In addition to skis, boots and poles, a necessary piece of equipment for skiers is the helmet. High-performance skiers are exposed hazards such as gate impact, high energy impact, multi-impact crashes, and rotational energy. With all of these hazards, extreme brain and head damage is a possibility.
Giro Sport Design has released a new helmet, the Avance MIPS, that features new safety technology to protect the skiers from the variety of different impacts.
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To protect ski racers from the different high-impacts they are exposed to, Giro’s Advanced Concepts Group developed a unique combination to feature in the Avance MIPS. The helmet has a stiffer and stronger TeXtreme carbon shell and a more supple, low-density EP-Premium foam which is prized for its ability to reduce energy that is transferred during high-energy impacts.
The design of the helmet also allows users to get a custom fit. By using 3D scans of athletes heads, Giro’s engineers sculpt the interior of of the Avance MIPS to fit the skier’s head without any pressure points.
The shape Avance MIPS helmet was created due to the fact that gate impacts can transfer up to 70 G’s to an athletes brain. This inspired the creation of the “Hammerhead” exterior shape. This design strategically adds material to areas where gate impact will commonly occur.
“At Giro we’ve spent the past 30 years creating new paradigms for performance and safety,” Giro Executive Vice President Greg Shapleigh said in a statement. “Working in Giro’s Dome R&D facility, our Advanced Concepts Groups leveraged all of the tools at their disposal to create the most advanced alone ski racing helmet ever created. This helmet is a testament to the company that invests heavily in the best people and leading edge facilities for that advancement of head protection.”
Giro’s Avance MIPS helmet is available in six sizes and four colors and is sold through better snowsports retailers for $500.