Product Review: Forcite MK1 smart helmet

The carrot of futuristic smart helmets has been dangled in front of us for some years now, but nothing has yet come close to the promises made…until now, that is.

Forcite launched its MK1-Prototype helmet in 2019, leading to the release of its first commercially available helmet, the Founders Edition, as a way to gauge rider interest in such a ground breaking product. Only 1000 were made, 700 of which sold online in the first 48 hours.

As I write this Forcite have sold out of their second production run of what is now known simply as the MK1, but by the endof 2021 there will be bulk stock available as well as opportunities for potential customers to demo the product before ordering. In the interim the team is working on upgrades to the lid itself as well as to the app.

Tech aside, the helmet itself is just gorgeous. It's full carbon with a very cool matte finish and I'm reliably informed that the shell has been fabricated by a manufacturer with many decade's experience. One look tells you this is not a product where corners have been cut.

What makes the MK1 truly unique, is that it is the only smart helmet with an ECE 22.05 certification. That means that it can legally be worn in Australia and Europe – a significant achievement for a helmet with a camera built into the chin.

Aside from all that, what can all those smarts do for you?

Well, the list is long, and the helmet can actually tell you all about itself if you run the inbuilt demo-mode. Have a look at the attached video to see it in operation. However, let's go over things in more detail.

Forcite's server system gathers all the available information available about traffic conditions, road hazards, accident reports, speed camera locations, police presence and even approaching bad weather which it then relays to the app on your phone. The app then sends this information to the helmet via Bluetooth. The info is displayed via a head-up display and through the excellent inbuilt speakers.

The information is not projected onto the back of the visor but rather a horizontal LED light-bar along the bottom of the visor opening which lights up in various ways to communicate the hazards around. My favourite the blue and red flashing ‘police reported’ notification.

Not only that but the app will also do turn-by-turn navigation which is relayed via the speakers and backed-up by corresponding left or right green indicators. If you choose to mount your phone on the handlebars you can also watch a top-down map of your current position and route. As I was initially riding a ZX-10R, with literally no available handlebar space, I chose to ride with the phone in my pocket and just rely on the helmet to guide me. It works absolutely fine.

As if all that wasn't enough, you can also make and take phone calls as well as communicate with other Forcite helmets in your vicinity. You can listen to your favourite playlist too, if that's your thing.

On top of all that there's a flush-mounted HD camera and noise cancelling microphone built into the chin guard which records to a micro SD card in the helmet itself. This can work as a regular dash-cam but of course is super useful if you're a video blogger of any kind and, crucially, is the only helmet mounted camera that you could wear on a track in this country. The quality of the 1080p 60fps image is excellent, even in low light, and it's all operated by a chunky bar-mounted controller that is easy to manipulate even wearing thick gloves.

If you forgive the terrible pun you really have to take your hat off to the team at Forcite. I can't emphasise enough what great quality this thing is and the amount of detailed thought that's gone into its design and production. As a standalone helmet it appears to be every bit as good as the competition and all the onboard tech takes it to another level.

Let's not pretend this is a cheap solution (at $1200), but if you are in the market for a top quality carbon lid, plus you want an action camera (about $500) and a comms system (about $400), buying an integrated package such as this must surely be the way to go and makes the helmet part of the equation cost about four hundred bucks…a bargain in my book.

Oh, and holding the camera icon on the controller down for six seconds bulk erases the memory card…if you get my meaning.