Be Seen and Safe With POC’s AVIP Collection

POC made a splash in 2014 when they announced a partnership with the Garmin-Sharp, now Cannondale-Garmin, through the 2016 season. The Swedish company provides the team with helmets and glasses that are pretty unique from other brands’ offerings.

POC takes a different approach to helmets, making protection just as important as ventilation and aerodynamics. On the Octal road helmet, they extend the coverage behind the ears and around the back of the helmet, something normally found in mountain bike helmets. Thicker EPS is strategically placed to provide additional protection underneath the one piece polycarbonate shell that wraps completely around the underside helmet edges.

Additionally, the Octal AVIP MIPS edition helmet is equipped with a Multi-directional Impact Protection System (MIPS) liner. This system allows the helmet to slide a small amount independently from the liner when you take an impact at an angle, which is more common of an impact than the traditional vertical drop test. This creates a system that is similar to your skull offering rigid protection, and cerebrospinal fluid that offers a small amount of friction free slippage to your brain.

POC has an even larger plan to keep you safe on your ride. The AVIP concept, or Attention, Visibility, Interaction, and Protection,  is a huge initiative by POC to study the factors that go into potentially deadly interactions with other road users, and how best to address what is in your control. Things like color, reflectivity, materials, finishes, and digital devices, are meshed with aerodynamics, ventilation, and the protection methods above, to create a line of products that hopes to revolutionize the riding experience and increase safety.

Something you’ll notice throughout the AVIP line is the bright orange and white colors. In their studies, POC found that these two colors quickly grabbed motorists attention in a wide variety of conditions and situations. Yes, the orange might look like a construction cone, but the departments of transportation picked that color for a reason, visibility.

POC wants you to concentrate on riding, so they have partnered with the folks at ICEdot to to let your helmet interact with your phone in case of a crash. The ICEdot sensor, which we previously reviewed and I continue to personally use and endorse, connects with your phone to alert contacts through multiple means in case of an emergency situation. The AVIP and AVIP MIPS versions of the Octal come with the ICEdot sensor that can be mounted into the rear opening of the helmet, along with a sticker that can be scanned by first responders to get your information quickly. Additional reflective stickers come with the helmet. The protection aspect of AVIP is culminates with the EPS liner mentioned above and the poly carbonate shell that wraps around it. All of the AVIP features transfer to the Octal Aero AVIP, POC’s aero road helmet, and the Cerebel AVIP time trial helmet.

Just because POC created helmets that are big on protection, doesn’t mean they aren’t aerodynamic or well ventilated. The Octal, and to an extent, the Octal Aero and Cerebel, use large vent openings to allow more air to flow through the helmet than those with smaller openings.

POC says that the larger ports also helped increase aerodynamics. Their WATTS Lab is in charge of the aerodynamics side of the business. The team includes the manager of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) at engineering firm Semcon AB, an aerodynamics specialist from Volvo, and proven on the road by the Cannondale-Garmin squad.  This is the team that came up with the design of the Cerebel and Tempor time trial helmets.

The AVIP concept doesn’t stop with helmets. The colors transfer to eye wear, clothing, and accessories in POC’s lineup. They added reflective printing to clothing, along with a “My Info” pocket on the back of the jersey for personal info and your cell phone.

To take things one step further, POC may have created road cycling’s first body armor. The AVIP Backprotection Jersey adds a removable Koroyd back pad to help reduce the impact on your spine in a crash. Koroyd is an open celled foam that collapses in a controlled manner in an impact, and helps to reduce the energy transferred to your body. You’ve probably heard of the material being used in the Forefront and Overtake helmets from Smith. The beauty of Koroyd is it is extremely breathable and lightweight, with a surface area of 92% air. That means that with the back plate, the increase in the weight of the jersey is negligible, and the reduction of ventilation is minimal, while adding increased protection.

So when you get ready for your next ride, take a look at your gear. Does it help you be seen by other road users? Does it offer protection in the event of a crash? Is it digitally integrated with your phone to communicate to your emergency contacts? If you said no to any of these, you might need to take a look at POC.

http://www.pocsports.com/