination doesn't seem worth the hassle. An inventor from the UK realized this, and came up with Morpher, a helmet that offers a more convenient alternative.

According to CNET, Jeff Woolf developed the product after surviving a bike crash. He owed his life to the helmet he'd been wearing, and he wanted to give more cyclists that same protection. The idea behind Morpher is that more riders will be willing to wear a helmet if they have a place to put it before and after their journey. When collapsed, the headgear is about as thick as a textbook and can slide easily into backpacks, messenger bags, laptop cases, and other carriers that bikers may have had with them anyway. When they're ready to get back on the road, they can snap it back into a helmet that's just as safe as the traditional accessory.

Morpher is built with patented folding technology. Just like a conventional helmet, the item is made from protective foam and hard plastic. The foam is held together by a network of flexible links inside the crown. When the helmet's not being worn, the links work like the spine of book and allow the segmented plastic to fold flat. Internal magnets keep the collapsed helmet fixed in place until it needs to be popped back into its wearable form.

Following a successful crowdfunding on Indiegogo in 2013, Morpher is now retailing online for $149.

Check out the pitch from the creator in the video below before deciding if you want to make it part of your commute.

[h/t CNET]