Helmets for fitness have seriously evolved in the past 25 years, and while even a decade ago riders in pro cycling didn’t like to wear them, now the helmets are not only required – they are embraced. But there is still a ways to go, and the Swedish developers at MIPS are working on building a better helmet. Because it isn’t just about protecting the head, it is also about protecting the gray matter in side. Niklas Steenberg, CEO of MIPS AB tells where helmet development is “headed.” Continue reading Sunday Q&A: MIPS Talks About Building a Better Brain Bucket
Tag: MIPS
It’s Called a Brain Bucket For a Reason
The good old sports helmet has been around a while, and the first recorded use of a dedicated fitness helmet was probably designed for football – although British officers did use their pith or sun helmets to play polo in the 19th century. Today helmets are often called “brain buckets” as they do product the gray matter and much more.
And in the past couple of years a lot has been made of the importance of designing a better helmet, with MIPS AB being among those on the forefront of changing the way helmets should (rather than do) protect the head. As GearJunkie noted last week:
MIPS stands for “multi-directional impact protection system,” and the company touts its technology as mimicking one of the body’s natural defenses against trauma. The brain is surrounded by a “low-friction cushion of cerebrospinal fluid,” MIPS literature notes, adding that its technology imitates the brain’s way of protecting itself by giving the helmet its own “low-friction layer” between the outer shell and the liner. This layer, which is a plastic insert, absorbs energy created in a fall and better protects the brain, MIPS claims. Continue reading It’s Called a Brain Bucket For a Reason