POC's gear is always 'on point' as today's modern young people say, and the way they combine safety with tech and even a wee bit of style has led to them being being handed more than 50 international safety, design and innovation awards.
We love their latest Tectal helmet and Ora goggles combo because the former helps protect against the most potentially ruinous head injuries, while the latter offers enhanced contrast and light, all while looking exceedingly cool.
Yes, obviously the particular combo we've chosen here is aimed at serious, downhill mountain bike but come on, you could wear the Tectal skid-lid in town – and even the Ora goggles too if you're bad-ass enough.
What's more important, however, is the underlying tech. POC SPIN (an acronym for Shearing Pad INside) is a new system that is being built into a number of POC helmets that adds protection from rotational stress on your head, which is an important part of your body.
POC CEO, Jonas Sjögren, explains: “Working with medical experts in POC Lab, we know that oblique impacts are common and can cause serious head injury due to a rotation of the helmet and head. SPIN pads are optimised to provide rotational impact protection based on their precise location inside the helmet. The objective is to minimise the effects of an oblique fall by allowing the helmet to move relative to the head."
SPIN will integrated into helmets including the Tectal Race (main image) and also the brand new Coron Air, which is a more uncompromisingly-styled Enduro/downhill kind of helmet that you probably don't want to be wearing in town.
POC's Clarity lenses, by Carl Zeiss, are the latest in real-time image enhancement, "unique, highly tuned lenses which have light frequencies created for specific activities and environments (road, mtb, urban)"
The enhanced contrast and light mean wearers can see and react to potential dangers faster.
No pricing details for any of this gear so far but the non-SPIN version of Tectal was about £120.