After the 2011 earthquake, many people here realized how important it is to prepare an emergency kit, just in case. Probably they bought some emergency food or a flashlight, but I guess they couldn't save extra time or space preparing a helmet. Neither could I.
For those who haven't bought a helmet yet, the BLOOM folding helmet for emergency purposes, sold by Toyo Safety, might be a worthwhile product.
You can keep BLOOM as it's folded, and you can pull a string connected to the helmet and shape it like a helmet in a state of emergency. Anyone, including kids, can use it easily.
BLOOM won the Good Design Award 2013. Price: About 4,000 yen Color: White, Orange, Gray, Lime Weight: 430g
Source: AkihabaraNews
© Japan Today
6 Comments
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Jeff Ogrisseg
What a brilliant idea! A quarter of my desk drawer space is taken up by a regular safety helmet. Gray seems like a poor color choice for emergency headgear.
soldave
Does it conform to EN397, ANSIZ89, EN50365, or the Japanese equivalent?
Snolygoster
I seriously doubt it conforms to any safety certification levels. But as we all know, what's important is that you're "wearing a helmet."
JohnBecker
Whether it conforms to any of the standards soldave mentions or not, it's probably better than having no protection at all. It appears that it's not being marketed as a motorcycle helmet or anything like it.
This more complete article shows that the BLOOM is more of a hard hat than a helmet. http://www.designboom.com/design/bloom-helmet-unfolds-for-speedy-emergency-evacuation-10-24-2013/
ebisen
I keep my hardhat under the office desk, filled with emergency food and water. Therefore it takes no space.
sensei258
It's gotta work better than those fabric hoods our kids wore at hoikuen during the big quake.