MIPS Technology

Where did MIPS come from?
Over the past two decades, a small group of passionate individuals based out of Sweden have made it their mission to find a way to further protect the brain from rotational force and strain when an impact occurs during a crash. From this group grew MIPS, which is short for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System. MIPS can be found in a variety of different helmets, from motocross lids to equine riding helmets.

What exactly is MIPS?
The MIPS Brain Protection System is a helmet-integrated, low-friction layer designed to reduce rotational motion transferred to the brain from angled impacts to the head. This layer creates a way for the rotational force to be absorbed and redirected rather than transmitted to the brain during an impact. It’s held in place with flexible bands that clip the MIPS liner to the helmet’s foam in multiple anchor points. The system sounds simple, but in reality, this technology was developed and tested over countless hours in a lab.

How does it work?
MIPS works by installing a thin (0.5–0.7 mm), ventilated, custom cut low-friction layer inside the helmet liner. The layer is held in place by an assemblage of composite anchors that flex in all directions. These anchors hold the layer in place, around the head, but provide a small movement in response to angled impact. MIPS’ small movement (10-15 mm) relative to the helmet at the brief moment of an angled impact (3–10 milliseconds) allows the head to continue in the direction in which it was originally traveling. This means that some portion of the rotational forces and energies acting on the head at impact are redirected and spread out thanks to the large low-friction layer, rather than being transferred to the brain. Thanks to its thinness, lightness, and integration into the helmet’s existing ventilation, it’s rarely noticed by the wearer, even over extended periods of use.