Thousand Chapter MIPS Helmet Review: A Stylish and Protective Commuting Solution

Let’s face it: bike helmets rarely look cool. At least, most bike helmets don’t look cool on your commuter bike. If they actually manage to look cool, they’re probably not the safest or most technical option. The Thousand Chapter MIPS ($145), on the other hand, actually checks all the boxes: it looks amazing, is super-comfortable, has a well-considered design, and makes life easier for the rider — what more could you ask for?

Building off the success of the brand’s original Heritage model, Thousand maintained a similar sleek yet low-key aesthetic while simultaneously improving ventilation, protection, visibility, and durability. They managed to do that while improving the fit and comfort and reducing weight, but it comes at a slightly higher price.

In short: The Thousand Chapter MIPS is my favorite commuter helmet on the market. It blends top-tier safety with clever features like a magnetized rear light for enhanced visibility and a clever PopLock for easy storage when you park your bike. Pair that with the one-hand-ready magnetic buckle, eight vents, and a removable visor, and you’ve got yourself a stylish and protective bike helmet that won’t make you look like you’re trying to win a race.

Thousand Chapter MIPS Helmet Review

For the avid bike commuter seeking a stylish helmet with top-tier features, the Thousand Chapter MIPS ($145) is a fantastic option. This brand initially gained recognition on Kickstarter, where it raised over $220,000 — far surpassing its $20,000 goal — to create a new kind of commuter helmet: one that blends style, performance, and thoughtful features that distinguish it from competitors. Thousand’s original helmets did just that, but it has continued to improve its offerings with new models like the Chapter MIPS.

Style on the Bike

The Chapter MIPS impresses right out of the box. It looks nothing like a road or mountain bike helmet, and I think that’s a good thing. The smooth, rounded shape fits in much better in an urban or commuter setting, and it comes in eight color options.

Its sleek, purpose-built removable visor offers a premium feel that surpasses the integrated visors of other Thousand helmets while successfully providing a little protection from the sun. Still, it looks like a true bike helmet rather than a repurposed snowboard or skate helmet, as many commuter helmets have in the past. It fits in on the road with ease without looking like you’re about to jump into a road bike race or go shred on your mountain bike.

Fit

The Chapter MIPS comes in three shell sizes — small, medium, and large — to fit heads 54-62 cm in circumference. To dial in the fit for your unique head size and shape, Thousand includes an integrated dial fit system that offers quick and easy tension adjustment within each size’s fit range. The fit system cradles the base of the occipital lobe and ensures the helmet stays snug, secure, and stable while riding.

The shape of the Chapter MIPS is pleasantly neutral and should work well for most head shapes. The padding is relatively thin, but is well-placed and agreeable against the head. I wouldn’t mind if the padding were a little plusher, but I didn’t find that it detracted from the helmet’s comfort regardless.

Thoughtful Features

Working up a sweat and showing up to the office with wet hair isn’t ideal. Unfortunately, ventilation seems like an afterthought in the design of most commuter bike helmets. Not so with the Thousand Chapter MIPS. Eight large vents with internal air channels provide good airflow across the top of the head. This was something I really appreciated on summer rides around the city here in Boise, ID, especially when temps rose above 100 degrees.

I’m also particularly fond of the magnetic buckle, which is easy to clasp and unclasp with one hand and makes putting on and taking off the Chapter MIPS a snap. The unique PopLock feature is also a huge benefit. A hidden hole on the back of the helmet opens up to allow riders to secure the helmet with their bike lock for safekeeping — no more carrying the helmet around everywhere you go.

Be Seen

Being seen while riding on the road is incredibly important for safety, and another major plus for the Chapter MIPS is the included 30-lumen rear light. The USB-chargeable light is magnetized, making it simple to attach and detach from the embedded magnet at the rear of the helmet. This makes it super-easy to charge since you don’t need to place the helmet near a power source.

The light has two settings — solid and flashing — and can last up to 2 hours in flash mode on one charge. It also comes with a handy adapter to attach the light on your bike’s seatpost, giving it a static location to stick to if you’re going to be riding the same bike consistently.

Pro-Worthy Safety

Beyond its cool style and commuter-specific features, the Chapter MIPS includes a MIPS liner to help reduce rotational impact forces in a crash. If you haven’t heard of it already, MIPS is a system that has become commonplace on most modern commuter, gravel, mountain, and road bike helmets.

In this case, the Chapter Helmet has a thin plastic MIPS liner between the padding and the shell that is attached to small elastomers and is designed to work like a slip plane between the helmet and your head. Allowing the helmet to shift slightly on impact aims to reduce the rotational forces transmitted to the brain, which may reduce the chances of concussion.

It also earned a 5-star rating in Virginia Tech’s independent helmet testing. Virginia Tech has become the leader in independent helmet testing by performing a series of controlled lab tests to examine the protective properties of helmets on a level and unbiased playing field.

Five stars is the highest rating a helmet can earn, so this bodes very well for the protection of the Chapter MIPS. I take comfort in knowing not only that this helmet has been tested but that it scored well, too.

Conclusion

If you’re a bike commuter who doesn’t want to ride around with flashy road-cyclist tech, this is the helmet for you. It’s packed with features but doesn’t look out of place on the city streets, whether you’re rolling up to work on a beat-up ’70s road bike or the sleekest new electric commuter. 

Commuters, regardless of experience, will love the little details like the removable rear light, the handy lock-up hole, and the magnetic buckle. The helmet even comes with a nice cloth bag for storage. It might be a little pricey for some, but we think that the style, comfort, safety features, and adaptable light make it a worthwhile investment for any serious bike commuter.

The Thousand Chapter MIPS Helmet is available for purchase on the Thousand website and at major online retailers like REI.com and Backcountry.com.