Helmet technology past MIPS

[Black Dog]

Buy a FIS race helmet. I ski in one (Briko). Very comfortable and warm.
Look for this sticker on the back.

Here are tests of non race helmets.

Snow sport Helmet Ratings

Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings - Ski and snowboard helmets have been tested to evaluate their ability to reduce brain injury risk.

www.helmet.beam.vt.edu

Here are tests of non race helmets.

Snow sport Helmet Ratings

Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings - Ski and snowboard helmets have been tested to evaluate their ability to reduce brain injury risk.

www.helmet.beam.vt.edu

 

[Black Dog]

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FIS RH 2013​

FIS Approved Ski Race Helmets Must Meet ASTM F2040 and CE 1077 certification testing. For the 2013/2014 ski race season, FIS introduced new ski helmet rules for all Downhill, Super G and Giant Slalom events on World Cup and Continental Cup levels to improve brain protection for these ski racers.

Going forward, Downhill, Super G and Giant Slalom World and Continental Cup competitors will have their helmets inspected for the newly mandated sticker citing the ski race helmet conforms to FIS specifications of 2013. No sticker, no racing. This rule has now been extended to be applied all the way down to U14 racers.

Helmet Requirement for Giant Slalom (GS), Super Giant Slalom (SG), Down Hill (DH):

• Helmets must pass both ASTM F 2040 safety testing and EN 1077 (class A) safety testing (See above for differences between these standards)
• Helmet must pass testing (through CEN laboratories) to absorb impact at a speed of 6.8 m/s (significantly higher than ASTM 2040 and CE 1077 testing requires)
• A label of at least 1 sq cm, visible and non-removable, must be affixed to the back of the helmet including the text: "Racing helmet conforms to FIS specifications 2013"
  

Source: FIS

 

[LuliTheYounger]

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.

Wasn't it brought in and then phased out pretty quickly too? Seem to remember being introduced to it as new in the 2019-20 season. I'm under the impression that they were doing it to dodge the licensing fees for the MIPS name, but I can't remember where I heard that.

 

[BLiP]

Buy a FIS race helmet

Unnecessary for most people. Helmets designed for recreational skiing are more than sufficient and often more comfortable. Full ear coverage can limit hearing, which is not a big deal on a closed course but can be very dangerous in recreational skiing. I’m not wearing a full ear helmet unless I’m required to.

 

[Tom K.]

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.

+1

10 years from now (hopefully less), somebody will replace the current "accepted" standards for lab testing a helmet with some that have actual real-world relevance.

Honestly, I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet. Like trying to change the direction of an ocean liner, I guess.

 

[cantunamunch]

[QUOTE="Tom K., post: 968745, member: 4]

Honestly, I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet. Like trying to change the direction of an ocean liner, I guess.
[/QUOTE]

Heh. No surprise there. I think we need to revisit the logic.

Just because a standard exists and because unit X meets the standard, is unit X doing as much as is possible?

Of course it isn't. Unit X is doing the *minimum* rhetorically acceptable.

Which is, TBH, how I read the original point of this thread.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Unnecessary for most people. Helmets designed for recreational skiing are more than sufficient and often more comfortable. Full ear coverage can limit hearing, which is not a big deal on a closed course but can be very dangerous in recreational skiing. I’m not wearing a full ear helmet unless I’m required to.

You can have the best of both worlds. I ski often in POC Dura X with earcups designed in such a way that you hear everything around perfectly fine. Not ventilated tho so I ski it when it is cold.

 

[BLiP]

You can have the best of both worlds. I ski often in POC Dura X with earcups designed in such a way that you hear everything around perfectly fine. Not ventilated tho so I ski it when it is cold.

Nah not for me. I skied in POC for a while. Love their products, and am very familiar with their FIS helmets, but as I said, I'm not skiing in a full ear unless I'm required to. But to each their own.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Nah not for me. I skied in POC for a while. Love their products, and am very familiar with their FIS helmets, but as I said, I'm not skiing in a full ear unless I'm required to. But to each their own.

To each their own of course but I find their earcups the same as the ones on my Smith Level in terms of blocking noise.

 

[BLiP]

To each their own of course but I find their earcups the same as the ones on my Smith Level in terms of blocking noise.

I should clarify - its not just the hearing issue for me; its the whole package. I just prefer open ear helmets.

 

[Black Dog]

Unnecessary for most people. Helmets designed for recreational skiing are more than sufficient and often more comfortable. Full ear coverage can limit hearing, which is not a big deal on a closed course but can be very dangerous in recreational skiing. I’m not wearing a full ear helmet unless I’m required to.

My race helmet is more comfortabe, and warmer than my Smith Vantage.
I actually can hear better with it as it has ear vent canals where the Smith is just pad over the ear.
My wife switched over and won't go back either.

 

[Tony Storaro]

My race helmet is more comfortabe, and warmer than my Smith Vantage.
I actually can hear better with it as it has ear vent canals where the Smith is just pad over the ear.
My wife switched over and won't go back either.

Briko are very nice, I was considering the Vulcan FIS but I am right between sizes (59) and wasn’t sure if 60 would fit.

 

[cantunamunch]

Ok this was completely off my radar until now.

Has anyone here tried a Q collar?

Q30: Brain Protection, FDA-Cleared Q-Collar

Q30 developed the Q-Collar - the only FDA-cleared sports and tactical equipment that helps protect brains from the effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts.

q30.com

 

[Tony Storaro]

Ok this was completely off my radar until now.

Has anyone here tried a Q collar?

Q30: Brain Protection, FDA-Cleared Q-Collar

Q30 developed the Q-Collar - the only FDA-cleared sports and tactical equipment that helps protect brains from the effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts.

q30.com

By applying light pressure to the sides of the neck, the Q-Collar increases blood volume in the brain’s venous structures, reducing the harmful internal movement that causes brain injury.

Ermmmm….i don’t know man…

 

[raytseng]

Ok this was completely off my radar until now.

Has anyone here tried a Q collar?

Q30: Brain Protection, FDA-Cleared Q-Collar

Q30 developed the Q-Collar - the only FDA-cleared sports and tactical equipment that helps protect brains from the effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts.

q30.com

The site itself says the product use case is for "repetitive sub-concussive head impacts"
If your ski style involves repetitive head impacts, perhaps it's time to take a lesson, or 10.

 

[Jeronimo]

You guys ever throw a helmet on, find it to be ridiculously comfortable, then find a mirror and realize you look like Darth Helmut from SpaceBalls?

 

[scott43]

You guys ever throw a helmet on, find it to be ridiculously comfortable, then find a mirror and realize you look like Darth Helmut from SpaceBalls?

I try not to look... But yes.

 

[raytseng]

What we all really are looking for...

Sandwich holder technology. V2 prototype already in the works

 

[cantunamunch]

The site itself says the product use case is for "repetitive sub-concussive head impacts"
If your ski style involves repetitive head impacts, perhaps it's time to take a lesson, or 10.

Easy point to score but glosses over three things:
- language is phrased for FDA acceptance, not actual performance
- people with prior concussion events have significantly lower thresholds, and we've had threads on here asking, begging even, for additional safety measures for kids with prior events.
- Tree skiing.

Note that I do not advocate for this product at all. I especially want to know if something like this complicates the brains self regulation of blood pressure so as to make use at altitude...ill advised.

 

[raytseng]

It would seem to me, if you were concerned about this, an alternative would be to do neck strengthening exercises, like with weights to the degree that formula1 drivers do to withstand gforces. That would develop the muscles for same support mechanism this provides.

I would assume if you're going for this, and you don't want to hit the gym, you also are bought into the logic of wearing compression everything.

For the kids, I would say where is this hypothetical line of risk. If the kid is at risk to the degree you say from previous tbi, I think first step would be they should be wearing a soft helmet /headguard like all the time, even for school and recess play not to mention other sports and activities. If you aren't doing that first, but concerned to buy this for skiing, then this is an misplaced focus on just the risks of skiing.
If you got the kid playing soccer and basketball with a headguard and armored up even for a regular school day, then ok go ahead add on this device too.