a good read on brain injuries and new helmet technologies

[JER]

[URL=“http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/injury-prevention/After-the-Crash.html”]After the Crash: a closer look at the rising incidence of brain injury

As this is from Outside, the focus is on outdoor sports like biking and skiing, but the talking points are very much relevant to equestrian activities: how many concussions is too many?, where is R&D on helmet technology leading us?, does self-regulation work?

Enjoy.

I have to say I’m a little jealous that skiers and bikers are already getting access to the new generation of helmets. I know MIPS technology is in one riding helmet, made by Back on Track but available only in Sweden AFAIK.

[Countrywood]

Cone head technology helmet is used in the Matrix Helmet by Devon Aire, in the USA, Dover saddler etc carries it. $139 I am thinking of getting one.

Amazing that all the bigger more expensive brands are not incorporating it, I read Devon Aire has exclusive rights to the Conehead tech for riding helmets but how could such a thing be possible? Are the other companies just cheap and figuring they’ll keep selling their lines without it as long as they can?

The MIPS sounds terrific. Hope some of the equestrian companies will introduce it instead of getting by with old models year after year only changing the design.

[baxtersmom]

Great piece, thank JER.

[asterix]

Thanks. Hope we get access to the new technologies discussed in the companion brain bucket article…

[Feliz]

Excellent article. I was a keen skier and mountain biker in the 90s/early 00s and started to see the change towards both becoming ‘extreme’ sports. About then I switched to horse riding :lol:

I’m finding it ironic that there’s a big ad showing on COTH for a helmet with sparkly bits . . . I’ll have the new technology, thanks.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

Here’s a helmet that even I might wear—

http://jalopnik.com/swedes-develop-invisible-bike-helmet-1460189477/@jasontorch?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_facebook&utm_source=jalopnik_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[Eclectic_Horseman]

Here’s a helmet that even I might wear-

http://www.hovding.com/en/

Clearly, this is the future for helmets?

[ACMEeventing]

Excellent article.

How unfortunate, though, that news sources are still trying to convince people that helmets save lives. How much more research do people need before they start buckling up?

[Toadie_s_mom]

I was hoping to see Uvex mentioned in this http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/snow-sports/snow-sport-helmets/Building-a-Better-Brain-Bucket.html

I’ve been looking for a new helmet and liked the way the Uvex fit. I just assumed since they are made by a company specializing in ski and motor sports that they’d be better than most of the usual choices we have for equestrian. I’ll probably still get one, based on the fit, but I guess the technology isn’t a lot better.

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

[QUOTE=Countrywood;7253718]
Cone head technology helmet is used in the Matrix Helmet by Devon Aire, in the USA, Dover saddler etc carries it. $139 I am thinking of getting one.

Amazing that all the bigger more expensive brands are not incorporating it, I read Devon Aire has exclusive rights to the Conehead tech for riding helmets but how could such a thing be possible? Are the other companies just cheap and figuring they’ll keep selling their lines without it as long as they can?

The MIPS sounds terrific. Hope some of the equestrian companies will introduce it instead of getting by with old models year after year only changing the design.[/QUOTE]

It’s patent based. If Devon Aire says they are the only one providing the conehead technology in riding helmets, they probably have rights to use the patented technology whereas the other helmet companies don’t. It makes the helmet more desirable.

I’d like to see what Charles Owen comes up with. I know their new skull caps are rated like a motorcycle helmet… If I remember correctly.

[Lori_T]

Yes, Devon-Aire has the patent on the cone head technology. We have a new helmet coming out in the spring, the Prism, which incorporates the cone head technology and retails for $99.
There might be pictures of it up on the website…I have been at Equine Affaire all day for Hilton Herbs and need to hit the hay. I can look tomorrow when I am more awake!

[TBPONY]

[QUOTE=JER;7253698]
[URL=“http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/injury-prevention/After-the-Crash.html”]After the Crash: a closer look at the rising incidence of brain injury

As this is from Outside, the focus is on outdoor sports like biking and skiing, but the talking points are very much relevant to equestrian activities: how many concussions is too many?, where is R&D on helmet technology leading us?, does self-regulation work?

Enjoy.

I have to say I’m a little jealous that skiers and bikers are already getting access to the new generation of helmets. I know MIPS technology is in one riding helmet, made by Back on Track but available only in Sweden AFAIK.[/QUOTE]

Really interesting article, thanks for sharing. I saw The Crash Reel on HBO a few weeks ago and it was incredible. I recommend it to everybody. I also refuse to ride with anybody who doesn’t wear a helmet - I have one friend who thought I was joking and when I told her I was dead serious she pulled out a helmet and it’s never been an issue since. I don’t want to be the one to have to see a friend die or have to take them to the hospital and see them with tubes down their throat because of their stupidity. (Obviously this can happen even with a helmet but it’s a safety feature that is too helpful to pass by.)

I will need a new helmet next year as my beloved Charles Owen is turning 5 and am very interested in the MIPS helmet by Back On Track. Anyone know more about it? I am leery of those vented helmets too because some of them look like cut up kids bicycle helmets and seems like it wouldn’t do as good a job in an accident.

[poltroon]

From the article:

If you’re a helmet skeptic bored by science, consider this: according to Randy Swart, founder of advocacy group Helmets.org, an impact speed of 14 mph can generate enough force to kill you.

[Bensmom]

I have a MIPS bike helmet on order – I walked into a bike shop in central florida in July and asked about it and no one had heard of the technology, and weren’t carrying them. I explained what I knew, and they called the Scott rep, who said that after the article in Bicycling ran on them in April of this year, they had been unable to keep them in stock at all.

I’m still waiting. Sigh.

My inquiries as to whether the equestrian manufacturers would make one available in this country have gone unanswered.

I’ve spent more than a month sitting beside a loved one’s bed in the neuro ICU as it rotated and I hope to never ever ever be in that position again. In that case, he put a car on his head, and it was a riding accident, but regardless, I never want to be there again.

Therefore, helmets are nonnegotiable. And I really want one of the new ones. Maybe we need to start a grassroots movement?

[Lori_T]

Bensmom, I think the best way to get these into the stores is for the consumer to start demanding them.
People want the Matrix, but the stores have been reluctant to carry them for a variety of reasons, including the style (which I don’t buy into, if you look at some of the other helmets on the market, the matrix is pretty tame compared to some!) and the price point.
We have addressed the price point and have dropped the price on the Matrix by $20.
I have 2 issues with some of my stores.
The first is that the buyer only buys what they like. This goes for breeches, boots, coats and helmets. It doesn’t matter that a certain pair of breeches is a big seller, if the buyer of a particular store doesn’t like it, they are not going to stock it.
The other issue regards some trainers, which I talked about here:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?419549-Spinoff-From-the-Helmet-Thread-Trainers-Who-Dictate-What-Riders-Wear
Trainers want their students to wear specific brands, regardless of fit or cost. It has gotten absolutely nuts. The consumer/rider has no say so in what they can wear. I am not saying all trainers are like this, but I do encounter this problem in most of my stores.
If you want this technology, you have to ask and demand it.
Devon-Aire has a 2nd helmet coming on the market in the spring with the cone-head technology. It retails for $99. Research has shown that spending $400 or $300 for a helmet is not going to protect your head any more than a $70 helmet. It should be about the protection and technology, not the bling!

[poltroon]

Lori, I think if you look at the success of GPA, the way to get the helmet marketed is to get a couple of top riders to wear one. It went from OMG that’s so ugly to OMG how could you dare ride in anything else, price point or not.

I’m going to buy one even though I don’t currently need a new helmet, just to make my tiny vote for helmet technology.

I notice that the Devon Aire website completely buries the helmet - you have to go to page three to find it - and I think a photo shoot of people wearing the helmet and looking fabulous and getting those pictures on every website that sells it would also be helpful.

People are loving the Tipperary and I see them everywhere, even occasionally in the show ring. We’re all getting used to “differently” shaped helmets.

[BEARCAT]

For those interested in learning more about TBIs, “the Crash Reel” was a good movie/documentary about Kevin Pearce a snowboarder who was slated for the Olympics (up there with Shawn White) before his crash.
Not always easy to watch about life for him as well as his family and friends after this life changing event, but very much eye opening.

http://thecrashreel.com/home.php

[Lori_T]

[QUOTE=poltroon;7262874]
Lori, I think if you look at the success of GPA, the way to get the helmet marketed is to get a couple of top riders to wear one. It went from OMG that’s so ugly to OMG how could you dare ride in anything else, price point or not.

I’m going to buy one even though I don’t currently need a new helmet, just to make my tiny vote for helmet technology.

I notice that the Devon Aire website completely buries the helmet - you have to go to page three to find it - and I think a photo shoot of people wearing the helmet and looking fabulous and getting those pictures on every website that sells it would also be helpful.

People are loving the Tipperary and I see them everywhere, even occasionally in the show ring. We’re all getting used to “differently” shaped helmets.[/QUOTE]

Good point! I will suggest that. Devon-Aire loves feedback and is very open to suggestions!

[Bogie]

I have the Devon-Aire Matrix Helmet. As soon as I read about the MIPS technology I sought it out. I use it as my daily schooling helmet. So far, I have not had to test the performance of the Cone Head technology, but I’m glad to have it.

[whicker]

Lori,
Can you describe the new prism? I didn’t see it on the website. Is there a version that can be used for foxhunting, without all the colors? Or, have they addressed a cover that lets the air in through the vents? Can I add a sun shade, or head flash light for night riding, like for endurance riding?

Please p.m. me, too…