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The new Rally helmet uses Bontrager s WaveCel technology – that aims to protect against rotational impacts – and is designed for trail riding.
Bontrager Rally WaveCel Credit: Future PLC
Product Overview
Cons:
Product: Bontrager Rally Wavecell helmet review
Price as reviewed:
£129.99
Twelve months ago we tested the Bontrager Rally MIPs but this new version is called the Rally WaveCel and gets Trek’s in-house rival to MIPs. WaveCel is a cellular plastic but is actually pretty soft so fits you head shape better, which is why there’s minimal padding inside this helmet. It also absorbs some of those low-key impacts and as well as dealing with oblique forces like a MIPs liner but it can also act like a crumple zone, absorbing the really big hits. Like the Koroyd honeycomb, you also get the benefit of increase air flow and heat management because the stuff is just an open mesh.
NY Man Sues Trek for $5M Over WaveCel Helmet Claims
Bontrager made some big claims with their WaveCel helmet technology when they released it in 2019, namely that the material is up to 48x more effective than standard helmets at preventing concussions during bike accidents.
According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Andrew Glancey of Staatsburg, New York, is the lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against Trek for $5 million for making misleading claims. The lawsuit says that the claims are “false, deceptive, and misleading.”
The suit also claims that Trek’s studies which found the results that led to their marketing claims are financially incentivized. The suit says that the study didn’t use actual Bontrager helmets, but rather, a Scott helmet modified with WaveCel.