Features
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.
|