Unit 1 Aura Mips helmet review: A smart, safety-first e-bike option

Smart cycle helmets have only existed for a little over a decade, but have quickly become a much-discussed sub-genre. Since emerging in the mid 2010s, pioneering brands have experimented with tech wizardry such as inbuilt heart-rate monitors and Bluetooth speakers.

None of these features has quite set the cycling world alight, but more recent models have focused on better visibility and enhanced safety features.

The whole smart-tech spiel might sound a bit Silicon Valley and will undoubtedly give the purists out there the ick, but the Unit 1 story does come from the heart.

Co-founder Francisco Abelleira resented wearing his “extremely ugly” helmet as a kid, so much so that one murky morning he snuck out without it and was subsequently hit by a car and woke up in hospital. 20 years later, he set out to make a helmet that was safe, visible and appealing to wear.

Following on from the Unit 1 Faro (the brand's 2020 debut), the Aura is a prime example of how the smart helmet has evolved from the somewhat gimmicky to the genuinely useful.

Having launched off the back of a $750,000 crowdfunding campaign, the helmet already had a group of 2,800 supporters eagerly awaiting its arrival; it's easy to see how the helmet's name came about. Post-launch, I’m sure it will have picked up some more fans along the way.

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Design and aesthetics 

Unit 1 set out with the intention of building one of the best e-bike helmets that is extremely safe without being "extremely ugly", and they appear to have absolutely nailed the brief when it comes to the former.

The Aura uses a host of smart features to maximise your visibility and keep you safer on the road. Most impressive of which are the LED lights.

When turned off, the lights sit nicely within the contours of the helmet and don’t impinge on the design. When turned on, they offer 350 lumens of front and rear visibility.

In terms of the overall aesthetic, Unit 1 has borrowed elements from urban-style commuter helmets while at the same time including large, linear ventilation more commonly found on traditional road or MTB lids. It’s a nice hybrid mix of the two styles and overall the Aura is a good looking helmet.

The Aura is definitely one of the bulkier urban helmets I’ve tested. My four-year-old son has affectionately taken to calling this my “horse-riding helmet”, and the visor does give off a certain equestrian energy. Despite this, Unit 1 has gone a long way to overcome the ugliness that co-founder, Francisco, was so keen to avoid.

To that point the Aura also comes in a nice range of colourways, including Maverick (pictured), plus the striking green and black Ranger and cool Stingray options.

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Components and build 

There is no doubting the Aura’s position as a very smart helmet. Connecting to the Unit 1 app allows you all manner of customisation and control over your lights, which can switch between modes that get you from a 3-hour run time (full power solid) to 30 hours (beacon mode at 50 per cent).

The app also allows you to pair up with the Unit 1 remote and smart lights. The remote attaches to your bars and allows you to indicate by pushing a button, with three different indicator modes to choose from (blinker, half sweep and full sweep). There is even an automatic brake light.

The brake light uses sensors within the remote that can tell when the bike is slowing down, which subsequently tell your lights to change mode. Again, these modes can be chosen so as to make sure they can be differentiated from the helmet’s standard light mode. The sensitivity of the brake light trigger can also be changed so you’re not warning motorists unnecessarily.

The jury is still very much out when it comes to indicators on bikes. Although any additional raising of awareness when you’re about to make a turn is undoubtedly welcome, the benefit only comes when the person it’s meant for gets the message. At the moment I don’t know if drivers will spot the difference between a flashing rear light and an I’m-turning-right flashing rear light.

On a vehicle, where your two indicators are meters apart, it works. On a helmet, where they are in the same LED unit, I’m yet to be convinced. Likewise, on a quieter street where it’s just you and a motorist, it might be more apparent, but on a busy road with lights everywhere, I wouldn’t trust the lights alone.

The Aura also comes with Crash Alert, an inbuilt system that pairs with a smartphone and detects when you’ve had a knock. This detection then sends a message to your emergency contact to let them know, although it does give you a 15-second grace period in which to cancel.

While this will provide extra reassurance for some, for me, it feels like a feature more befitting a ski helmet where the wearer might venture off-piste and lie undetected. Unless your journey to work takes you into the wilds, I’d like to think fellow commuters would come to your rescue.

Beyond the smart features, the Aura uses a pretty standard combination of EPS liner surrounded by a polycarbonate hard shell. Within all this is the tried and tested MIPS system, which gives you added protection in the face of an angled collision. The cradle comes fitted with 7mm polyester padding with the option to switch that out for 12mm padding if required.

For an e-bike helmet, the Aura is well vented, with 14 different channels letting air flow in and out. Given the amount and size of the holes, I was surprised to see my scales near the 600g mark when I weighed my size large. And actually, with the standard-issue magnetic visor, it did notch up a pretty hefty 610g. This is lighter than Unit 1's original Faro model though.

The Aura comes with the NTA 8776 Dutch safety certificate, which is awarded to e-bike helmets tested to withstand higher-speed collisions. It also scored full marks when submitted to the Virginia Tech lab, where helmets are tested to withstand real-world-scenario impacts that would typically lead to concussion.

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Performance

In the Aura, Unit 1 claims to have built a helmet “for every ride”. Personally, I’ve mainly been using the Aura on short-to-medium journeys on my electric Tern Quick Haul, however, to test Unit 1’s claim that this is a genuine all-rounder, I’ve also tackled a few 40-minute commutes on my Croix de Fer.

Before tackling the finer points of how this particular helmet sat on my quite particular head, it’s important to highlight the obvious point that no two human heads are exactly the same. So aside from glaring issues with dial adjust systems or a lack of padding, when it comes to finding a comfortable helmet, what works for one person might not work for another. And of course vice versa.

I always take a size large, due to my head being especially long from forehead to the back. My misshapen noggin often means I get pressure points at the front and back from a lot of helmets. I have previously done a lot of shopping around to find something that works (shout out to the recently tested Smith Dispatch and my everyday Giro Syntax).

On first trying on the Aura, personally, I found the size L a bit gappy at the sides, even when I adjusted the cradle to become quite snug at the front and rear. I swapped to the additional 12mm padding, but even then I still found the helmet to feel quite tight against the forehead and against the dial, but at the same time not particularly well fitted or secure at the sides.

For me, the cradle sat quite high above the ears and meant the whole thing had a slight wobble, even when the dial adjuster was tightened as much as I could, but my aforementioned ill-shaped bonce is likely to have played a part here.

I also struggled with getting the straps to sit where I wanted them. The strap divider, which on most helmets slides up and down to get closer to or further away from the ear, on the Aura moves from front to back.

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of this modification as I prefer the straps to sit right up under my ears where they feel the most secure. However, the Fidlock magnetic buckle is a nice addition that allows you to unclip easily with one hand or while wearing chunky winter gloves.

Once the Aura is in situ, there’s a lot to like. I’ll start with the venting. Where a lot of e-bike and urban commuter helmets have opted for a smooth dome at the expense of much airflow, the Aura has managed to craft a lid that has that urban aesthetic without sacrificing ventilation.

You could argue that an e-bike helmet doesn’t need ventilation as the rider won’t be cranking out the watts, but having pedal-assisted my way round London this summer I can assure you that letting some of that warm breeze flow through your sweat-drenched mane offers some welcome relief.

For those warm weather rides the detachable visor offered just the right amount of coverage to fill the gap between the brim of the helmet and the top of my glasses, which is ideal. The magnetic strip, which the visor attaches to, provides enough grip so that the setup feels solid, but removing it doesn’t take a crowbar.

Mine did fall off once when knocked, but that says more about my laissez-faire attitude to bike parking that it does about the design. Unit 1 also offer three larger visors which offer full eye coverage and a range of tinting to really help manage the sunlight.

When the weather turns and the nights draw in, the Aura really comes into its own. The inbuilt lights are genuinely class-leading and provide incredible visibility. While they don’t go as far as to offer 360-degree illumination, there is enough of a curve at both front and rear that motorists will pick you out if approaching side on.

I also tested Unit 1’s Smart Lights and remote, as well as the Torch backpack (complete with light fitting), which all pair up and sync with your helmet, meaning the mode pulsating through your helmet matches that on your lights. Setting up the app and pairing only took a couple of minutes and I didn’t notice any glitches.

I was pretty sceptical about the need for, or the reliability of, indicator lights on a bike. However, having used the Aura alongside the Smart Light, I can see how this could enhance your ability to signal your intentions. Especially when going from regular mode to indicating with a half sweep, as this would mean the light going from being fully lit up to sweeping from one side to the other, but only on the relevant half of the light. If the light was making a full sweep a driver could mistakenly think you’ve just switched modes on the light. Admittedly, this will make more sense if and when you actually start using the light, but essentially I’m convinced that this is more than a gimmick.

The Crash Alert function also seems to work pretty well. A firm whack (not just a casual bump) on the helmet triggers an alert that, if not cancelled in 15 seconds, sends to your nearest or dearest.

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Value

For the safety-conscious commuter, the helmet is no place to cut costs. Having said that, £200 is a lot of money. And in this instance, £200 doesn’t even get you the indicator remote.

Unit 1’s “Ride Pack” includes an additional visor plus the indicator remote and comes in at £230 with the helmet. If you’re going to spend the money on the Aura, then it would be remiss not to get the remote.

If you want to be fully kitted out with everything – helmet, Ride Pack, additional lights, and backpack – you’re looking at over £450.

When budgeting for a helmet, anything over £200 is a big outlay, and in the commuter bracket it’s especially pricey. Depending on your criteria, there are some cheaper options available.

When comparing it to smart helmets that offer similar features, one serious competitor is the Abus Hyp-E. It comes with front and rear lights, has a turning function and includes a remote in the package. It also comes with NTA 8776 certification, but lacks a Virginia Tech score and automated crash alerts. The Hyp-E has a £175 RRP / $229 MRSP, but can usually be found for less. A brake light is available as a separate add-on.

If you’re willing to go without smart functions, the Giro Camden comes with NTA 8776, has Mips technology and sports a large, inbuilt rear light, but retails at around £120. The Bern Hudson ticks the same boxes (although the light clicks in rather than being part of the helmet) and can be picked up for just over £100.

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Verdict

The Unit 1 Aura is a helmet literally full to the brim with safety certifications and features. With full marks from the Virginia Tech lab, as well as the NTA 8776 certificate in the bag, you don’t need anything more in the way of reassurance when it comes to being effective in a collision.

The Aura also smashes it out of the park on visibility. The front and back lights are very good indeed. Being able to charge both via the helmet’s USB-C port only makes for a more positive experience. Yes, the button is a bit cumbersome, and any customisation of settings needs to be done through the app, but overall the lights are great.

If you want to utilise the indicator functionality, you’ll have to purchase the remote control as it doesn’t come included. This will give your road visibility a whole other dimension, although I’m not fully convinced this is something enough road users are looking out for. If you’re hoping to use the helmet’s lights as indicators in lieu of signalling, I would proceed with caution.

The Aura is also fairly easy on the eye, albeit a bit on the bulky side. It was one of the biggest helmets out there and weighs in at 610g with the visor, so it’s also at the heavier end of the e-bike helmet scale.

Depending on how you intend to use it, the weight might be a deal-breaker, as you start to notice it when riding for long periods unless sat very upright. Yes, the venting is ample and very effective, but if you’re looking for a helmet that works both on a busy e-bike commute and a weekend gravel ride, then I would think again, or make your peace with having one helmet for each purpose.

Personally, I found the fit to be a bit uncomfortable, putting pressure on the back of my head while at the same time not fully wrapping tight around the temples and above the ears But helmet fit is a very subjective matter, and one I would recommend you put to the test yourself.

Clearly the price tag will put some people off, but who am I to put a price on the safety of your grey matter. There are cheaper smart helmets out there, and there are helmets with the same safety certification. However, finding one that does all of this and still appeals to you aesthetically might be a big ask.