Biologic Pango Foldable Helmet Review

Simon Tuck

We take a look at the Biologic Pango Foldable Helmet, named after an endangered animal with a buckle that is loved by small children.

The Biologic Pango is a foldable helmet. The sides slide up into the roof of the helmet, and the rest folds almost in half. It looks a bit like a skater’s helmet except that the top of the lid looks like it’s made from a kind of mesh. The looks of the Biologic Pango are subjective. My daughter asked me if I was really planning to wear it outside, she’s 6. The Pango is quite high around the ears, and a bit mushroom like. On the plus side, there’s plenty of room for the arms of your glasses to sit over your ears.

The Biologic Pango in it’s folded state

A colleague of mine was telling me about this creature in his home town in Pakistan that was a terrific nuisance. He told me it was a penguin. Now obviously I knew it wasn’t a penguin and either mispronunciation or his accent were causing the confusion, but it was amusing nonetheless. I eventually realised it was a Pangolin he was talking about. They’re armoured mammals, a bit like an anteater crossed with an armadillo. The name means ‘to roll up’. It’s unfortunate that my colleague thinks of them as a pest, as they are an endangered species and one of the most illegally trafficked animals in the world. The Pango helmet is named after this creature.

There’s quite a bit of adjustment in the Pango and this can make it sit better on your head. There are two thicknesses of pads included; with my 60cm head I used the thinner ones. It is a bit fiddly though. You have to make sure the sides are fully slid out, and then the rear of the helmet has a little latch on either side that has several notches of adjustment. I found it to be quite comfortable after a bit of experimenting. The pads are removable and washable

The Pango comes with padding, allowing you to customise your fit

It’s quite a heavy helmet (515g) but actually sitting on your head, once it’s adjusted to sit right, it’s not that noticeable. There’s not much breeze through it and this might make it a bit warm on hotter days. I found teamed up with a cap or ear warmer it was just right on some of our colder days recently.

The folding mechanism is quite easy after just a couple of practice runs. I was slightly concerned with the slight scratching that developed on the side parts that slide up into the helmet. Worth wiping these down before converting it to remove any road grit and stop scratches developing. Once folded, the Pango would fit in a messenger bag or rucksack fairly well. The idea is to buy one of these if you chain your bike up somewhere so you don’t have to leave your lid chained to the bike, or worse carry it dangling along by the straps banging into everyone on the train.

The Biologic Pango in it’s ‘open’ state

Would the Pango protect you as well as a regular helmet? I don’t know. Its EN safety certified and it certainly feels quite well built. The polystyrene layer inside is reassuringly thick; my only concern would be that part around the ears. The Pango does seem to sit on your head rather than around it leaving a bit of exposed skull around your ears.

My favourite part of the Pango is its Fidlock magnetic strap buckle. As an ex motorcyclist and cyclist I’ve seen many ways to fasten the straps together, but the Pango buckle is something else. See the video I’ve included to watch it in action. It’s magnetised and basically just touches together, and then you press down and slide it off to release it. I was impressed and I’d like to see it on more helmets. My kids loved it and spent ages playing with it, clipping it and unclipping it. Biologic say you can do it one handed but I’m not sure it’s quite that good, maybe I just need a bit of practice.

The Biologic Pango is a good foldable helmet; I’ll be comparing it to the Morpher foldable helmet soon. It folds up quickly and effectively to stash in a bag. It’s comfortable but only after quite a bit of fiddling as there’s no quick fit dial at the back. It’s warm and quite enclosed. The buckle is a work of genius. The Pango is also quite heavy and has looks that may or may not grow on you, a bit like the animal it takes its name from!

Biologic

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