Cool Hunting

Unless you're going for the whole ironic dork look, any cyclist knows that it's impossible to look good wearing a bike helmet. The awkward, bulkiness that makes you look like a doofus is the same thing that protects your head. Yakkay, a Danish company, is trying to disprove conventional wisdom with a new approach to helmet design — one that values safety and style with equal fervor.

The Yakkay is basically a very generic helmet fitted with a hat-like cover. The helmet itself (pictured below) meets current European CE standards for protection, which I assume isn't far removed from American regulations. It has rounded ear straps on the sides and polished stainless steel buckles for proper sizing. They come in two sizes (medium and large) and can be adjusted with a number of adhesive foam circles that you can stick inside.

But it's the covers, not the helmet, that sets Yakkay apart from others. They offer four different options, each with a unique design. The Izmir, for example, looks something like a winter hat, while the Paris has the cut and brim of a military cap. Each cover comes in a few different colors, and can easily be switched as often as you want.

The Yakkay costs about $120 and is only currently available at bike shops in Denmark and Berlin. But since most of the shops have websites, you can try to order one from other parts of the world.