It doesn’t matter if you ride a road bike, mountain bike, ebike, or motorcycle, a good helmet is vital to staying safe. But in this day and age, even the simple helmet is getting a high-tech makeover, with all kinds of smart elements being added. Once the stuff of science fiction, smart helmets are now a very real product, bringing built-in microphones, speakers, rear-facing cameras, and many other helpful features with them. The best smart helmets combine several of these gizmos to make your riding experience safer and more enjoyable.

Built for cycling at night, the Lumos Helmet is outfitted with turn signals in both the front and rear, which are linked to a handlebar remote that offers several months of battery life between recharges. Automatic brake lights are also included, though these drain the helmet’s juice pretty quickly. To conserve battery life, Lumos does give riders the option to turn them off.

This helmet is also water-resistant, allowing it to survive unexpected rain showers — or expected, if that’s how you like to ride. If you’re only biking to and from work, it may not be the best choice due mainly to the fact the lights aren’t particularly visible during daytime. However, it’s still stylish, affordable, and offers plenty of protection to go along with its smart features.

Whether you pedal your bike or fire up its engine, Sena has a smart helmet for you. The company makes noggin protection for both cyclists and bikers, both of which come packed with some seriously innovative technology. The Momentum is Sena’s flagship motorcycle helmet, while the X1 is its top cycling option, with both sporting Bluetooth connectivity via a smartphone to offer the ability to listen to music, take phone calls, receive GPS navigation instructions, and more. Both helmets are also equipped with onboard video cameras, FM radios, and an intercom system that allows hands-free communication with other riders.

Many cyclists enjoy listening to music while riding, but that can be a dangerous habit, especially when traversing high-density urban areas with lots of traffic. Coros overcomes this issue by creating smart cycling helmets which allow for safe listening by using bone conduction speakers to transfer sound directly through your ear bones (weird, right?). The result is a decent listening experience that doesn’t prevent the rider from being able to hear the environment around them.

The included smart remote and mount snaps easily onto your handlebars and can control volume, playback, and phone calls, while the inclusion of a wind-resistant precision microphone means you can have conversations on-the-go. Like the Livall Bling, there’s also an onboard impact sensor that automatically notifies emergency contacts in the event of a collision. The Omni is a nice upgrade over the brand’s previous release, the Linx, adding LED lights for better visibility and compatibility with the more robust Coros app (iOS/Android).

Smart helmets are finally starting to make their way to the slopes, with Swagtron helping to lead the way. The company’s Snowtide Bluetooth Ski and Snowboard Helmet not only offers onboard audio to listen to your favorite music and podcasts on the hill, but it also features a one-button push-to-talk service that allows wearers to stay in contact with their friends. Best of all, the helmet comes with an automatic SOS option that sends an alert to a predefined emergency contact should it detect a significant impact with the ground. This has the potential to be a lifesaving feature should an accident occur while skiing.

Of course, the helmet is also designed to provide plenty of protection as well, offering a durable ABS outer shell, which is paired with an inner EPS layer designed to absorb any impact. The result is a smart helmet that provides a host of technological functions, along with excellent safety measure, all of which can be had at a great price.

The BE-Link isn’t a smart helmet per se, but it is a convenient add-on that delivers some smart features. The BE-Link is essentially a pair of wired headphones that can be installed in any helmet with a die-cut Velcro cradle or the dedicated BE-Link Cradle mount. One of those two options works with pretty much every helmet on the market, which means you can add Bluetooth to your rig, or quickly transfer it between different helmets as needed. And, since you’re supposed to replace your bike helmet every three years, this could save you a few bucks in the long run.

By now, we can probably all agree: Smart helmets are awesome. What’s not awesome is spending tons of money to replace your favorite domepiece with a high-tech head-cage that may or may not fit comfortably. Ahead looks to remedy that problem. It’s a little device that affixes to an existing helmet — a variety of different mounts are included, so most any helmet is compatible — and utilizes an oscillator to conduct sound through the helmet and into your ears.

Connecting Ahead to your smartphone via the dedicated app allows users to listen to music, make phone calls, activate your digital assistant, and track various fitness metrics, among other things. Dual narrow-angle microphones on either side of the device also ensure that ambient noise is eliminated, even at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Plus, it’s durable and IP45 rated for water and dust, so it should survive most rides, even in inclement conditions.

One of the coolest upgrades for existing motorcycle helmets, the Sena 20s EVO is built to facilitate communications while riding. The device slips into the helmet you already own, giving it the ability to hold private conversations with other riders within 1.2 miles. Using Bluetooth 4.1 technology, riders can even stream music and get audio cues from their GPS, all with excellent sound quality, and all at the same time. In other words, this add-on unit can turn just about any helmet into a smart helmet, without breaking the bank.

The Livall Bling BH60 has been a staple on the list of best smart helmets for years — and it’s for good reason. With its built-in LED strips on the top and rear — which can be controlled using a remote affixed to the handlebars — riders are not only more visible, but they can indicate which direction they’re turning, too. The helmet also works with the official Livall app (iOS/Android) to issue automatic SOS impact alerts should the wearer fall or be struck by a car. In those situations, the app automatically alerts the rider’s emergency contact to inform them of the incident.

A windbreak microphone and Bluetooth speaker even allow for hands-free calling and playback of music, as well. There’s also a walkie-talkie feature which allows riders to stay in contact with other Bling users in their group while on the trail or road.

If the Bling BH60 isn’t to your liking, Livall offers an array of other helmets that feature different designs, but offer the same set of features and technology. For instance, the company’s Bling MT1 was specifically made with mountain bikers in mind. There are even smart helmet options for kids, too.