I have many blogs topics queued up and waiting for time to write. So far I haven’t posted anything about biking, but I’ve been planning to do write a bit about our fairly unusual bakfiets and such eventually. (That’s a Dutch term for “box-bike” and the easiest way of referring to our pedal assist cargo bike trike. Otherwise we call it The Thing or the Chariot of Smugness. More on that soon!) Today I’ll start with the new cycling portion of this blog by sharing some photos of the brand new for 2018 ‘Head in the Clouds’ patterned Baby Nutty helmet by Nutcase.
Recently we began biking again after a really long winter despite lingering chilly weather. I used to bike all winter to get my groceries, but this year I’ll be needing to get back into shape. Normally I can simply buckle Mini into a carseat in the bakfiets, but sometimes we will take our bikes to trails and need to to prepare by buying an infant seat and helmet for her. So far I haven’t gone for the seat, but I just picked up the helmet a couple of days ago. I’m not a helmet user, because I do not do the type of cycling that I personally deem it necessary for based on my own research and comfort level. In my state children must wear them, and I would rather she be protected at such a fragile size. For the youngest babies Nutcase is almost the only option, and that was fine by me since they have great helmets. They are rounded (instead of dangerously shaped with a jutting rear portion,) have a nifty magnetic buckle, and while mostly not my taste there are a lot of patterns on offer. The designs I like are all for larger helmets like the ‘Space Cat‘, ‘Timberline’, or ‘Constellations.’ The offerings for the Baby Nutty size did not appeal to me at all except the ‘Outerspace‘ one. They are just too colourful and bold for me, but I suppose most people think it is pretty nifty, (but a nicely plain metallic black or grey would be so wonderful!) The photos on their website do not do the helmets any justice as I discovered when I saw some in person. That’s why I linked to image searches above for the patterns I’ve mentioned, because they actually have a pretty metallic sheen. Anyway, I had planned for months that when the time came to purchase I’d choose the ‘Outerspace’ model.
A few days ago I noticed that Mini had grown some more, and I discovered that she had hit the 47cm head circumference required for a Baby Nutty. (There are a couple other helmets for infants but the minimum measurement is a bit larger, and I wasn’t considering them anyway due to appearance and features.) As it is finally warming up I decided to get the helmet and try to decide on a carrier (probably a Thule Yep Mini?) Now, it isn’t on the Nutcase website or offered on Amazon, but I found a new pattern for 2018 besides the ‘Happy Hearts‘ called ‘Head in the Clouds.’ I really liked it! The pattern is more subtle and light blue compliments Mini’s eyes, so I was happy to find a store nearby that said it was in stock. When I was at the store I actually found it difficult to choose between it and ‘outerspace,’ because the sheen of ‘outerspace’ is nicer in person while ‘head in the clouds’ looked slightly less elegant than I had thought and more childish. The light blue, for her eyes, won out over the cool factor of the space theme and metallic sheen but barely.
When we arrived home I wanted to check out the helmet. As soon as I brought the box over Mini went nuts with enthusiasm. Boxes are super entertaining! The helmet fascinated her too, and she was more joyfully playing with it than most anything I’ve let her play with. I’m not sure why she loved it so much, but it sure was cute.
I’d forgotten how large a head looks with all the extra foam, and beyond that the Baby Nutty is surprisingly and ridiculously huge! The shell of it is nearly as large as the youth or possibly even adult helmets despite the 47cm minimum for inside. Woah! As you can see in the photos it appears nearly as big as the baby. I’m not sure how soon we’ll actually try biking and using the helmet yet, but it is light. Mini has good head control, having begun holding it up on day three, but I’m still leery of the jostling on a bike. Some people apparently begin riding by six or nine months although helmet manufacturers cover their butts by stating “one year” as suitable. I need to research more. In any case I’d like to get her used to wearing it by trying it on for a little while every so often. Already she was never a fan of headwear and unties her hats as fast as I can tie the bow, so fingers crossed that there will be no tears or anything. The magnetic closure is really nifty, just as expected, and she will not be able to remove it. So, this is is just a first impression, but I like seeing people’s photos and thoughts of products when I research them, and I wanted to share this since I didn’t really find much on the new pattern. (Only that it is supposed to also include an upgraded safety feature? Mips? There is no indication of that on the packaging or helmet, and I saw a release date for May, so???)
Meanwhile I have been working on a lot of Alabama Chanin style sewing and will write more soon!
Here’s a video of Mini playing with the helmet.
domesticmonkey 