The road is a rich olfactory experience behind the handlebars of a motorcycle. That can be a great thing; the smell of a log fire, or ocean surf, or pine forest can definitely enhance your day. On other occasions, such as overtaking a truck full of sheep, you can really wish you were in the nasally safer environment of a car.
It's a depressing fact, though, that urban air quality is absolutely awful in some cities, around certain times of year – a point that's driven home in abundance when you find yourself too close to a lorry exhaust sitting at the lights. Exhaust fumes and pollution can be actively bad for your health, as well as just unpleasant, and Indian company Shellios has come out with a motorcycle helmet for the times we're living in.
The Puros is a full-face lid with an air intake on the back, and a battery-powered fan that blows that air through a HEPA filter, then around to your face. It claims to remove more than 99% of PM 2.5 particles from the air you're breathing, while also reducing visor fogging. The company says independent tests show it reduces pollution exposure by more than 80%.
Shellios doesn't list the weight of the helmet, or indeed how long the battery lasts. But it's USB-chargeable, it looks like a mulleted mohawk, and there's a single button on the back right of the bucket to turn the fan on and off.
It's only certified under Indian helmet standards at this point, so not currently a product for global riders, but it's certainly the sort of thing that could make a positive difference to your general health if you do lots of miles in smoggy cities, or indeed riding next to sheep trucks.
Shellios is selling them for 4500 rupees (US$56), delivered anywhere in India – which is a fair bit cheaper than getting yourself a Tesla with "bioweapon defence mode."
Source: Shellios
