The saga of the Sikh helmet has an interesting new development. You see there have been many times that Sikhs have petitioned to be exempt from traditional helmet laws be it on bicycle or motorcycles.
If the law is adjusted for Sikhs half the Sikh population applauds it as an advancement for Sikh identity and the other half bemoans that Sikhs are endangering themselves for pride with helmets being safer for head impacts than turbans.
Who knew that it would be a famous company that would step in with a possible solution. Harley Davidson has just released the 'Tough Turban'. That might sound like a gimmick but it turns out that Harley has put in a lot of work with this invention.
Harkening to old traditions of turban trying by warriors who would incorporate chain mail into the turban to protest against arrows or sword impacts, the 'Tough Turban' uses modern technology to possibly achieve the safety that a helmet offers for road accidents.
"We celebrate the right to ride wearing a turban. Inspired by the recent helmet law exemption in Ontario, we used the latest innovations in protective gear to create a new option for turban-wearing riders.
We’re sharing open-source designs of our prototype so the Tough Turban can be available around the world. It’s our way of celebrating freedom of expression, and the freedom of the open road."
"We took a look at some plastic options to be able to create a chainmail-like matrix that would be able to be incorporated into the traditional feeling turban. So the Dyneema is used in bulletproof clothing. We started to look at non-Newtonian foams. One of the real exciting aspects of the foam is that it hardens on impact, so it really helps dissipate impact and protest the rider."
The Sikh riders attest that it feels like a regular turban once tied. Harley is making a point to open source the design they have come up with. Now that they have broken new ground we will see if there are is future testing or models to carry on with the idea of a modern technology protective turban.
Thank you Harley Davidson.
Very cool stuff!