The Kask Elemento is the Italian brand’s new range-topping helmet, swooping in to sit at the top of the brand’s line-up despite Kask recently updating both its Kask Protone Icon and Utopia Y helmets.
The Elemento debuts two technologies which Kask dubs Fluid Carbon 12 and Multipod.
Fluid Carbon 12 refers to panels of carbon composite incorporated into the helmet shell that Kask says improve impact energy distribution, while Multipod is a system of 3D printed pads installed inside the helmet that apparently act as rotational impact protection. Appropriately, Kask says the Elemento has achieved a 5-star rating in Virginia Tech’s independent test protocol.
Kask says the novel combination of the Elemento’s features improve aerodynamic efficiency despite gains in breathability and comfort.
A size medium weighs a claimed 260g and costs £335 / €375 / $400 / AU$650. To the best of our knowledge, this makes it the most expensive road cycling helmet on the market. That apparently hasn’t been much of a deterrent, though – Kask says it has received 15,000 pre-orders for the Elemento so far.
Fluid Carbon 12
Kask has introduced a new technology in the Elemento that it calls Fluid Carbon 12, which comprises the black panels on the helmet shell. Kask says these panels are capable of absorbing more energy from an impact than traditional materials, and are then able to distribute this energy more evenly across the helmet.
‘Fluid Carbon 12 is a thermoplastic that is 30% carbon fibre,’ says Luca Viano, Kask’s director of product. ‘However, these fibres are 20mm in length, which is significantly longer than the normal fibres used in thermoplastics like this, which tend to be around 2mm in length.’
‘The long fibres create a structure like a cage or a net, which better protects from impact but also distributes the energies from one side of the helmet to the other, attenuating them better.’
Kask says the Fluid Carbon 12 technology also allows for better breathability.
‘The inclusion of Fluid Carbon 12 let us remove some of the EPS in the shell. As Fluid Carbon 12 takes up less space, there is more room for air circulation, so the Elemento’s ventilation has been improved despite the helmet’s vents being decreased in size, which also improves aerodynamics too,’ says Viano.
Viano says that the Elemento keeps the rider’s head 0.26 deg C cooler, and on a full-body mannequin in a wind tunnel the design tested 1.5% faster compared to the Protone.
Multipod
The second major tech concept Kask has introduced is a series of 3D printed structures that form part of the helmet’s internal padding.
Called Multipod, Kask says this technology allows the helmet to better withstand linear and rotational impacts, and was conceived thanks to its WG11 rotational impact test.
‘We focussed on what nature does when it tries to protect itself,’ says Viano.
‘We gave particular attention to the shear dislocation [where the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the skull – called diffuse axonal injury]. This is important with rotational impact to give the brain extra time, so we worked on compressing and sliding, and came up with a completely new structure which was only possible due to new 3D design software.
‘The Multipod is designed to work as an open cell foam, and the way it protects is by sliding and compressing, offering 10% more absorption than a typical helmet material.’
Kask says the Multipod works in an isotropic way, so it does the exact same thing regardless of the direction of the force applied to it.
The brand also adds that the Elemento received a five star rating from Virginia Tech, namely thanks to the Multipod technology.
Elemento development
Kask has been working with the Ineos Grenadiers since 2010 (when they were known as Team Sky) and the brand says this partnership has been crucial for the development of its products, in particular the Elemento.
According to the brand, the idea for the Elemento was born on a winter training camp in Mallorca in 2020, when Ineos and Kask were discussing a potential new Protone model. The discussion ended up with Kask deciding to create the Elemento.
To develop such a helmet, Kask says it underwent rigorous research and development with the help of Ineos.
‘Our main focus was to try and find the outlier,’ explains Luca Oggiano, principal aerodynamicist at Ineos Grenadiers.
‘In any type of product development people focus on the fish and not the fishing rod. This specific time we tried to buy a lot of fishing rods in order to get the better fish.’
Ambiguous fish analogies aside, the process involved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), thermal simulations, inflow monitoring as well as the usual wind-tunnel testing.
‘Instead of running simulations in the old way which was time consuming, we streamlined the process, in a fully automated way using CFD,’ says Oggiano.
‘We wanted to understand not just the aero drag, but also how much the head was being pulled by the air passing through the helmet. We also wanted to try to increase the cooling in front of the helmet.’
What about recycling?
When previously chatting to Kask about the question of recycling helmets and using recyclable materials, Kask said that the industry is not far enough along for this to be possible.
‘It not a justification just the reality of things,’ explained Viano.
‘We tried to certify a helmet which is made out of recycled material, it did well at the pre-testing but the notified body asked us for a document that would guarantee that the performance of the material will remain the same over time, but we cannot guarantee this.
‘We asked the manufacturer and the manufacturer said we can tell you that the performance will be very similar, but we cannot guarantee that they will be the same because the source of the material is random.’
Despite this, Kask is aiming to move towards using recycled materials in the future. It’s also conscious of keeping production as close to home as possible.
‘We do everything within a 5km radius,’ adds Viano. ‘We have a 100% localised production and we are very proud of that. Also, because we use 3D printing to create the Multipod material for the Elemento, this means we have no leftover material as you would do with a normal helmet.’
Other details of the Elemento
Kask says its latest helmet is similar to the Protone in terms of shape, but very different elsewhere, and is less aero than the Utopia.
The Elemento does not feature Kask’s trademark leather chin strap, instead it has the Ineos Grenadiers ‘ultra-lightweight’ chinstrap.
‘The leather strap is something our customers really like but in this case it was just about marginal gains, the saving is about 1.7g – less than 2g,’ says Viano.
Like the Kask Utopia Y, the Elemento has the Octofit+ adjustment system.
It also has some reflective graphics as well as merino wool internal padding in addition to Multipod, which Kask says adds comfort and improves thermoregulation.
The Elemento is available in black, white, beetle green, blue, red, and silver.
Elemento first ride review
Riding around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza – known as the temple of speed – it was easy to appreciate at least some of the benefits of the Elemento.
Despite its understated vent layout, the Elemento felt airy and comfortable to wear, so much so I barely noticed it was on.
The fit is faultless thanks to the Octofit+ system, which I was already a fan of based on previous experience reviewing Kask’s Utopia Y helmet
The Multipod is slightly squidgy but still reasonably firm to the touch and feels lighter and less dense compared to conventional padding. I liked how it felt on my head and look forward to seeing more helmets include this technology.
While the short test ride I had made it impossible to confidently quantify and/or qualify Kask’s claims, it was clear to me that Kask has made some meaningful steps forward in helmet design and implemented them successfully in the Elemento.
Regardless of the helmet’s performance though, at £335, its price is something to behold. I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay that much for a helmet, but then again, perhaps the innovative safety tech makes it a good investment.