It is apparent that brain damage is not instant at all times. The repeatedly hits to the head at sports like American Football is creating injuries acting like time set bombs.

Our and others research indicate a relation between exposure of rotational forces to the brain and concussion. The technology for reducing the rotational violence is there and ready to be implemented. What is it with the world of safety helmets that holds it back from acting on new safety technology? Why is it that new features such as alternative ventilation, smarter neck braces and illuminating graphics on the shell is so much easier to adapt quickly? Are we not in this business first and foremost to protect our customers heads and brains?

Read this heartbreaking article from GQ magazine by clicking here.

We would be happy for your comments and thoughts.

“Now I don´t just want the lightest helmet anymore, now I also want the safest”

Is today´s helmet design qualities opening up for being both good looking and smart in the slopes? Our panel of industry leaders from ISPO this year seam to be of that opinion.

Helmet usage among the pro-riders in snow sport have clearly been driven by design and with great focus on light weight.The pro-riders are pushing the limits to reach new and more extreme stunts. This mean falling and crashing while practicing. Big competitions like X-games bring 30 to 50 KUSD every weekend in price money and if you´re not keeping out of injuries you will loose out on the possibility to grab this income. The industry see a clear shift in preferences among their pro-riders and we hear comments like “now I don´t just want the lightest helmet anymore, now I also want the safest”.

Even if this to some extent of course still is lip service, it is clearly a start of a new trend.

Brands investment in pro-riders are essential and substantial. Does the gear they are provided measuring up to this investment and does it give the protection needed to stay healthy and out of injuries? If the riders helmet doesn´t do the job at a crash, what story will that tell about the brand? It takes years to build a brand and seconds to ruin it.

Take a look at our last movie in our series of five from this years snow trade show at ISPO. Click here to view.

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Voices of the snow sport industry on the question – are people willing to pay for safety?:
- “Cost is always a factor, not an obstacle”.
- “Your brain and your head has got to be worth more than $50″
- “I think more now than any other time”

We give to you the third film in our series of five on the topic of Safety.
Do industry representatives believe safety is a competitive and differentiating factor? This film´s content gives the unanimous and politically correct answer – YES.  But do they live by their statements and predictions?

What is a safe helmet, one might ask. “The Safest” helmet does not exist and will most likely never be built if the meaning of “The Safest” is that it will give full protection against all kind of trauma at any type of accident. That would be a mighty big helmet. In that sense more controlled steps toward safety seem reasonable. But are there room for improvement in today´s helmets? Most certainly. Is new technology available to improve? Yes.

What is keeping a majority of the helmet industry from acting?

Click in to view the film and take part by giving air to your voice.

February 6th, 2011

ISPO is ISPO is ISPO, it´s something extra – during four days the snow industry explodes in a frenzy of super cool booths, fantastic new products and a sound carpet that could blast anyone off the ground. This is our home for the next days to come. Hang in there!

We brought our own team of cameraman and journalist this year. We aim to reach out to top notch representatives within the snow industry and interview them on the topic Safety in general and Helmet safety specifically.  We will be back and share this with you after the show.

Is safety being brought forward at the show as a key message from helmet players? To some extent yes, but not at all to the extent possible and needed. We see a lot of new brands with me-too products, wanting to have a piece of the cake. Not an easy path to go if you aim at becoming a player in the industry. Innovation is the key word for both established as well as new brands. Key to maintain and grow market shares. Key as the European snow helmet market is to some extent leveraging out this year. We get signals that sell through ratios are low cross most brands. How to address this for coming seasons? How to increase price and gross margins? Innovation. Let´s be back on that subject.

Got to go – its queuing up in our booth from helmet brand eager to embrace innovation:-)

January 29th, 2011

Late evening on Friday night the 28th of February, after a long day at SIA trade show in Denver, MIPS was challenged for a basketball game by the POC team from Sweden. The battle stood in the very selected gym at Ritz Carlton Hotel and was played as Three-on-Three Half-Court Basketball.

With Stefan from POC having extensive experience from high level basket and the two youngster Oscar and Josefine as back ups, POC was giving very low odds at the local Denver bookmaker. POC was for the occasion dressed in the local Denver Nuggets outfit.

MIPS entered the pitch with its dream team Niklas, Johan and Mattias, for the occasion dressed like champions in LA Lakers outfit.

As expected POC pulled ahead and scored repeatedly and was up some 8 points at half time pause. Stefan was starting to look a bit tired and at the same time MIPS team was still looking strong. This proved to be the determining point, with a will of steel and the physics of a triathlete MIPS team manage to outperform POC during second half and won the game two points up. Not bad at all….:-)

Attending the Intermot Motorcycle show in Cologne. Meeting prominent and leading helmet brands. Viewing next years novelties. But I see little innovation.

Talking to the industry representatives I sense a lack of direction, a lack of vision. What will be the next big leap for the Motorcycle helmet development, I ask. The answers are about changing as little as possible and surviving the crisis.

Of course I can understand that the decline in sales over the last years has been devastating for the manufacturers in many ways. But what usually is born out of a crises is new fresh ideas on how to do it differently, on how to exceed the consumers expectations, on how to move away from low cost country copies and price fighting, toward increased margins and market shares.  But no,  I sense or hear little or nothing about this.

There are gaps in market to be filled, new improved positions to claim. Who is going to take it? Who will be the Apple of the motorcycle helmet industry. Gladly enough, I know a couple of brands that are of another kind and that are going in this direction. For them 2011 will be super interesting and evolving. Looking forward to be a part  of that.