Product Review: iLook360 Personal Electronic Rear View Vision System



Intro/product description:
We were at the Long Beach Motorcycle Show when I came across this product. I was amazed at the concept and intrigued by the product. This system is a helmet mounted rear view camera and viewer. The “capture” part of the system is the camera and it is mounted on the back of the helmet by way of adhesive holding a mounting plate. The mounting plate has steel inserts that the camera sticks to with the use of magnets. The viewer unit is attached by wire to the camera unit, and held in place by way of a mounting point on the front of the helmet, above he face opening, held on by adhesive. The view mount has a steel insert that the viewer holds onto with the use of magnets. Once the mounting plates/points are stuck to the helmet the rear view system can be put in place and removed in a matter of seconds. Any weight added to the helmet was negligible and I didn’t notice any difference with or with out the system in place. The package comes with different adapters to mount to different types of headwear. This product can be used not only for motorcycle helmets but also bicycle helmets, baseball caps and visors with adapters for each. Packaging was very nicely done – lots of product info on the outside of the box, so surprises were a minimum.

Price as tested: $199.95

Build Quality:
The quality of this product is very high and it is well made. The adapters, charger, cord, camera and eye viewer are made and feel durable.







Installation:
After I opened the package and read the instructions end to end, I inspected all the parts and made sure they were all there. Following the instructions I charged the unit and while it was charging I attached the camera mounting plate and viewer mounting point. This was an easy install but not really covered in detail in the instructions. I had some difficulty finding the best position for the viewer mount. Although this product comes with different types of adapters it will not fit all helmets. The limiting factor being the level of the bottom edge of the eye/face opening in the helmet. I was not able to mount the viewer in my new modular because the viewer was too low and blocked my vision. I wound up mounting the product in my half helmet. The helmet you install this unit on has to have a higher brow with ample clearance under that front bottom eye edge or the viewing unit will block your line of sight.



Use and Impressions:
With the unit fully charged and the mounting process complete, the instructions suggest you wear the mounted unit around the house for a while to “get used to it”. I did- I watched the dog follow me around the back yard for a while. I felt comfortable with the unit and decided to take it on the road to see how it worked in real life.

First impressions:
In real life use – sunny day – mid/late afternoon, I took to the road open minded and anxious to see how this unit really worked. First it isn’t something you want to watch like a TV but more like a glance in a rearview mirror. You can really see behind you!! The blind spot directly behind where the mirrors can’t show because the rider is in the way in now visible. It does as advertised. I liked it.

Actual usage:
As my ride went on I started to encounter different circumstances and situations – that showed the strengths and weaknesses of this product. First of all objects are much closer than they appear. At one stop light at first glance through the unit, a pickup truck behind me looked to be a car length away, but in reality it was a few feet away. This is very important because you get the wrong input on safe distances. Entering the freeway and getting up to speed could have undesirable consequences if you use this unit to gauge distances and safe lane changes.

With the wide-angle lens I was able to keep an eye on a box I had secured on my luggage rack I liked that. Later in the day as the sun got lower in the sky shining directly in the camera the unit was getting blinded and the view was just whited out – no way to see any thing. Luckily this was just a temporary situation and once the road curved away from direct sunlight the unit functioned flawlessly.





Bottom Line:
In my opinion this is a wonderful product that does what it is supposed to... let you see behind you and help keep you safe.