Helmet technology past MIPS

[Jeronimo]

I was casually perusing my local shops late February sale and decided to try on some helmets out of curiosity and I noticed that some manufacturers are touting a lot of their individual tech as opposed to what seems to be more industry standard such as MIPS. Example would be Anon's "Wavecel" tech, which is supposed to act similar to MIPS but also behave like crumple zones in a vehicle. Then there's Atomics AMID (Atomic Multi-directional Impact Deflector) which looks more to me like a squishy pad with a slippery backside to it.

Are we moving away from industry safety standards and into a realm of unverified independent safety marketing hype? Curious what everyone else is experiencing...

I will say I tried on the Atomic Savor GT and it was easily one of the most comfortable helmets I've ever put on. As for how well it protects? I have no idea.

 

[Tony Storaro]

I was casually perusing my local shops late February sale and decided to try on some helmets out of curiosity and I noticed that some manufacturers are touting a lot of their individual tech as opposed to what seems to be more industry standard such as MIPS. Example would be Anon's "Wavecel" tech, which is supposed to act similar to MIPS but also behave like crumple zones in a vehicle. Then there's Atomics AMID (Atomic Multi-directional Impact Deflector) which looks more to me like a squishy pad with a slippery backside to it.

Are we moving away from industry safety standards and into a realm of unverified independent safety marketing hype? Curious what everyone else is experiencing...

I will say I tried on the Atomic Savor GT and it was easily one of the most comfortable helmets I've ever put on. As for how well it protects? I have no idea.

MIPS itself is a safety marketing hype. Prove me wrong.

P.S. Unless you shave your head and glue the MIPS to the skin. Then it may actually do something.

 

[Jeronimo]

I understand your concern, and am a life long skeptic myself. That said, there is mounting evidence to substantiate it. We're not talking about scales like "its twice as.." or "three times safer!", the benefits are minimal but they appear to be statistically significant. Hell, we spend half our time on here arguing about being able to feel minute differences on stiffness/torsion/radius/etc... on our skis. Why would we expect it to be any different from our safety equipment?

Third-party studies

Discover the third-party studies conducted on Mips, the leading helmet safety company. Learn about the science and technology behind their innovative products.

mipsprotection.com

Impact Performance Comparison of Advanced Bicycle Helmets with Dedicated Rotation-Damping Systems

Bicycle helmets effectively mitigate skull fractures, but there is increasing concern on their effectiveness in mitigating traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by rotational head acceleration. Bicycle falls typically involve oblique impacts that induce ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Philpug]

MIPS itself is a safety marketing hype. Prove me wrong.

Giro used thier MIPS Spherical. I had a really crash last year and it believe did it's job. Prove me wrong.

A huge dump day ... or how I learned to love my Giro Tor and MIPS Spherical Helmet

Helmets are cheap insurance

www.skitalk.com

 

[Jeronimo]

Wavecel looks weird. Looks like a head on crash would leave grill marks on your noggin:

wavecel-helmet-technology | Anon Optics US

Anon WaveCel helmets are the first snowsports helmets to feature the industry-leading technology. Explore the collection.

www.burton.com

 

[scott43]

Get the best fitting helmet with the least openings you can endure and wear it properly. Helmet testing is nice but inconsistent. Some of the MIPS stuff is laughable in my opinion.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Giro used thier MIPS Spherical. I had a really crash last year and it believe did it's job. Prove me wrong.

A huge dump day ... or how I learned to love my Giro Tor and MIPS Spherical Helmet

Helmets are cheap insurance

www.skitalk.com

MIPS is one thing, Spherical-quite another. It is like double MIPS basically.
But anyway, I‘ve had crashes with POC’s thingy whatever they call it’-the blue stuff inside and the helmet did its job.

Moral of the story? Wear a helmet. Mips or not.

BTW one of the best cycling helmets-Kask Protone has no MIPS.

 

[Tricia]

At a trade show, we were introduced to a proprietary version of MIPS type protection with POC but it appreas that they have gone back to MIPS for the most part.
Makes me wonder if its not cost affective to have proprietary tech.

 

[cantunamunch]

Wavecel looks weird. Looks like a head on crash would leave grill marks on your noggin:

wavecel-helmet-technology | Anon Optics US

Anon WaveCel helmets are the first snowsports helmets to feature the industry-leading technology. Explore the collection.

www.burton.com

Isn't that Bontrager/Trek's cycling space helmet gizmo?

Industry-leading sure, that's an easy claim to make because Trek are everywhere.

 

[cantunamunch]

Wavecel looks weird. Looks like a head on crash would leave grill marks on your noggin:

Nah. Think of it as cardboard internal structure - just much more resistant to sweat.

I seriously suspect Trek got the idea from that English ME student who was offering custom-fitted cardboard helmets by scanning heads in cross-section and transferring the scans to cardboard sheet, then laminating it all together. 2008 or so?

 

[Tony Storaro]

At a trade show, we were introduced to a proprietary version of MIPS type protection with POC but it appreas that they have gone back to MIPS for the most part.
Makes me wonder if its not cost affective to have proprietary tech.

Most probably cost was the reason, yes. MIPS is a very very cheap to make and if they already make it and people look for it, why bother go the proprietary way.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Isn't that Bontrager/Trek's cycling space helmet gizmo?

Industry-leading sure, that's an easy claim to make because Trek are everywhere.

Wavecell is the equivalent of Smith’s Koroyd, it has nothing to do with MIPS. I had one of them Anon helmets but sold it as I did not like the fit.

 

[raytseng]

Most probably cost was the reason, yes. MIPS is a very very cheap to make and if they already make it and people look for it, why bother go the proprietary way.

I would guess the marketing nixed it more than cost or tech. From the popularity of the vt lab site, which I've seen even advertising on fb, I believe that the market driver is moms wanting a seal of approval for their purchases: aka go with the herd; not cutting edge, not cheapest, not unproven tech. Mips sticker is kinda like that.

 

[BLiP]

Most of this technology is supposed to do the same thing, right? Help protect from the force of a rotational impact?

I currently use a helmet with MIPS and love it (Smith Nexus). But I also used POC for years and never felt that I was missing anything with their SPIN technology - if nothing else the gel filled pads were incredibly comfortable.

In my unscientific opinion, I'd go with the helmet that fits the best and is comfortable to wear, regardless of whether it has MIPS or some proprietary equivalent. I'm partial to Smith and would suggest trying them out, but everyone has a different head shape and fit is paramount.

 

[cantunamunch]

ah found it. Kranium - cardboard with an acrylic coating. 3x energy absorption per thickness than EPS.

Kranium Bicycle Helmet Design

 

[cantunamunch]

Most of this technology is supposed to do the same thing, right? Help protect from the force of a rotational impact?

I don't think so. As pointed out above at least two of the technologies have nothing to do with rotational impact.

I am waiting to see if any NTA 8776 ebike helmets come out with that slippy gel gizmo.

Gels are awesome and might be part of the future for weight non minimal helmets. Order a $10 Chinese motorcycle seat pad, put it on a brick wall, and throw a HARD punch into it. You'll see what I mean.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Most of this technology is supposed to do the same thing, right? Help protect from the force of a rotational impact?

I currently use a helmet with MIPS and love it (Smith Nexus). But I also used POC for years and never felt that I was missing anything with their SPIN technology - if nothing else the gel filled pads were incredibly comfortable.

In my unscientific opinion, I'd go with the helmet that fits the best and is comfortable to wear, regardless of whether it has MIPS or some proprietary equivalent. I'm partial to Smith and would suggest trying them out, but everyone has a different head shape and fit is paramount.

MIPS and SPIN yes, Wavecell and Koroyd are about the impact zones and absorbing impacts

 

[Tony Storaro]

ah found it. Kranium - cardboard with an acrylic coating. 3x energy absorption per thickness than EPS.

Kranium Bicycle Helmet Design

Makes a lot of sense.

 

[SlideWright]

I don't think so. As pointed out above at least two of the technologies have nothing to do with rotational impact.

I am waiting to see if any NTA 8776 ebike helmets come out with that slippy gel gizmo.

Gels are awesome and might be part of the future for weight non minimal helmets. Order a $10 Chinese motorcycle seat pad, put it on a brick wall, and throw a HARD punch into it. You'll see what I mean.

Maybe Renoun should come out with Vibe Stop helmets.

 

[Henry]

The three essential parts of every helmet are:
Shell to prevent punctures and spread the impact load
Liner to absorb the impact load. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is commonly used, as are Koroyd and Wavecel and probably something else
Strap to keep the helmet in place when you go flying. Keep the strap comfortably tight.

Some tech allows some rotational movement of the liner inside the shell to dissipate rotational force. MIPS is one.

The helmet must fit right. Skulls come in different shapes. Long oval. Oval. Round. Kind'a wedge shaped. Find one that fits YOU. Don't wear the helmet over a thick spongy layer like a thick knit beanie. That would allow the helmet to move and slam into your head when you hit something. Size the helmet so it fits right over a thin warm layer if you wish.

A concussion is when your brain slams into the inside of your skull. Think of shaking a raw egg so hard that it scrambles inside the intact shell. You don't want that. A properly fitted helmet with a good impact absorbing liner reduces the chance of a concussion as much as possible.