I need a new helmet. Price is at most a secondary factor, but I don’t want to pay more to buy a product with supposed safety features that aren’t based on solid science.
Bicycling Magazine a couple of years ago ran an article on MIPS helmet technology. The general argument, to my simple little brain, is that all helmets sold today do a good job at protecting against direct impacts. But traditional helmets do little to protect against glancing blows, which create the sort of rotational forces that cause most concussions. (See: http://www.bicycling.com/sites/default/files/uploads/BI-June-13-Helmet.pdf). The simple argument against this technology is that the entire traditional helmet provides this same protection by simply moving on the head in an indirect impact.
Anyone have any experience or knowledge of MIPS helmets? Gyro, POC and Scott are all selling a version.
Lengthy but interesting read. I learned a lot from it, and will say that my last helmet purchase was based on looks, because well a helmet is a helmet… apparently not.
I think a lot of that discussion may even be more relevant to unicyclists than cyclists. I think we are more prone to the rotational falls as well as the low speed falls putting us more at risk of concussions. I know that I have fell flat on my back more times off the unicycle than I have a bicycle, and that kind of fall puts your head into a whiplash kind of motion like they talked about.
I’ve done a fair bit of reading about helmet efficacy, and it is mind boggling how wrong conventional wisdom is in the face of decades of data.
What I have gleaned is that rotation concussion is the most common head injury amongst cyclists, and that supports the MIPS design arguments. In tests they found that skate style helmets that cover more of the head, and with smaller diameter, skid more and rotate less in a glancing fall. The problem is that while a bike rider falls vertically at the same rate as a unicyclist, there is considerably more horizontal momentum, and that leads to the head injury. Since most bike helmets are tested to protect the skull, and not the brain it is the direct impact that is certified. As a result some helmets that slow the impact by using multi impact foam actually protect the brain better, but don’t pass the certification.
So, is a MIPS helmet safer than a skate helmet with multi impact foam? I don’t know. I bought the latter, and I hope to never find out for sure if it works
I sent this thread to my cousin who is an emergency room doctor. He said: I think you should have a multi-layered foam liner, and a slippery high-impact plastic shell. If they could put a dull impact (no bounce) thin layer of slippery foam around that, it would be ideal.
nice article, in a quick search i found a few helmets with mips. See this site for example http://www.mipshelmet.com
The prices vary. The poc helmets go for about 250 euro/270 usd which is kind of expensive but on the other hand the https://www.triple8.com helmets are cheaper. The Gotham type is also a mips helmet according to mipshelmet.com
i will look into it a bit further and post the results….
I’ve used a Giro Aeon for the last year, and it is by far the best helmet I’ve tried. It is significantly lighter and cooler than the Giro Atmos which preceeded it, and the Giro Animas before that.
The Giro Synthe MIPS looks interesting, but a bit ugly IMHO.
As I was still participating in our annual 24h MTB Race our camping neighbor had a very bad crash during the night that ended in hospital. He was sponsored by Prowell Helmets. After seeing his injuries and the damage of the helmet most of us, including him believed, that he would have had serious head injuries with most of the “normal” helmets which would have been broken in pieces then.
I have heard many good reviews on these helmets but have never had one of them myself (I always used MET helmets so far).
I have two prowell helmets that i am very happy with they are nice and light and well ventilated, and very comfortable. Thankfully i have not had occasion to find out how well they fare in a crash.
